STUDY OF NATURAL DYE-YIELDING PLANTS WITH ITS MEDICINAL VALUE IN DISTRICT RAJGARH (M.P.)

The present paper is based on extensive survey. Collection of ethnobotanical information and natural dye yielding plants Rajgarh District (M.P.). The study reports 15 natural dye yielding plant species belong to 13 families. Along with their botanical name, local name, family, habit, dye yielding plant parts used are mentioned in the paper. Apart from, medicinal uses, it also describes preparation of dyeing stuff. Use of mordant’s and specific dye utilization to serve various purposes, including several of the new dye resources.


INTRODUCTION
Rajgarh district of M.P. is unexplored botanically despite the fact that it harbours a rich angiospermic flora.
Rajgarh district was constituted after the formation of Madhya Bharat in May 1948. Prior to this the area of the present district was parcelled out among the state of Rajgarh, Narsinghgarh, Khilchipur, Dewas (Senior) and Dewas (Junior) and Indore.
India has a rich bio-diversity and it is not only one of the worlds twelve mega diversity countries but also one of the eight major centre's of origin and diversification of domesticated taxa, it has approximately 49,000 plant species of which about 17,500 are angiosperms.
The purpose of the present investigation is to study the flora of Rajgarh district in general and to find out prospective species of plants which are the sources of natural in particular dyes. As stated earlier. The natural dyes do not pose any threat to health of users which is not the case

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Various plants of the district shall be collected for extracting dyes depending upon the specific part of the plant resource to extract dye from underground root or rhizome, stem or bark, the material is cut into pieces, soaked in water for two to three days and made into paste. The dye is generally prepared by boiling the crushed powder with water but sometimes it is left to steep in cold water after squeezing and filtration, the whole extract is boiled and connects rated by repeated heating subject to specific requirement Alum is generally used as a mordant. Flowers of Butea monosperma yield an orange colored dye. A more permanent colour is produced either by first preparing the cloth with alum and wood ash, or by adding these substances to the dye bath.
Mallotus philippinensis yields an orange colour used for dyeing silk and wool. The floral parts and leaves when used for dye are crushed and dissolved. To prepare the annatto dye from Bixa orellana the fruits are collected when nearly ripe, the seeds and pulp are removed from the mature fruit and macerated with water. Thereafter dye are either ground up into an annatto paste, or dried and marketed as annatto seeds. Sometimes when the seeds and pulp are macerated with water. The product is stained through a sieve and the colouring matter which settles out collected and evaporated by heat and finally dried in the sun. Mordant result into variation in dye colour, even same dye can produce different colours several of the vegetable dyes are used as mordants and usage of mixture of dyestuff is a common practice. Light solution of organic manure, cream of tartar, curd water ash of wood or bark , rock salt, lemon juice , lime water are common  Moreover the dyes shall be available at cheaper cost and therefore within the reach of common men. Due to their nontoxic properties, low pollution and less side effects natural dyes are used in day to day food products. More detailed studies and scientific investigations are needed to assess the real potential and availability of natural dye-yielding resources and for propagation of species in great demand on commercial scale Biotechnological and other modern techniques are required to improve the quality and quantity of dye production.