Products in Food, Drug & Cosmetic Dyes: Beige

Couleurs de Plantes Tara is a coloring substance that was already known by pre-Columbian civilizations. The first Spanish missionaries quote the black ink named nacazcolotl. Tara pods have been used extensively for leather tanning and black ink manufacturing. It was a species widely exported to Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The pods are very rich in hydrolysable tannins (gallic and ellagic). The pods are cropped in Central America, dried and crushed.

Couleurs de Plantes Cutch Tree is exported from the middle ages from India to China and Japan, then to Europe under the name of “terra japonica.” The Cutch tree was used for dyeing textile fibbers exposed to weather: fishing nets, boat sails, tarpaulins, tents, and also for leather. Cutch tree contains 55 to 60% of cutch tannins (hence its name), catechins, epicatechins, gallocatechins, epigallocatechins, etc. it also contains flavonols principally quercetin.

Couleurs de Plantes Chestnut, although fairly recent used (1819-1820) are the basis of a very important industry in the tanning of hides. It was widely used in the 19th century to dye black liners cloth. The major producers of wood and chestnut tannins were France, Italy and the United States.