Botanical Name: Cassia Augustifolia
Family Name: Caesalpinaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Sub-family: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Cassieae
Genus: Cassia
Species: Angustifolia
Popular Names: Tinnervelly Senna, Cassia Senna, Locust Plant, Rajavriksha, Fan xia ye
Parts Used: Pods, stems, leaves
Habitat: Cultivated in the dry lands of Southern and Western India, and indigenous to Arabia.
Description
A small erect shrub, Indian senna attains a height of about 2 to 3 feet. Its stem is pale green, smooth and erect. The spread-out branches possess around 4 to 5 pairs of leaves. These leaves are pale yellowish-green in colour, elongated spear-shaped with pointed apex, about 1-to 2-inch in length and about 0.2-to 0.3-inch in breadth. The plantar surface is shiny green and dorsal surface is yellowish green. The plant has small yellow flowers. The brown pod contains 5 to 7 seeds that are dark brown in colour. Indian senna is native to India, Arab and tropical African countries. It is cultivated in India, Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan. In India, it is found throughout the year in South, mainly the districts of Tinnevelly, Madurai, Tiruchirapally and Mysore. It is commonly known as Indian senna in English, Sanaya and Hindisana in Hindi, Swarn Patri in Sanskrit, Nat ki Sana and Sonamukhi in Gujarati, Nilavaka and Chinnukki in Malayalam, Nelavrika and Sonamukhi in Kannada and Nilapponnai in Tamil.
Plant Chemicals
(+)- flavenol (isorhamnetin, kaempfeol), anrathquinone (rhein, emodin), sennoside A, sennoside B, menitol, sodium potassium tartarte, salisilic acid, crisophenic acid, volatile oils, resins, calcium oxalate.
Uses and Benefits of Indian Senna
- Indian senna decreases pitta and allows the free movement of vata in the body.
- The herb stimulates liver for the proper secretion of enzymes in the body.
- It helps lower bowels and increase the peristaltic movement of the intestines.
- Indian senna purifies blood and restores the metabolic imbalance lost due to indigestion.
- The powder made from crushing leaves and fruit is helpful in treating constipation and indigestion.
- It is useful in relieving people from the condition of osteoarthritis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis.
- The herb is used as an expectorant, wound dresser, anti-dysentric, carminative and laxative.
- Indian senna is handy in treating loss of appetite, hepatomegaly, spleenomegaly, malaria, skin diseases, jaundice and anaemia.
- The herb has purgative, anthchiintic, antipyretic, cathartic, laxative, vermifuge and diuretic properties.
Cautions
- The laxatives that contain high dose of Indian senna can result in abdominal cramping and diarrhoea.
- When Indian senna is consumed in high doses, the anthraquinones present in it may change the colour of urine to red, pink or brown.
- Prolonged use of Indian senna leaves can reduce the potassium levels in the body that can lead to muscle weakness and dangerous changes in heart rhythm.
- The leaves, when taken for a long period of time, can result in aching joints, weakened bones or muscles, weight loss and decreased appetite.
- Consuming the herb on a regular basis can cause clubbing at the ends of the fingers.
