Extraction of Natural Dyes from African Marigold Flower (tagetes Ereecta L) for Textile Coloration

African marigold [Tagetes erecta L.], a major source of carotenoids and Lutin, is grown as a cut flower and a garden flower, in addition to being grown for its medicinal values. Marigold flowers [Tagetes ], which are yellow to orange red in colour, are a rich source of lutein, a carotenoid pigment. Nowadays, Lutein is becoming an increasingly popular active ingredient used in the Food Industry and Textile coloration [3].This pigment has acquired greater significance because of its excellent colour value. Although marigold flower extract has been used in veterinary feeds, the potential use of marigold as a natural textile colorant has not been exploited to its full extent. This is due to the lack of information on its safety, stability, and compatibility in textile coloration. In this study, an experiment was conducted to study the use of an extract isolated from marigold as a natural dye. The dye potential of the extract was evaluated by dyeing [6], using the flower, in 100 % cotton and silk fabrics under normal dyeing conditions. Studies of the dyeability, wash fastness, light fastness, and colour hue were undertaken [8,9,10]. The, L,a and 'b' of materials dyed using the extract were studied with the use of Computer Colour Matching software [9,10]. The surface colour was not affected by washing, and the quality of the flower was maintained even washing at 60o C for 30 minutes. Studies have indicated that the change of some of the colors have been noticed after washing with soap [8]. Most of the metal salts exhibited the highest K/S values, due to their ability to form coordination complexes with the dye molecules [1,2]. These findings reveal that the extract of Marigold flower can be used for coloration of !00 % cotton, silk, and wool fabrics. This article deals with the chemistry, processing, and stability of the pigment and its applications in textile coloration.