![Kerria-lacca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Kerria-lacca.jpg)
Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of
lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is ''
Kerria lacca
''Kerria lacca'' is a species of insect in the family Kerriidae, the lac insects. These are in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. This species is perhaps the most commercially important lac insect, being a main source of lac, a resin w ...
''.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infested.
Thousands of lac insects colonize the branches of the host trees and secrete the resinous pigment. The coated branches of the host trees are cut and harvested as sticklac.
The harvested sticklac is crushed and sieved to remove impurities. The sieved material is then repeatedly washed to remove insect parts and other material. The resulting product is known as seedlac. The prefix ''seed'' refers to its pellet shape. Seedlac, which still contains 3–5% impurity, is processed into
shellac
Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...
by heat treatment or
solvent extraction
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
.
The leading producer of lac is
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
, followed by the
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, and
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
states of India. Lac production is also found in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, parts of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Etymology
The word ''Lac'' is derived from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word
''lāksh''ā' (लाक्षा) representing the number 100 thousand, which was used for both the Lac insect (because of their enormous number) and the scarlet resinous secretion it produces that was used as wood finish, lacquerware, skin cosmetic, ornaments and dye for wool and silk in ancient India and neighbouring areas.
Lac resin was once imported in sizeable quantity into Europe from India along with Eastern woods. These are being used very widely nowadays.
Host trees
![Pongamia pinnata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Pongamia_pinnata.jpg)
''Kerria lacca'' can be cultivated on either cultivated or wild host plants.
* In India the most common host plants are:
** Dhak (''
Butea monosperma
''Butea monosperma'' is a species of '' Butea'' native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of the South Asia and Southeast Asia, ranging across
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysi ...
'')
** Ber (''
Ziziphus mauritiana
''Ziziphus mauritiana'', also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber, and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Chinese jujube (' ...
'')
** Kusum (''
Schleichera oleosa
''Schleichera'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There is only one species, ''Schleichera oleosa'', a tree that occurs in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Species
''Schleichera oleosa'', kusum tre ...
'') (reported to give the best quality and yield)
[Iwasa, S, 1997. Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken. In Faridah Hanum, I. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (Eds.): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 11. Auxiliary Plants. Prosea Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. pp. 227-229.]
* In Thailand the most common host plants are
** Rain tree (''
Albizia saman
''Samanea saman'', also sometimes known as the rain tree, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, ...
'')
** Pigeon pea (''
Cajanus cajan
The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeast ...
'')
* In China the common host plants include
** Pigeon pea (''
Cajanus cajan
The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeast ...
'')
**
Hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...
species
* In Mexico
** Barbados nut (''
Jatropha curcas
''Jatropha curcas'' is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to the American tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America. It is originally native to the tropical areas of the Americas from Mexico to ...
'')
Estimated yields per tree in India are 6–10 kg for
kusum
''Schleichera'' is a monotypic genus of plants in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. There is only one species, ''Schleichera oleosa'', a tree that occurs in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Species
''Schleichera oleosa'', kusum tre ...
, 1.5–6 kg for
ber
''Ziziphus mauritiana'', also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber, and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related jujube, Chinese j ...
, and 1–4 kg for
dhak.
The bugs' life cycles can produce two sticklac yields per year, though it may be better to rest for six months to let the host tree recover.
Harvesting
Lac is harvested by cutting the tree branches that hold sticklac. If dye is being produced, the insects are kept in the sticklac because the dye colour comes from the insects rather than their resin. They may be killed by exposure to the sun. On the other hand, if seedlac or shellac is being produced, most insects can escape because less coloured pale lac is generally more desired.
Uses
![Laksha - ලාක්ෂා - Lacquerware](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Laksha_-_%E0%B6%BD%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A%E0%B7%82%E0%B7%8F_-_Lacquerware.jpg)
The use of lac
dye
A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...
goes back to ancient times. It was used in ancient India and neighbouring areas as wood finish, lacquareware, skin cosmetic, lacquerware and dye for wool and silk.
In China, it is a traditional dye for leather goods. Lac for dye has been somewhat replaced by the emergence of synthetic dyes,
though it remains in use, and some juices, carbonated drinks, wine, jam, sauce, and candy are coloured using it.
It is still used as
sealing wax
Sealing wax is a wax material of a seal which, after melting, hardens quickly (to paper, parchment, ribbons and wire, and other material) forming a bond that is difficult to separate without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to verify something su ...
by the
India Post
India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...
