Main constituents : condensed tannins (proanthocyanidols) and flavonols (quercetin).

Uses :
Pre-treatment of vegetable fibers : cutch extract is rich in condensed tannins that enhance the mordant fixation on cellulosic fibers. This tannin is dark and it is a good source for brown shades. It will bring a thorough basis colour to your textiles.

Natural dyeing and textile printing : this plant extract also allows to dye with or without mordant. There is enough tannin in cutch so mordanting with another tannin is not required. The resulting shades cover almost all the range of browns. Cutch has excellent light and washfastness properties.

Other uses : tannery, glues for wood works.

The plant :
Acacia catechu is a small thorny tree native from South Asia. It is grown in Indonesia, East Africa and in tropical America. It has been used for long times by the dyeing and tannery industries. The wood extract of this acacia tree is rich in tannin (until 60 %). The former “catechic tannins” class was named after the name of this species.

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