Dyeing of purple pigment(indirubin) produced from indigo plants by reduction

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K02384
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 08030:Family and consumer sciences, and culture and living-related
• Research Institution: Mukogawa Women's University
• Principal Investigator: Ushida Satoshi 武庫川女子大学, 生活環境学部, 教授 (40176657)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: インジルビン / インジゴ / 藍 / 還元 / 染色

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Indigo plants produce not only blue pigment called indigo but also purple pigment called indirubin from colorless substance named indican due to the dyeing conditions. It is valuable that reddish shade can be obtained from such a popular dye plant as indigo plant which is fundamentally important as the blue natural dye. Generally indirubin is dyed by producing within the fabrics using fresh leaves of the plant. In this research dyeing of indirubin formed as a precipitate was performed by the reduction method. As a result a variety of conditions to dye indirubin by reduction was clarified.

Free Research Field

染色学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

藍植物（タデアイ、リュウキュウアイ、インドアイなど）は、いずれも無色の物質であるインジカンが含まれており、葉の組織が破壊されることで分解と酸化が起こり、青色色素であるインジゴが生成するが、条件によってはインジゴの異性体であるインジルビンが生成する。藍染めにおいては、他の天然染料では染まらない青を染めることが重要であるが、代表的な染料植物である藍植物から、高貴な色とされる紫色を染色する様々な条件を確立することができれば、藍植物の利用価値が高まる。