.
["The art of sealing."]
/ref>
Lac is used in folk medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
as a hepatoprotective
Hepatoprotection or antihepatotoxicity is the ability of a chemical substance to prevent damage to the liver. This is opposite to hepatotoxicity.
Hepatoprotective molecules used in emergency medicine
* Acetylcysteine is considered the hepatopro ...
and anti-obesity drug
Anti-obesity medication or weight loss medications are pharmacological agents that reduce or control weight. These medications alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by altering either appetite, or absorpt ...
. It is used in violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
and other varnish
Varnish is a clear transparent hard protective coating or film. It is not a stain. It usually has a yellowish shade from the manufacturing process and materials used, but it may also be pigmented as desired, and is sold commercially in various ...
and is soluble in alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
. This type of lac was used in the finishing of 18th-century fowling guns in the United States.
Production levels
India exported significant amounts of sticklac derivatives, especially lac dye, from the 1700s to the late 1800s. Production declined as synthetic dyes emerged, and after the late 1940s, production of seedlac and shellac also declined due to replacement.
In the mid-1950s, India annually produced about 50,000 tons of sticklac and exported about 29,000 tons of lac; by the late 1980s the figures were about 12,000 tons and 7,000 tons, respectively. By 1992–93, India's lac exports fell further to 4,500 tons. In the same period, Thailand's production increased somewhat, with annual lac exports of around 7,000 tons in the 1990s, mainly of seedlac. China exported only about 500 tons of shellac per year in the 1990s but produced more lac internally: 4,000-5,000 tons of sticklac and 2,000–3,000 tons of shellac in Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
province, with additional, smaller production in Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
province. While India, Thailand, and China are the major lac producers, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka also play small roles.
Description in ancient texts
Usage of ''lac''/''lah''/''laksha'' is described in ancient Hindu literature Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
also. Kand 5 and Sukta 5 (chapter 5, verse 5) is called as Laksha Sukti - verse related to lac. This entire verse is dedicated to lac and its usage. It has description of many ancient practices.
The Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
mentions the Lakshagriha
Lakshagriha ( sa, लाक्षागृहम्, )) (The House of Lacquer) is a place mentioned in the ''Mahabharata'', one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana. This place is located on the bank of ...
, which was built by the Kaurava
''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...
s to house the Pandava
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...
s. The intention of Kauravan was to burn the Pandavas by setting fire to the Lakshagriha.
Species
*''Kerria lacca
''Kerria lacca'' is a species of insect in the family Kerriidae, the lac insects. These are in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. This species is perhaps the most commercially important lac insect, being a main source of lac, a resin w ...
'' – the true lac scale
*''Paratachardina decorella
''Paratachardina decorella'', the rosette lac scale, is a scale insect in the Kerriidae
''Kerriidae'' is a family of scale insects, commonly known as lac insects or lac scales. Some members of the genera ''Metatachardia'', ''Tachardiella'', '' ...
'' – the rosette lac scale
*''Paratachardina pseudolobata
''Paratachardina pseudolobata'', the lobate lac scale, is a polyphagous and pestiferous lac scale insect, which damages trees and woody shrubs in Cuba, Florida, the Bahamas and the Australian territory of Christmas Island. It was mistakenly iden ...
'' – the lobate lac scale
*''Kerria javana Kerria may refer to:
* ''Kerria'', a genus of flowering plants including only one species: ''Kerria japonica
''Kerria japonica'', commonly known as Japanese kerria or Japanese rose, is a deciduous, yellow-flowering shrub in the rose family ( R ...
''
See also
* Carmine
Carmine ()also called cochineal (when it is extracted from the cochineal insect), cochineal extract, crimson lake, or carmine lake is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium complex derived from carminic acid. Specific code n ...
(E120) – Another pigment extracted from an insect.
* Lacquer
Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity.
Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...
– A product that was at one time made from lac, but in modern common usage now refers to a separate product with similar properties.
* Lake pigment
A lake pigment is a pigment made by precipitating a dye with an inert binder, or mordant, usually a metallic salt. Unlike vermilion, ultramarine, and other pigments made from ground minerals, lake pigments are organic.K. Hunger. W. Herbst "Pigm ...
* Shellac
Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...
– A protective coating made from lac.
References
External links
*
Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums - IINRG, formerly Indian Lac Research Institute - ILRI
{{Insects in culture
Insect products
Animal dyes
Resins
Kerriidae