Studies on Cytotoxic and Genotoxic potential of Ethanolic extract of Lawsonia inermis leaves

Abstract

Lawsonia inermis is widely known as henna and belongs to Lythraceae family. It contains various phytochemica constituents in every part of plant and shows various pharmacological properties. Secondary metabolites are acts as antioxidants and these are very high in this plant species. In this research studies, ethanolic extract of Lawsonia inermis was performed in the blood sample culture for cytotoxicity and genotoxicity effects. The both of the effects of plant extracts were evaluated through measurement of mitotic index (MI), sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) and cell proliferation kinetics (CPK). The blood sample culture was treated with control and various concentrations of extracts (500μg/ml and 1000μg/ml). The mean of MI, SCE and CPK for control were found to be 4.51, 5.19 and 0.52 respectively where as for 500μg/ml of Lawsonia inermis extracts are 4.33, 4.87 and 0.50 respectively and for 1000 μg/ml extracts are 4.18, 4.68 and 0.48 respectively. From the results, we can conclude that the MI and frequency of SCES of ethanolic plant extracts are remarkably similar to that of control which indicates that the Lawsonia inermis plant extracts have no substantial cytotoxicity and genotoxicity effects in cultured blood lymphocytes.

Lawsonia inermis Linn: A breakthrough in cosmeceuticals

“…Because naphthoquinone, glycosides are present in henna and effectively split off when applied to the skin with water, henna gives hair and skin color. No color is produced by isolated lawsone for the skin or hair (126).…”

“…Although shade drying can keep the leaf's green color, it is impractical for large-scale collection in December due to the low temperatures and rain. Maximum lawsone content (2.49%) is produced by using a herbal dryer for 3 hours at 50•C, whereas sun dry takes longer (72 hours) and produces minimum content (1.69%) (126). Therefore, simple, and inexpensive processing must be used to maintain post-harvest high quality and get excellent returns.…”