Natural dyes, which were pushed during the last sixty years into the background by synthetic dyes, are recently again becoming object of consumer interests. This is due to the awareness of possible risks during production of synthetic dyes which involve use of petrochemical based raw materials and the violent chemical reactions for their synthesis. The manufacture of such dyes is energy intensive with adverse impact on environment adding to its pollution. Many of these dyes, especially the azo- based ones, are found to be carcinogenic. In this background, a brief review of natural colourant from plant sources, their classification, chemical constituents responsible for producing different colours, its activities and effect of different mordants on the hue is discussed. Different classes of mordants employed for fixation of natural colouration on textiles substrated, its mechanism and plant sources are also discussed.
