Lawsonia inermis L. (Henna) in Hadith perspective: applications in Malay ethnobotany and its antioxidant activity

Abstract

Henna, known since ancient years as a plant with multiple usage, has its benefits reported in the Hadith and Malay ethnobotany. Nevertheless, scientific research on henna's potential as an agent for wound healing is still limited Natural antioxidant compounds in plants are very crucial in wound healing process. Generally, an antioxidant functions to slow down skin inflammation and thus prevents the thromboplastin enzyme from being attacked by free radicals in the wound healing process of the human skin system. The objective of this research is to prove the existence of antioxidant compounds in henna extract. The research methodology is to test the antioxidant content in henna by comparing with standard antioxidant compounds, namely, quercetine and gallic acid, using the DPPH Test. The research results show the existence ofantioxidant compounds in henna, which function to assist the wound healing process naturally. Applying henna for wound healing was practised by Prophet Muhammad (PB1,7-1). This experimental finding is vey important for further experiments, such as test on toxicity levels and anti-inflammatory activity of henna extract in rat stomach (gastroprotective).