Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge

Vol. 11 (3), July 2012, pp. 528-531

Determination of Dyeing property of some medicinally important plant species of

Uttarakhand Himalayas

Ruhi Akhtara*, Jagmohan S Negi

b & Rekha Naithani

a

aDepartment of Home Science, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal)-246 174, Uttarakhand, India, bDepartment of Chemistry,

HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal)-246 174, Uttarakhand, India

E- mails: negi_js1981@yahoo.co.in; ra_mr@live.com

In ancient India people used natural dyes to stain woollen products. These dyes were obtained from roots, leaves and

bark. Although the plant species give certain dye due to the presence of colourant in it but the colour could be varied by

adding various mordants. In the present study, Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham., Pinus roxburghii Sarg. and Terminalia

chebula Retz. have selected as natural dyes on the basis of their traditional uses. The pH and ODs of dyeing solutions was

measured before and after dyeing. Colour fastness was also determined. It has been found that the ODs decreased after

dyeing.

Keywords: Natural dyes, Wool, Cotton, Optical density, pH, Myrica esculenta, Pinus roxburghii, Terminalia chebula

IPC Int. Cl.8: A61K 36/00, C09B 61/00, D06P, D04H 1/02, D21C 9/10, D21C 5/00, G01H 9/00, G01N 21/80, G01N 27/416

Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham. (Myricaceae), Pinus

roxburghii Sarg. (Pinaceae) and Terminalia chebula

Retz. (Combretaceae) are used traditionally as natural

dyes. They are also important for their medicinal

properties. M. esculenta known as Kaphal, is

evergreen glaborous tree, bark brownish grey which

yields yellow dye and fruits are edible1a

. P. roxburghii

is evergreen tree; wood is used for construction,

poles, timber and furnitures. The green dye is

obtained from the needles of Pinus species.

Oleo-resins are present in the tissues of all the species

of pines is used in varnishes, paint and turpentine1b

.

T. chebula is deciduous tree known as Harar whose

fruits are used in asthma, sore throat, thirst, vomiting,

hiccough, eye diseases, urinary discharges,

inflammation, tumors, pain and anaemia2. Terminalia

species yield yellow dye and also used for the

preparation of inks1c

. Antioxidant and Anti-allergic

activities of Myrica esculenta have been reported3,4

.

Extracts of Pinus roxburghii exhibited strong

antibacterial activity5.

Natural dyes have been used to colour clothing or

other textiles. In ancient India, only a small

percentage of textile dyes were extracted from plants.

Lately there has been increasing interest in natural

dyes, as the public becomes aware of environmental

problems related to the use of synthetic dyes6,7

. The

term dye includes natural, synthetic and pigments.

Those colourants which obtained from plants and

natural resources are known as natural dyes. Natural

dyes have been traditionally used in most of the

countries.

In India, the use of natural dyes goes back to the

prehistoric period, which is abundant by the use of

synthetic dyes. Dye yielding plants of Uttarakhand

Himalaya have been documented8. In ancient times

natural dyes have been used for many purposes, e.g.

colouring natural fibres such as wool, cotton and silk.

They also served to colour cosmetic products and to

produce inks. Synthetic dyes are commercially

available because of their fastness, easiness of use and

the various color shades available. Therefore, natural

dyes become a better option because they are

sustainable in nature and have low toxicity and low

allergic reactions. However, now the use of natural

dyes became extinct due to popularity of synthetic

dyes. Ultimately, natural dyeing techniques have been

abandoned and people opted for the use of synthetic

dyes which is time saving and produce brighter and

more attractive colors. In September 2009, a

questionnaire survey was made to the use of natural

dyeing process and the plants which are being used in

dyeing and mordants by Bhotia families of central

Himalayan tribe. It was found that non of them have ___________

* Corresponding author

AKHTAR et al.: DYEING PROPERTY OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS

529

left their traditional knowledge of dyeing and using

synthetic dyes for colouring their fabrics. Most of

them disliked the idea of going back to natural dye

because of the painstaking process involved. The

synthetic chemical dye causes many adverse effects

on the skin and also environmental unfriendly. Since,

natural dyeing methods used by these people needs

revival, therefore, this study was undertaken and was

focused on dyeing properties of M. esculenta,

P. roxburghii and T. chebula with and without natural

mordants.

