Senna
Parts Usually Used
Leaves (dried)
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
American senna is a perennial plant that may reach a height of 4-6 feet. The stems are erect, round and slightly hairy, with even-pinnate leaves on long petioles. Note rounded gland at the base of the leaf stalk. Each leaf consists of 8-10 narrow, oblong, pointed leaflets. The yellow flowers with 5 somewhat unequal petals grow in clusters in the leaf axils and appear in June to September and are borne in racemes.
The flowers are followed by long brown hairless pods with many seeds. Seedpods with joints twice as wide as they are long. The flat seed pod is a legume, about 2-4 inches long. Other varieties of senna are: Alexandrian senna (C. acutifolia), used in Ayurvedic medicine (Sanskrit name: Rajavriksha) (Chinese name Fan-xia-ye); Tinnevelly senna (C. angustifolia); Purging senna (C. fistula).
All are regarded as cathartics.
Where Found
Found in rich soils of the eastern United States, in open woods and beside streams from Pennsylvania across to Iowa and south to Florida and Texas.
Medicinal Properties
Cathartic, diuretic, vermifuge, stimulant
Biochemical Information
Anthraquinones, flavones, tartaric acid, mucin, salts, essential oils, traces of tannin and resin.
Legends, Myths and Stories
Senna belongs to the sugar class of laxatives, its properties being due, for the most part, to the water-attracting properties of the sugar while in the intestinal canal. Senna sometimes causes griping effects. To modify this, combine Senna leaves with one of the aromatic herbs; ginger, anise, caraway, fennel or coriander. Senna is a small shrub in Egypt, Nubia and Arabia. It is believed the early Arabian and Greek physicians were first to use the leaves and pods of this plant as medicine.
The use spread with civilizations along the Mediterranean, through Europe and the rest of the world. ”
Uses
Herbalists historically employed senna as a laxative, though it was typically combined with other herbs to mitigate griping. Traditional practitioners also combined it with other botanicals with the intention of expelling intestinal worms. Additionally, historical accounts noted its application as a mouthwash for halitosis and an unpleasant taste in the mouth. Herbal traditions regarded the leaves as stronger in action, while the pods were viewed as milder, comparable to buckthorn or cascara, and senna as a whole was considered more irritating than rhubarb.
How Sold
Commercial senna comes from a related Arabian plant.
Warning
Without consultation with the doctor, take senna leaves and/or fruits for only a short time! Do not use this herb in cases of intestinal obstruction or inflammation of the stomach. It should not be administered for inflammatory conditions of the alimentary canal, fever, piles, menorrhagia, prolapse rectum, prolapse uterus or during pregnancy. Overdoses and frequent usage can cause laxative dependency as well as abdominal pains, nausea and vomiting.
Contraindicated in pregnancy.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr.
A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. , Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.
, Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992