Dyed mulberry leaves change color

Silkworms eat mulberry leaves and release silk usually yellow. Want other colors must go through the dyeing stage that waste water into the environment is very toxic.

Therefore, Indian scientists have devised a new method of mixing dyes into mulberry leaves to feed silkworms, then it will produce silk with a predetermined color.

Researchers can mix or soak mulberry leaves in 7 types of azo dyes. It is a relatively safe chemical when used for dyeing on a family scale, or for use in food and textile technology. The mulberry leaves will be a food for silkworms with the scientific name Bombyx mori.

According to Gizmag magazine, this is not the first time silkworms produce colored silk after eating stained mulberry leaves, but the previous versions are not only less secure but too expensive to commercialize.