Kamala

Description

A natural orange dye obtained from the seeds of the Asian lotus tree Mallotus philippinensis. The primary red coloring agent in kamala is rottlerin along with small amounts of isoallorottlerin, flavonoids, resins, and wax. The pale orange color is extracted from the hairs and glands covering the seed capsule. Kamala has been used historically as a traditional orange-red dye for silk and wool. It produces bright flame-orange to tangerine shades, requiring an alkaline bath for solubility. More recently, it has been used as a natural, biodegradable sensitizer in solar cells due to its high electron injection efficiency.

Synonyms and Related Terms

kamila; kameela; kamela; spoonwood; Natural Yellow 25; CI 75310; Natural Orange 2; rottlerin

Physical and Chemical Properties

• CAS = 82-08-6 (rottlerin)
• Composition = C30H28O8
• Molecular weight = 516.55 g/mol

Resources and Citations

• Helmut Schweppe, Schweppe color collection index and information book
• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: emtry 5292
• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
• Colour Index International online at www.colour-index.org
• Wikipedia: Rottlerin Accessed April 2026