A natural yellow colorant from Buddleja officinalis for dyeing hemp fabric

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113968Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Dyeing hemp with a natural yellow colorant from Buddleja officinalis.

  • Comparative research between natural mordants and metallic ones under different mordanting methods.

  • Expanded environmental-friendly dyeing based on ethnobotanical application.

  • Provided a case study is to explore new natural dyes for textile industry through ethnobotanical insight.

Abstract

Natural dyes are more eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic dyes. This research focuses on natural dyes and improved dye craft using plants employed by various ethnic groups in Southwestern China. In this study, we assessed the suitability of dried extracts from Buddleja officinalis flowers for dyeing hemp fabric. and valuated indicators including color strength (K/S), color characteristics, and fastness properties in response to washing, rubbing, and perspiration using metallic and natural mordants under pre-, post-, and simultaneous mordanting conditions. Specifically, we investigated the pigment compound crocin by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform–infrared spectroscopy analysis before using it to dye hemp fabric. Optimum dyeing conditions including staining temperature, staining duration, and pH have been identified using an orthogonal array experimental design. Optimum results were achieved when dyeing at pH 5, and at 60 °C for 90 min. Hemp fabric dyed without mordant had a shade of yellowness, while fabric mordanted with gum rosin, plant ash, KAl(SO4)2, and Chaenomeles speciosa had a variety of pale to dark yellowness color shades. A darker yellow–green color shade was obtained with FeSO4 mordant. The color change of washing fastness was mostly very poor, while the color stain of washing and perspiration fastness were good to excellent, and rubbing fastness was also good to excellent. The color fastness was kept and improved by the three natural mordants, especially gum rosin and plant ash, but reduced by FeSO4. Those results show that the use of aqueous extract from B. officinalis flowers combined with natural mordants represents a promising approach for textile dyeing, revealing an alternative method that could improve and extend the dyeing properties of this indigenous dye plant. In addition, our findings lay the foundation for further basic studies and demonstrate the utility of preserving natural dye plants, along with the related traditional knowledge of indigenous groups in Yunnan, China.

Introduction

Plant-based pigments, the most commonly used dyes from natural sources, have been used to dye textiles and other materials throughout the world since at least 3000 BCE (Zarkogianni et al., 2011). Considerable research has been conducted on plant dyes, such as dyes obtained from almond shell (Prunus dulcis) (İşmal et al., 2014), tea (Camellia sinensis) (Ren et al., 2016; Shahid-ul-Islam and Butola, 2019), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) (Souissi et al., 2018), Lycium ruthenicum (Dong et al., 2019), Hibiscus mutabilis (Shanker and Vankar, 2007), Rubia cordifolia (Vankar et al., 2008a,b), Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Ben Ticha et al., 2017), Adhatoda vasica (Rather et al., 2016), the leaves of Ficus amplissima (Kumbhar et al., 2019), and Lawsonia inermis (Bhuiyan et al., 2017).

Although plant dyes are no longer used in large-scale industrial production, they are still widely used by some traditional ethnic groups and for the production of ethnic products. Plants that are still commonly used as sources of dyes include Indigofera tinctoria for blue dye and saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) for yellow dye (Shen et al., 2014; Zhou et al., 2015a,b; Ren et al., 2016), with the former being particularly well-known internationally and still widely used by many minority groups in China (Liu et al., 2014a,2014b). In contrast to sustainably harvested natural plant dyes, modern synthetic dyes are made from non-renewable coal tar and petroleum whose extraction and use carry negative environmental consequences. In light of the increasingly urgent need for environmentally benign ("green") products, low-carbon-footprint lifestyles, and environmentally friendly consumerism, there is a growing interest in natural products, including natural dyes (Kim et al., 2004; Bechtold and Mussak, 2009)

Since typical plant dyes have no affinity for the cellulose in fabrics, a companion substance called a mordant is required for the effective application of these dyes to textile fabrics (İşmal and Yıldırım, 2009; Khan et al., 2011; Yusuf, 2018). Mordants are natural or chemical substances that bind to cellulose and react with the dye, resulting in improved color and color fastness (Yusuf et al., 2016, 2017a,b). Metal salts are the most commonly used mordants, but most are non-biodegradable and acutely toxic, posing a significant environmental and health risk (Tsatsaroni et al., 1998; Vankar et al., 2008a,b). Therefore, environmental friendly mordants are needed in order for plant dyes to be fully sustainable products. Natural mordants make the dyeing process more sustainable and eco - friendly (Adeel et al., 2020a,b). The chemical basis of plant mordants varies. Tannin is a mordant found in some plants that also yield dyes, such as Acacia nilotica and pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel (Ajmal et al., 2014; Rather et al., 2017). High levels of aluminum in plants such as Eurya acuminata (Vankar et al., 2008a,b) are associated with an abundance of ions that can increase color fastness and strength. Biopolymeric mordants used to pretreat textile fabrics also exhibit excellent radical scavenging activity and produce improved colorimetric values for many fiber compounds, including the sustainable fiber chitosan (Shahid-ul-Islam et al., 2018; Sheikh and Bramhecha, 2018; Shahid-ul-Islam and Butola, 2019).

