New insights into the chemical composition and biological activities of Lawsonia inermis seeds and leaves: a comparative study

Abstract

of 80.1 µg/mL being obtained in the case of DPPH and ABTS respectively although the seeds registered a little lower value, indicating the abundance of phenolic compounds. In addition, seed and leaf extracts had good antimicrobial activities with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) that fell below 10 mg/mL against bacterial strains including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Correlation analysis suggested a strong relationship between phenolic content and antioxidant activity, although this analysis was conducted on a limited dataset. These results indicate that Moroccan L. inermis seeds and leaves have high concentrations of bioactive compounds. They also highlight the potential of henna seeds as a novel source of bioactive ingredients for cosmetics or pharmacy products and have a good potential of natural therapeutic and cosmetic use.