Uses
Several of them and especially Indigofera tinctoria and Indigofera suffruticosa are used to produce the dye indigo. Colonial planters in the Caribbean grew indigo and transported its cultivation when they settled in the colony of South Carolina. Exports of the crop did not expand until the mid-to late 18th century. When Eliza Lucas Pinckney and enslaved Africans successfully cultivated new strains near Charleston it became the second most important cash crop in the colony (after rice) before the American Revolution. It comprised more than one-third the value of all exports.
The chemical aniline, from which many important dyes are derived, was first synthesized from I. suffruticosa (syn. I. anil, whence the name aniline).
Several species of this group are used to alleviate pain. The herbs are generally regarded as an analgesic with anti-inflammatory activity, rather than an anodyne. Indigofera articulata Gouan (Arabic Khedaish) was used for toothache, and Indigofera oblongifolia Forsskal (Arabic "Hasr") was used as an anti-inflammatory for insect stings, snakebites, and swellings.
Indigofera suffruticosa and Indigofera aspalthoides have also been used as anti-inflammatories. A patent was granted for use of Indigofera arrecta extract to relieve ulcer pain.
The Maasai people of Kenya use parts of Indigofera brevicalyx and I. swaziensis as toothbrushes.
In Indonesia, especially Sundanese ethnic traditionally use Indigofera tinctoria L called as "tarum" as dye for batik. The use of tarum had faded away since Dutch colonialism introduce artificial colour.
Read more about this topic: Indigofera