Synthetic dyes are widely used to dye textiles because of their low cost and rich colors. However, the synthesis of dyes and their application to textiles produce effluents that are harmful to the water system. There has been a revival in the use of natural dyes due to their better biodegradability (Yusuf et al., 2015, 2017a,b; Yusuf, 2019; Manzoor and Sharma, 2020).

Various yellow dyes produced from plants are used in dyeing textiles (Zhou et al., 2015a,b), including dyes from Scutellaria baicalensis (Zhou et al., 2016), Curcuma longa (Han and Yang, 2005; Ghoreishian et al., 2013; Mirjalili and Karimi, 2013; Zhou and Tang, 2016), Gardenia jasminoides (Shen et al., 2014), and Rheum emodi (Vankar et al., 2007; Khan et al., 2012, 2016). Floral extract from Buddleja officinalis, a member of the Scrophulariaceae family, is used as both a yellow dye and a medicine by many ethnic minority groups in the southwestern regions of China (Fig. 1a) (Fan et al., 2018a,b). Ethnobotanical studies indicate that this yellow extract is used to dye many products, including rice and plant fibers (Boehmeria nivea) (Fig. 1b, c). Several studies using various methods to separate and identify the pigments in this species have focused on pigment stability (Aoki et al., 2001; Xie et al., 2017; Qin et al., 2019; Xie et al., 2019), and spectral analysis has identified the yellow pigment in this extract as crocin (Fig. 2) (Zou and Chen, 1991). Bioactive compounds with medicinal properties have also been identified in B. officinalis (Aoki et al., 2001; Xie et al., 2019). However, few studies have focused on the use of B. officinalis to dye fabrics. Here, by investigating the use of traditional techniques and identifying the optimal conditions for dyeing hemp with floral extract from B. officinalis, the aims of this study are (1) to improve dye craft by natural mordants through three mordanting methods; (2) to expand usage of traditional dye plants in textile dyeing through scientific approaches; and (3) to explore a new yellow colorant from a traditional dye plant for use in the textile industry.

Section snippets

Materials

The B. officinalis flowers used in this study were purchased from Hengfeng Agricultural Trade Market in Wenshan City in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province, China, in July 2018. The dyed fabric used in this study was hemp (weight 149.1 g/m2, plain weave), donated by Esquel Enterprises Ltd. (Hong Kong). The fabric was boiled in deionized water for 5–10 min to remove impurities before the experiments. Multifiber test fabric (No. 10) was used in the washing and perspiration color fastness

UV–vis spectroscopy

A UV–vis absorption spectrum of dried B. officinalis flowers after aqueous extraction is shown in Fig. 3. The maximum absorption of the extract was detected at wavelengths of 329 nm and 196 nm, which are similar to the reported data for crocin (Zou and Chen, 1991). The maximum absorption peak was in the UV range, which provides a basis for the UV-protective function of the pigment. The conjugated system showed strong absorption bands in the UV region. The conjugated double bond system showed

Conclusion

In an ethnobotanical study of traditional ethnic groups in the southwestern part of China, we showed that extract from dried B. officinalis flowers is a potential natural dye source for textile dyeing. Our analysis revealed that the dye color generated by this extract was mainly due to the presence of crocin. We identified the optimal dyeing method using this extract via an orthogonal array testing design. Our results indicate that satisfactory dyeing of hemp fabric can be achieved using a pH

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Xiuxiang Yan: Lab work, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Liya Hong: Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Shengji Pei: Writing - review & editing. Alan Hamilton: Writing - review & editing. Haoyun Sun: Lab work, Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Rong Yang: Lab work, Investigation, Writing - review & editing. Aizhong Liu: Writing - review & editing. Lixin Yang: Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Funding acquisition.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (31670340 and 31970357) and the Project on Creative Research Group by Science & Technology Department of Yunnan Province (2018HC009). All fabrics used in this study were provided by Esquels Enterprises Ltd.

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