Tannin: Part of your World
Imagine a substance so special it can improve everything it comes into contact with, making it more functional and durable.
Imagine that it could be used in several processes and in completely different fields: from fashion to food, from beverages to cosmetics, to many industrial applications.
Imagine it as a “super-natural” product, or completely natural, extracted from plants with environmentally sustainable methods and featuring unique and extraordinary properties.
Imagine it being the heir to a long and suggestive tradition that goes back to Ancient History and that has remained almost unchanged over the centuries. Tannin is all this. And much more.
Completely Natural, Incredibly Effective
Tannin is a substance present inside the plants, which protects them from the attack of mold, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
Naturally present in fruits and vegetables, tannin has always been part of our diet. It has been produced from plants for thousands of years.
Moreover, it can be used effectively in various processes: from the production of food products to cosmetics, from the dyeing of fabrics to the vegetable tanning of leather.
Thanks to its unique characteristics, tannin is considered a “super-natural”, an adjective that identifies all those natural products that demonstrate particular efficacy and versatility of use and that today are rediscovered as a valid alternative to chemicals, respecting human health and the environment.
In addition, tannin is the heir of a noble tradition: it has silently worked at our side throughout all the History of Mankind, to this day. Like a longtime colleague.
After all, the word “tannin” comes from the verb “to tan”, related to leather manufacturing process. More than a scientific name, it looks like a nickname given to a friend.
Why is Tannin Important to You?
Tannin has many talents and they all find concrete applications in your daily life. Applications you do not even suspect. If you tour your house, room after room, you will meet tannin 10 times at least.
You can find it in various objects that you use daily: many are accessories in tanned leather, such as shoes, bags, belts and mobile covers.
There is more: tannin is an antioxidant and is naturally present in fruit, vegetables and some beverages (you may have heard of wine tannins or tea tannins).
It is also used in some industrial processes that lead to the creation of consumer products. For example, your smartphone, and even the pizza box that you brought home for dinner.
Tannin, Balancing the Skin Flora
Tannin is an effective weapon to fight against bacteria, as scientifically proven by the researches carried out by the University of Milan and Wellmicro laboratory (University of Bologna).
In nature, tannin protects the plants from the attacks of bacteria.
The plants, tannins and bacteria have evolved together throughout millions of years, creating a perfect balance of nature. A virtuous circle that also involves animals that feed on plants and humans.
Today this balance is often altered but the use of natural substances, like tannin, allows us to find it again.
Used since ancient times in the production of vegetable tanned leather, tannin is today a powerful ally in counteracting the activity of bacteria.
Think about all the objects you use daily and that can become real receptacles of bacteria: the cover of the smartphone, that you leave everywhere; the seats of cars, maybe rented or in car-sharing; the wallet, in which you insert coins and banknotes touched by so many hands.
Above all, your shoes, worn throughout the day during different activities: at work, in commissions, in housecleaning, during sports.
A Sustainable Product
Do you love strolling in the woods? Do you like growing vegetables or taking care of flowers or just lying on the lawn? If so, you have met tannin so many times. All branches, trunks, trees fruit, flowers and grass, contain tannin.
The most industrially used variety of tannin is extracted from the Chestnut and Quebracho wood, the Tara pods and tree growths called Galls.
But do not fear for the integrity of the forests: the production of tannin takes place according to rigorous criteria of eco-sustainability, in compliance with very strict regulations.
The responsible management of the woodland prevents them from being destroyed in order to leave room for intensive agriculture, protects biodiversity and reduces hydrogeological instability.
It also has positive repercussions on the local economy and prevents the abandonment of mountain villages and rural areas.
At this point, you will have many questions about tannin.
Here are some answers, which you can explore browsing through the pages of this site.
Where Can You Find Tannin?
When is Tannin Used?
How to Extract Tannin?
How Does Tannin Work?
Where you can find tannin?
You can find it in any plant, even if in different concentrations. The presence of tannin is due to natural evolution: it protects plants against the attack of bacteria, parasites and fungi.
When is tannin used?
It can be successfully used in leather tanning. Recent studies show that vegetable tanned leather is effective in the fight against bacteria and it’s more resistant, flexible, durable and stable over time. And there are many other surprising applications.
How to extract tannin?
Tannin is extracted with hot water and this process, which has remained substantially unchanged over the time, is ecological and sustainable: it does not require chemicals and it is fully respectful for the environment and those who inhabit it.
How does tannin work?
It binds to proteins, stabilizing them. A talent that makes tannin a good filtration agent for wine or beer, for example, and an excellent tanning agent for hides. But it has also antibacterial, astringent and antioxidant properties.
Discover the World of Tannin
Tannin is the secret ingredient that contributes to make your world special: it is in the wine you sip, in the fruit you eat, in the objects you use the most. It is a 100% natural substance, obtained by an environmentally sustainable extraction. Its use has been decisive for the history of mankind and today it finds new, surprising applications in different fields. Find out more.