Dyes from plants: Past usage, present understanding and potential

Abstract

Prior to the synthesis of dyes from by-products of the petrochemical industry all colour was derived from natural sources, including plants. As the awareness of the need to preserve our natural resources increases and attitudes change towards achieving this, interest is growing in finding renewable resources, which can be used as alternatives. Recent work, to discover whether it is possible to use plants as commercially viable sources of dyes has highlighted a significant resource, which would benefit both industrial production and consumer choice. However, because of the multiplicity of products available, customer expectation is very high. This means that in order to satisfy this demand for high quality and choice, the plants in question must be studied more closely to allow breeding of useful lines and improved economic returns.