Methodology

T. chebula powder was procured from

Dr J S Jagwan HNB Garhwal University Campus,

Tehri and M. esculenta and P. roxburghii were

collected from Nagnath-Pokhari (2200 m). Natural

mordands from Pauri district of Uttarakhand, India.

Identification of the plants was done by

Prof RD Gaur, Department of Botany, HNB Garhwal

University, Srinagar (Garhwal).

The dyes are prepared by boiling the powdered

barks, leaves and stems (250 gm each separately) of

M. esculenta, P. roxburghii and T. chebula,

respectively, with water (500 ml) for 6 hrs at 75-

80°C and filtered. Filtrate was used to dye the wool

and cotton fibers/fabrics in the ratio of 1:20 w/v

(fibers/fabrics to dye solution). Emblica officinalis

Gaertn. (bark), Musa balbisiana Colla (stem),

Rumex hastatus D. Don (leaves) and Curcuma

domestica Valeton (rhizomes) were used as natural

mordant.

The wool and cotton fibers/fabrics were dyed

with M. esculenta, P. roxburghii and T. chebula

extracts with and without mordants. The wool and

cotton fibers/fabrics were dyed in the dye solutions

at 70-80°C for 6 hrs. The temperature of dyeing

solution was gradually raised from room

temperature to 80°C and then maintained at this

level for different periods according to the

requirement of dyeing material to get desired

colour. The extracted dye solutions of each plant

were divided into five separate parts. First dye bath

contain pure extract whereas, second, third, fourth

and fifth dye bath contains mordants E. officinalis,

M. balbisiana, R. hastatus and C. domestica,

respectively. After the desired time the cotton and

wool fabrics/fibers are withdraw from dye extracts,

dried in air and thoroughly rinsed with cold water.

The pH of dyeing extracts was recorded by digital

pH meter, while the optical density (OD) of extracts

before and after dyeing was also recorded by UV.

Fading of colour was determined by Fadometer.

The percentage of the dye uptake of wool and

cotton fibers/fabrics obtained through the

measurement of the differences in the absorbance,

at the same wavelength, of the dye bath

concentration before and after dyeing with an

Ultraviolet-Visible (Perkin Elmer)

spectrophotometer. Each sample was tested three

times and the average OD was reported.

Results and discussion

The dye uptake was calculated with the following

equation, dye uptake (%) = (Ab-Aa)/Ab x 100, Where

Ab and Aa were absorbance values measured before

and after dyeing, respectively9.

The effect of mordant on the colour of dye is

shown in Table 1. The OD, pH and % absorption of

different dyes solutions are shown in Table 2. The

cotton and wool fabrics/fibers were dyed using open

dye bath.

It has been found that the M. esculenta and

P. roxburghii dyes are acidic in nature and have

yellow and green colour separately but the colour of

dyes change to camel on addition of mordants. The

OD of dyes after dyeing woolen/cotton products

decrease which shows some dyes are absorbed by

wool and cotton fabrics/fibers. The fastness of dyes

with mordant can also be explained on the basis of

their ODs. It has been found that the dyes containing

mordants have higher ODs then pure dyes. The

reduction in dye concentration after dyeing revealed

that most of dye is absorbed by wool and cotton

fabrics/ fibers. The optical densities of M. esculenta

extracts with E. officinalis, M. balbisiana, R. hastatus

and C. domestica mordants at λmax 268 was found

4.06±8.6, 4.13±4.5, 3.96±5.6 and 3.92±2.6,

respectively. After dyeing they were found 2.29±8.6,

2.58±5.2, 1.46±4.3 and 1.57±7.6. Similar patterns

were observed in the case of P. roxburghii and T.

chebula where there was significant reduction in ODs

(Table 2).

