Indigenous dye plants of the Kingdom of Eswatini, traditional uses and new prospects

Abstract

Eswatini is rich with a diverse assortment of many indigenous plant species with great potential of economic importance. Natural dye producing plants are among those plants which remain in the wild unexploited, while synthetic dyes used in the textile industries are imported. The aim of this study was to investigate indigenous natural dye producing plants found in Eswatini with potential economic use in the handicraft and textile industries. Plant species were identified with potential to produce natural dyes of economic importance. Important species identified include Berchemia discolor, Syzigium cordatum, Kigelia africanum and Sclerocarya birrea. The species, local names, plant parts used and the color produced are presented. Dye extraction, characterization techniques and application technologies are discussed. Coincidentally many dye plants were found to have medicinal properties. This paper attempts to address the environmental concerns possibly arising from exploitation of dye plant species and presenting some recommendations on new prospects.

Berchemia Zeyheri (Sond.) Grubov: Medicinal Uses, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacological Properties

“…The bark and roots of B. zeyheri are used as lucky charm and protection against evil spirits [79,80] and as herbal medicine for anemia, backache, baby's navel problems, cough, dysentery, headache, rectal ulcers, stomach problems, tonic, and vomiting and ethnoveterinary medicine for infectious diseases in cattle (Table 1) [19,30,52,55,69,[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94]. In South Africa, the bark of B. zeyheri is mixed with that of Ozoroa paniculosa (Sond.)…”

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Potentials of Ficus glumosa and Its Bioactive Polyphenol Metabolites

“…Interestingly, the “swelling” trait of the latex makes it ideal as a potential disintegrant in tablet formulations [ 4 ]. Traditionally, figs and bark decoctions were used for the curing of rheumatoid arthritis, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, females sterility, and gingivitis [ 5 , 6 ], water retention, constipation, and liver complications [ 7 ]. The decoction from the leaves was orally administered for enhancement of weight loss, alleviate coughing, and helminths removal [ 8 ].…”

Effectiveness of Wattle Tree (Acacia Pynantha) Bio Mordant and Blackjack (Bidens Pilosa) Dye on Textiles

“…According to Masarirambi, Zwane, Surana, Kunene, Moyo et al (2019) The kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland) is rich in diverse color pigment producing indigenous plants. Plants are potential sources of dye because of their easy availability and abundance in nature and they are among the promising options for developing a greener textile industry [4]. One of the difficulties is, the dyes are mostly non-substantive and need to be applied on textile materials with the help of mordants.…”