Lawsonia inermis (L.): A Perspective on Anticancer potential of Mehndi/Henna

Incidence of cancer is growing swiftly worldwide and sparse supply of anticancer drugs; unaffordable cost and its lethal effect have shown the way to adopt complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment and/or prevention of cancer. The isolation of anti-cancer alkaloids vinblastine, vincristine and podophyllotoxins during 1950s prompts research on anticancer agents from plant origins. Lawsonia inermis (L.) popularly known as Mehndi or Henna, is a cosmetically renowned plant of the oriental region possesses diverse pharmacological activity including anti-carcinogenic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, hepatoprotective, anti-tuberculostatic. In search of new anticancer drugs from natural sources many researchers have reported anticancer and chemopreventive properties of Henna extracts/compounds in their pre-clinical studies. Lawsone, one of the major constituent of henna, is used as a starting material in the synthesis of a variety of clinically valuable anticancer drugs such as atovaquone, lapachol and dichloroallyl lawsone. This plant contain other chemicals such as isoplumbagin, apigenin, apigenin glycosides, luteolin, luteolin-7 glucosides, p-coumarin and lupeol among which many are reported for their cytotoxicity and chemopreventive activity against different type of cancer cell. Here in this review, we are reporting a palingenesis of information regarding anticancer potential of Mehndi/Henna. We have included maximum available information from its in vitro and in vivo studies by referring different websites, text books, notes, and articles, abstract, summary and consulting worldwide accepted scientific databases. The present review recapitulates some important findings on the anticancer potential of Mehndi/Henna and to a great extent more work has to be undertaken to explore its novel target (s). Future investigation on novel molecules from Mehndi/Henna may offer great hope for discovering new cancer chemotherapeutic and/or chemopreventive agents from this miraculous plant.