Rubia cordifolia roots as a raw material for dyeing wool in red colours.

Introduction: Indian madder (Rubia cordifolia L.), is an important natural dyeing plant with long history. Rubia belongs to the family Rubiaceae. It is one of the oldest dyeing plant with a source of beautiful and permanent shades of red. The compounds found in the plant’s roots are an excellent natural dye for dyeing protein fibres. The ingredients contained in the root of the plant have numerous health-promoting effects on the human body, both internal and external. In this study water extract from the plant roots was tested to obtain different colours on protein fibres. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the dyeing properties of East Frisian sheep wool by water extract of R. cordifolia roots. Methods: In this research wool from the East Frisian sheep breed were selected and compared the colours obtained on this wool using six dyeing methods. Results: The results indicate that the type of mordants used affects the intensity and colour of the wool after dyeing. Wool samples dyed without any treatments and with various mordants show different intensity of colour in the red colour range (cinnabar red, brick red, raspberry, tomato red, Tuscan red). Conclusions: Indian Madder R. cordifolia plant is an efficient raw material that gives intense colours on wool in range of red. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]