In this study, it is observed that P. roxburghii

showed significant absorption with all mordants. It

showed 79.56, 57.14, 86.30 and 83.72% absorption

with E. officinalis, M. balbisiana, R. hastatus and

C. domestica mordants, respectively, while

M. esculenta and T. chebula showed 43.59, 37.53,

68.49 and 63.69; 63.87, 34.16, 39.67 and 52.82 with

same mordants. Most of the studied natural dyes were

acidic in nature. The pH of T. chebula, P. roxburghii

INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 11, NO. 3 JULY 2012

530

and M. esculenta with various mordants were varied

from 2.0-2.2, 3.1-4.2 and 4.6-5.9, respectively. The

highest dye uptake was observed in colon fabrics. The

wool and cotton fabrics/fibers dyed with E. officinalis,

R. hastatus and C. domestica mordants showed

excellent fastness properties rating (5-6) against light,

while in dyed wool and cotton fabrics/fibers with

M. balbisiana mordant was obtained in the rating

3-4 against light.

Conclusion Now, dye uses still persist only in remote area, but

uses of many dye plant species are still remembered

and practiced in these regions. One hopes that this

research carried out into old dyeing uses can

contribute to a preservation of traditional knowledge

for possible future artisan activities that may be

sources of some income in local enterprises. It has

been found that the colour of dyes can be changed to

other various shades by mordants.

Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to local Bhotia Vaidyas,

Mr Uday Singh, Mr Mohan Sing and Mr. Rudra Singh

for providing valuable information about dye yielding

plants.

References 1 Gaur RD, Flora of the District Garhwal North West

Himalaya, (Trans Media, Srinagar, Garhwal), (1999) 105a,

51b, 320c.

2 Kritikar KR & Basu BD, Indian Medicinal Plants, IInd edn,

Vol. IV (Latit Mohan Basu, Leader Road, Allahabad), 1935,

1021.

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Assessment of antioxidant properties in fruits of Myrica

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Table 1Effect of mordants on the colour of dyes

Plants Part used Colour Mordants Colour achieved

Myrica esculenta Bark Yellow Phyllanthus emblica

Musa balbisiana

Rumex hastatus

Curcuma domestica

Light camel

Camel

Camel

Yellow

Pinus roxburghii Leaves Green Phyllanthus emblica

Musa balbisiana

Rumex hastatus

Curcuma domestica

Camel

Camel

Brownish camel

Yellow

Terminalia chebula Stem bark Yellowish pink Phyllanthus emblica

Musa balbisiana

Rumex hastatus

Curcuma domestica

Pinkish yellow

Pinkish brown

Dark yellow

Yellow

Table 2Optical density, pH and % absorption of dyes (n=3)

Dye Mordants pH λMax

nm

OD±SD

before dyeing

OD±SD

after dyeing

% absorption Light

fastness±SD

Myrica

esculenta

Phyllanthus emblica

Musa balbisiana

Rumex hastatus

Curcuma domestica

5.7

5.9

4.6

4.9

268 4.06±8.6

4.13±4.5

3.96±5.6

3.92±2.6

2.29±8.6

2.58±5.2

1.46±4.3

1.57±7.6

43.59

37.53

68.49

63.69

4±2.5

3±13.5

5±1.8

5±6.4

Pinus

roxburghii

Phyllanthus emblica

Musa balbisiana

Rumex hastatus

Curcuma domestica

3.6

3.9

3.1

4.2

265 0.93±12.4

1.82±6.4

0.73±4.5

1.29±6.5

0.19±5.6

0.78±8.2

0.10±2.4

0.21±0.8

79.56

57.14

86.30

83.72

6±6.4

5±9.3

5-6±5.3

5-6±8.4

Terminalia

chebula

Phyllanthus emblica

Musa balbisiana

Rumex hastatus

Curcuma domestica

2.0

2.2

2.0

2.1

285 5.73±4.8

6.00±4.5

4.36±8.7

5.64±6.4

2.07±4.8

3.95±8.3

2.63±9.7

2.66±6.7

63.87

34.16

39.67

52.83

5±6.4

4±7.5

4±4.6

4-5±4.9

n= Number of samples, SD=Standard deviation, OD= Optical density

AKHTAR et al.: DYEING PROPERTY OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS

531

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