Authors K. H. Prabhu and Aniket S Bhute
consumer interests is awareness of possible risks during production of synthetic dyes which involve use of petrochemical based raw materials and the violent chemical reactions for their synthesis. The manufacture of such dyes is energy intensive with adverse impact on environment adding to its pollution. Many of these dyes, especially the azo- based ones, are found to be carcinogenic. In this background, a brief review of natural colorant from plant sources, their classification, chemical constituents responsible for producing different colors, its activities and effect of different mordants on the hue is discussed. Different classes of mordants employed for fixation of natural coloration on textiles substrates, the use of synthetic dyes is gradually decreasing due to an increased environmental awareness and harmful effects because of either toxicity or their non-biodegradable nature, the natural dyes have their own limitations like availability, colour yield, stability, and complexity of dyeing process and reproduction of shades. Furthermore, natural dyes cannot entirely replace synthetic
