Antimicrobial properties of Lawsonia inermis : a review

Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism, Fall, 2007 by O.A. Habbal, A.A. Al-Jabri, A.G. El-Hag

The drug had a mean initial plasma half life of 48.9 /- 19 min and a terminal half life of 20.3 /- 1.8 hr, with a CXt of 50.1 /- 12 mg/L/hr and a clearance rate of 0.08 ml/kg/min. This data suggests that in clinical trials the DCL dose given by rapid intravenous infusion should not exceed 450 mg/m2 so that the maximal plasma drug concentration remains below 130 mg/L.

Dichloroallyl lawsone was found to be a potent inhibitor of nucleotide biosynthesis with consequent anticancer activity against certain experimental tumours (Kempt 1986). Biosynthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides is essential to sustain the rapid growth of cancer cells. DCL inhibition of pyrimidine biosynthesis in leukemia cells was reported as 25 [micro]g of dichloroallyl lawsone caused the arrested growth of L1210 cells (Kempt 1986).

A number of synthetic derivatives of lapachol, such as monoarylimines quinones derived from [beta]lapachone showed cytotoxicity against human cancer cells (Balassiano 2005). Naphthoquinones related to lapachol 2 have been shown to exhibit notable cancer preventive potential (Girard 1987, Balassiano 2005). Furthermore various amine derivatives have been shown to interact with DNA (Cunha 2006).

With the wide usage of henna painting for body adornment and hair dyeing, there are reports of allergic reactions to some contaminants of the commercially available natural henna powder (Nawaf 2003) including acute allergic contact dermatitis and acute hemolytic effects that were reported in a G6PD-deficient patient (Soker 2000) and newborns (Kandil 1996).

In addition our laboratory has demonstrated that henna extract could be used in histological preparations as a naturally occurring stain (Al-Abri unpublished).

Conclusion

Henna has a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity including antibacterial, antiviral, antimycotic and antiparasitic activities. With the ever increasing resistant strains of microorganisms to the already available and synthesised antibiotics, the naturally available Laswonia inermis (henna) could be a potential alternative.

References

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