Description

Alkanna tinctoria, true alkanet, is a perennial bristly herb of the family Boraginaceae, native to the rocky, dry calcareous hillsides of the Mediterranean basin from Spain and North Africa through Greece to Turkey. The thick, dark root yields a vivid red-purple dye — alkannin — an hydroxynaphthoquinone pigment that dissolves in oils and fats but not in water, making it particularly suited for colouring medicated oils and cosmetic preparations. In Unani medicine, Ratanjot root is documented in the Makhzan-ul-Adwiya as an ingredient in Roghan (oil) preparations for skin health and hair colouring applications. In Ayurvedic practice, the root is incorporated into medicated oil formulations for scalp health. It also has a culinary application as a natural red food colouring in traditional South Asian sweets and curries. Commercially imported into India from Turkey and the Mediterranean.