Extraction of natural dye from red spinach (Amaranthus Dubius): article

The revival of manufacturing natural dye has been one of the options to counteract pollution caused by synthetic dye. The research was conducted to extract natural dye from red spinach (Red amaranth). Component responsible for the red coloring in the red spinach is betacyanin. Solvent extraction method using ethanol was used to extract the natural dye. Ratios of 30:70, 40:60 and 50:50 of ethanol water was prepared as the solvent medium. The extracted dye was used to dye a white cotton fabric for fastness test. Fastness test was conducted to evaluate the capability of the dye to stick to the fabric without running off or fading. Three fastness test was performed which includes light, wash and rub. Three different shades of red were produced from the three different ratios. The darkest red shade was obtained from 50:50 ratio and the lightest red shade was obtained from 30:70 ratio. As for the fastness test, light and rub test showed good fastness whereas washing showed medium to poor fastness.