ISSN 0975-413X CODEN (USA): PCHHAX

Abstract

Lawsonia alba (Henna) is widely used in folk medici ne for treatment of various skin diseases such as E czema (atopic dermatitis), boils and sores. The aim of th e present study is to determine the antioxidant act ivity, total phenolics and flavonoids content of extracts from t he seeds of Lawsonia alba grown in Algeria and sele cted from three different regions (Adrar, Biskra, and Ouargla ). Total phenolics content ranged from 70.64 ± 0.42 to 87.88 ± 0.15 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g dry weight, the flavonoids content varied from 0.847 ± 0.00 to 1.10 ± 0.006 mg quercetin equivalents (QE)/ g dry weight. The an tioxidant activities of the extracts were evaluated by DPPH and phosphomolybdenum assays. The results showed that a ll extracts from the seeds of Lawsonia alba seem to be good trappers of radicals, the IC50 values of the extrac ts ranged between 0.0084 and 0.0099 mg/mL. Total an tioxidant capacity of the extracts decreased in the following order: SEA >SEB> SEO.