Dyeing and tanning materials, fragrances, gums, resins and waxes.

From time immemorial vegetable dyes have been used to colour textiles (Dyes and tannins 4) and foods.
They were used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Of historical importance are woad, Isatis tinctoria, (Family Cruciferae = Brassicaceae), the imperial blue dye for Europe until it lost its meaning in the 17th century; indigo, Indigofera tinctoria, (Family Leguminosae), which is still in use in India and Africa. In former days it was considered as an ideal dye because of its deep blue colour; madder or Turkey red, Rubia tinctorum, (Family Rubiaceae or Bedstraw family) (Dyes and tannins 5), from which roots a red dye was prepared; and weld, Reseda lutea, (Family Resedaceae or Reseda family)(Dyes and tannins 6), long in use as a supplier of a yellow dye. As these vegetable pigments easily bleach in (sun)light, nowadays the vegetable dyes are mostly replaced by synthetic ones.

A cosmetic dye is henna, Lawsonia inermis, (Family Lythraceae or Purple-loosestriffe family), still in use in the Middle East to decorate hands, nails, faces and other parts of the body and to paint hair.

Dyes which are still used today are:
- safflower, Carthamus tinctorius (C. tinctorius 1), and saffran, Crocus sativus (Dyes and tannins 1), for colouring foodstuffs like rice;
- turmeric, Curcuma domestica, for colouring curries, pasta’s and textile fibres;
- annatto, Bixa orellana, for colouring cheese, butter and margarine;
- liquorice, Glycyrrhiza glabra, for colouring candies, tobacco and beer;
- hop, Humulus lupulus, for the colouring and flavouring of beer;
- logwood, Haematoxylon campechianum (see Tamarindus indica) (H. campechianum 1), supplies haematoxylin that is used for dyeing textiles and histological materials.

Fragrances like vanillin from vanilla, Vanilla fragrans; and cumarine from Tonka beans Dipteryx odorata (see Derris elliptica), are released after fermentation and processing, and are used as flavourings in candies, drinks, ice-cream, soap and perfumes. The essential principle of fragrances are essential oils (see there). Many of them also occur in kitchen herbs (see there).

Tannins are used for tanning leather, the process of converting animal skins into leather (Dyes and tannins 2, Dyes and tannins 3). Tannins of economical importance are derived from the bark of a few plant species, like the black wattle, Acacia mearnsi (see Tamarindus indica). Formerly oak bark was used for tanning.

Gums are in water dissolvable secretions of plants, mainly consisting of carbohydrates. They occur in trade as dried products and are used as coagulating and thickening agents and in sweets. Well known is the gum arabic, Acacia senegal (see Tamarindus indica).

Resins are colloids, but unlike gums, they do not dissolve in water. They are a complex group of substances usually originating as exudates from wounds of certain plants. The resins of commerce are solutions of resins in the essential oils from which most of them originate. They are, (dissolved in line oil) used in varnishes, e.g. mastic from the mastic tree, Pistacia lentiscus (see Pistacia vera) used for paper sizing, textile stiffening, perfumery and in medicine. The family Leguminosae yield copal resins, and the family Dipterocarpaceae dammar resins, used in paints, varnishes, ink, sizing and plastics..

Waxes, like fats, are esters, but glycerol is replaced by wax alcohols. Their use includes sealing wax, waxed paper, candles and cosmetics. Waxes occur in a thin layer on the surface of leaves, fruits and stems of plants. Well known is carnauba wax from the carnauba wax palm, Copernicia cerifera.