Tanning agents

Substances which result in tanning (conversion of the hide removed from the animal into leather) of the hide. Tanning agents have their original meaning in the leather industry.

Basically one differentiates between the tanning agents:

• inorganic tanning agents (alum, chrome salts) and
• organic tanning agents.

Inorganic tanning agents, especially in the leather industry (tanning with chromium salts) do not play a major role in medicine.

Organic tanning agents can basically be divided into:

• vegetable tanning agents(to these belong also the tanning agent drugs, as medicinally used vegetable tanning agents)
• synthetic tanning agents, some of which have also been used medically for years.

Inorganic (mineral tanning agents) tanning agents have no medical significance. The importance and use of organic, mostly vegetable tanning agents in medicine is manifold.