Lac Dye

Lac dye, a water-soluble colourant, is typically red to burgundy in hue and is derived from a resin created by insects known as Kerria lacca and Laccifer lacca. This dye is utilised for colouring wool, silk, and even food. The term "lac" originates from the Sanskrit word "laksha," meaning "100,000," referring to the considerable number of insects required to produce the resin, dye, and related products. Historical evidence of lac dates back to the first millennium BCE in the Indian subcontinent. It's mentioned in ancient texts like the Atharvaveda, Astadhyayi of Panini, and the Mahabharata, where lac resin and ghee nearly prove fatal for the Pandavas.

Lac insects are parasitic to trees like the Indian jujube, kusum, and palash. They infest the trees by penetrating the bark and extracting nutrients. The insects' secreted resin can be processed into shellac, used for jewellery and wood finishing. Cultivation involves tying an infested branch to a tree, allowing the colony to spread. Lac is primarily cultivated in states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal, often by indigenous communities in forested regions.

The red colour of lac dye comes from laccaic acid found in the hemolymph of lac insects. The dye is extracted by separating the insects and resin, crushing them, and dissolving the mixture in an alkaline solution. After acidification and treatment with chalk, the resulting sediment crystallises and is strained. This form of lac dye is added to a hot dye bath along with a mordant and fabric, resulting in the dye adhering to the cloth.

Before synthetic dyes, lac dye was a primary product of Indian lac cultivation. It's still used on a small scale for handicraft textiles and as a natural food colourant.