The henna plant, <i>Lawsonia inermis</i>, is commonly used as an organic dye to tint the skin and hair a reddish-brown color. Henna contains many constituents, where its main dying compound is a naphthoquinone called lawsone (2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone). Another component of henna dye is lawsoniaside, which is a naphthoquinone that resembles lawsone except for the addition of two glucose residues. This research aims to synthesize lawsoniaside and a family of related molecules that have different sugars. Since lawsoniaside has been reported to show pharmacological properties, testing of this family of compounds is a future direction.

Synthesis of a family of Lawsoniaside molecules

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