Myriad hues for festival of colours in a non-toxic way
The colours, extracted from indigenous plant species, were found to be a 100% safe alternative to chemicallaced pigments used during Holi; they were developed by a group of researchers at the Department of Chemistry of Nagaland University
Experiments at a chemical laboratory in Nagaland have yielded a new range of nontoxic colours made from indigenous plants, offering Holi revellers a safe alternative to chemicallaced pigments.
The “benign” powdered hues, made from edible items such as mustard leaves, coriander, spinach, beetroot, mulberry, turmeric, rose, hibiscus, carrot, and rhododendron, were developed by the Corrosion and Electrochemistry Research Group (CERG) of Nagaland University’s Department of Chemistry.
The ecofriendly colours can have several applications beyond the festival, and could potentially fuel smallscale industries in the geographically challenged State, the group’s researchers said.
“We started working on extracting the colours from indigenous plants in time for Holi to demonstrate their safety,” Ambrish Singh, who headed the project, told The Hindu. He said they studied the market and found there was enough space for natural colours as those available cause nausea, headache, itching, and skin irritation.
The research scholars at CERG – Therola Sangtam, Limasenla Longkumer, Vetezo
Venuh, Akhiu Y. Yimchunger, and Vilabeilie Rutsa – shortlisted the plants, fruits, and flowers for the team to work on.
Plant extracts
“The extracts were prepared and mixed slowly in several steps with starch and cornflour and then kept for drying at an optimum temperature. More extracts were added after the moisture evaporated and the mixture was ground thoroughly,” Prof. Singh said.
After removing any dust contamination, the powder was filtered several times to ensure that the particles were of the same size. The final product was tested and applied over the skin, the researchers said. The colours were found to be 100% safe.