Lawsone: Phenolic of henna and its potential use in protein-rich foods and staining

The leaves of Lawsonia inermis have been used since ancient times in the Indian Subcontinent for decorating and dyeing hands, soles, beard and hair and to impart beautiful shades of dark red color. An aqueous mixture is often used for medicinal purposes focusing various skin ailments. The lawsone, a brown color powder, was isolated from the leaves of L. inermis and was used as a staining agent for the resolved proteins in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). It exhibited an excellent affinity to bind with a majority of the known proteins such as albumin, blood serum protein, keratin and casein.