Senna (Cassia angustifolia)

Senna (Cassia angustifolia)

Updated 5 January 2024

Other botanical names

  • Senna alexandrina

Common names

  • Tinnevelly Senna

Common origins

  • Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, widely grown in India (Madras) and Pakistan

Botanical classification

  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Division: Magnoliophyta 
  • Class: Magnoliopsida
  • Order: Fabales
  • Family: Fabaceae 
  • Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae 
  • Genus: Cassia (or Senna)

Components

  • Anthracenosides (2 to 5%): dianthronic heterosides (sennosides A to F), anthraquinonic heterosides (mono- and diglucosides of aloe emodol and rhein).
  • Flavonoids: kaempferol derivatives
  • Acidic mucilages (2 to 3%)
  • Resins
  • Essential oil (0.05%)

The fruit (pericarp) has a milder, less irritating effect due to the greater presence of heterosides and mucilages and less aloe emodol resins or glucosides, which are responsible for intestinal irritation.

Parts used

  • Dried leaves, fruit pericarp (seeds are considered irritants), previously dried

Organoleptic properties

  • Odour: fine, characteristic odour, reminiscent of tobacco 
  • Taste: slightly sweet leaves

Properties

  • Powerful stimulant laxative 
  • Cholagogue
  • Diuretic

Indications 

  • Occasional constipation in adults
    • Therapy duration maximum 10 days
  • Intestinal cleansing (for medical examinations)
  • Haemorrhoids (sene promotes soft stools)
    • Attention, before using sene for haemorrhoids, ask your doctor or specialist for advice, who will indicate or not the use of this plant.

Precautions / Contraindications

  • For occasional use only, do not use for more than 3 days (up to a maximum of 10 days) due to the risk of reactive colitis with diarrhoea, abdominal pain and hypokalemia ('laxative sickness'), which may become 'addictive' in certain cases of psychological fragility.
  • Do not use in children under 12 years of age, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or in cases of intestinal obstruction or chronic irritation of the colon, unexplained abdominal pain, dehydration or heart problems.
  • Do not use if you are taking medication for heart problems or kidney failure (digitalis, diuretics, corticosteroids, etc.) as the effects tend to be increased.
  • Senna should not be taken at the same time as other herbs with laxative properties, such as aloe, Chinese rhubarb, cascara, boldo or borage.

How to use / Current dose

  • As infusion: macerate cold for 12 hours, 5 to 20 g per litre.
  • Capsules: 30 mg per day.
  • Mother tincture

To find out more

There are several related species of senna with similar medicinal uses in different countries (Cassia senna, C. acutifolia, C. italica, etc.). France imports several tonnes per year, mainly from India and Sudan. A few plants are cultivated in Europe, particularly in the south of France, but Provençal senna or false senna is only called this by analogy with its medicinal properties as a laxative.
Senna acts more than 2 hours after ingestion, when the anthracenosides are hydrolysed in the colon. The active anthrones stimulate colonic motility by acting directly on the epithelial cells, which reduce sodium absorption and excrete potassium and water. This speeds up intestinal transit, reduces fluid absorption and increases mineral excretion.


Additional information

Habitat and botanical description

Senna is a 1 to 2 m tall shrub with a strong, sometimes bushy root system, found in sub-desert areas of Africa (as Cassia senna or Alexandria senna) and Asia (as Cassia angustifolia). The stems are woody. The leaves are alternate, compound and paripinnate. The leaflets are slightly asymmetrical (5 cm long and 2 cm wide), oval to lanceolate, greenish-yellow and slightly hairy. The numerous yellow zygomorphic flowers (3 cm) are grouped in axillary racemes. The fruits are flat, kidney-shaped follicles, greenish when fresh before turning brown, opening into 2 valves and containing 5 to 10 seeds.

Mythology / History / Anecdotes and traditional virtues

​"Senna" comes from the Arabic "senâ", which means "shrub with laxative properties".
Its use is mentioned in Chinese writings around 3000 BC. The Arabs and later Greek physicians preferred to use the fruit (pods) rather than the leaves, which they considered more effective. In Egypt it was used in enemas with aloe vera. It was said to dispel bad moods, make people laugh and purify the blood. As a hot, dry herb, senna is effective against diseases of the phlegmatic (lymphatic) temperament, such as melancholy and epilepsy.
According to traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine, it combats liver diseases (anaemia, liver disorders, jaundice, typhoid fever).
Its well-known action as a powerful laxative has survived the centuries and it is still widely used today in many pharmaceutical preparations.