HennaTattoos.com » Biochemistry http://www.hennatattoos.com The Informative & Interactive Henna Body Art Website. Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:51:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Lawsone ~ From Lawsonia Inermis (henna leaves) http://www.hennatattoos.com/articles/2007/05/29/lawsone/ http://www.hennatattoos.com/articles/2007/05/29/lawsone/#comments Tue, 29 May 2007 14:27:52 +0000 Aileen http://blog.hennatattoos.com/blog/2007/05/29/lawsone/ Molecular Illustration for Lawsone

Lawsone is the phytochemical constituent of henna leaves, (and hence henna powder) that is responsible for creating the henna stain. The higher the lawsone content of the henna leaves, the deeper the resulting stain produced by the henna powder will be. On average the laswone content of ‘good quality’ henna powder is somewhere between 1% and 2%. The higher the temperatures where the henna is cultivated is directly proportionate to the Lawsone content of the leaves. The higher the temperature, the higher the lawsone content percentage. This is why it is probably no surprise that the best quality henna powders come from some of the hottest regions of the world.

Chemical Formula: C10H6O3
Molecular Weight : 174.153g/mol
CAS Number: 83-72-7
EINECS Number:
201-496-3

Substance Name(s):

  • Lawsone
  • 2-Hydroxy-1,4-napthoquinone
  • 2-Hydroxy-1,4-naphthalenedione

For research purposes it is always worth including as many names and synonyms as possible. Although for the most part henna , lawsonia inermis and lawsone are used in key documentation; there are many older documents that reference the other substance names and/or synonyms. You may also want to research the many common names for henna too.

Substance Synonyms:

  • C.I. 75480
  • C.I. Natural Orange 6
  • 2-hydroxynapthoquinone
  • henna
  • Lawsone, sodium salt
  • lawsonin
  • NQ-2-OH
  • Sodium Lawsonate
]]> http://www.hennatattoos.com/articles/2007/05/29/lawsone/feed/ 0 The Chemical Constituents of Henna http://www.hennatattoos.com/articles/2007/05/27/the-chemical-constituents-of-henna/ http://www.hennatattoos.com/articles/2007/05/27/the-chemical-constituents-of-henna/#comments Sun, 27 May 2007 12:37:03 +0000 Aileen http://blog.hennatattoos.com/blog/2007/05/27/the-chemical-constituents-of-henna/ Henna Powder is quite simply, the finely ground dried leaves of the Henna Plant (Lawsonia Inermis L). The naturally occuring chemical constituents of henna powder are often referred to as ‘Biochemicals’ or ‘Phytochemicals’, because they occur naturally within plant matter. There are many phytochemicals in the henna plant, but for the purposes of henna body art we are primarily looking at ‘henna powder’ and so we are concerned only with the phytochemicals that exist in the henna leaves.

The Key Phytochemicals in Henna leaves are:

  • Sugars
  • Fraxetin
  • Tannin
  • Gallic Acid
  • Lawsone
  • Resin
  • Coumarins

    • is principaly responsible for the colourant property of the henna leaves. Though the tannin and the gallic acid seems to have a complimentary beneficial effect. Enriching your henna paste by adding extra tannin (from tea for example) or adding extra gallic acid (from cloves for example) will usually help to deepen the colour of your henna stain.

    Other Phytochemicals in Henna Leaves are:

    • 1,2-Dihydroxy-4-Glucosylnapthalene
    • 1,3-Dihydroxynaphthalene
    • 1,4-Diglucosyloxy-2-Hydroxynapthalene
    • 1,4-Naphthaquinone
    • 1,4-Naphthoquinone
    • 4-Glucosyloxy-1,2-Dihydroxynapthalene
    • Aesculetin
    • Beta-Sitosterol
    • Cosmosiin
    • Cynaroside
    • Daucosterol
    • Esculetin
    • Galactose
    • Glucose
    • Lacoumarin
    • Laloiside
    • Lawsoniaside
    • Luteolin
    • Luteolin-3′-Glucoside
    • Luteolin-3′-o-Beta-d-Glucoside
    • Luteolin-7-o-Glucoside
    • Mannitol
    • n-Triacontyl-n-Tridecanoate
    • Pentosans
    • Quinone
    • Scopoletin
    • Stigmasterol
    • Sucrose
    • Tiliani
    • Water
    • Xanthones
    • Xylose

     

    This list may be updated in the future as and when new glucosides and xanthones are identified.

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