Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani
Senna (Senna alexandrina), of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family. Low branching desert shrub with pinnate leaves and flat papery pods; native range: the Nile valley, Nubia and the Arabian peninsula; cultivated in the Tinnevelly district of south India. Globally recognized as svarnapatri / markandika in Sanskrit, sanay / hindi-sana in Hindi, fan xie ye (番泻叶) in Chinese, sana makki (سنا مكي) in Arabic, and Alexandrian senna, Tinnevelly senna, cassia senna in English. The part used is leaflets (folium) and dried pods (fructus). Pale grey-green brittle leaflets, faintly of hay and mustiness, with a mucilaginous then nauseous-bitter taste that lingers at the back of the throat.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
SENNA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Senna
- Scientific name
- Senna alexandrina Mill.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Form
- Part used
- leaflets (folium) and dried pods (fructus)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · bitter
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · pungent (katu)
- Western
- bitter · mucilaginous
- Unani
- bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- cold
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Western
- warm
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Large Intestine
- Western
- bowels · intestines · liver · digestion
- Unani
- intestines · stomach · liver
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- drains downward and unblocks the bowels, guides out accumulation and drains heat
- Ayurveda
- virechana (purgative), bhedana (cathartic), kapha-pitta-hara, krimighna (anthelmintic)
- Western
- laxative, cathartic, purgative (stimulant of the colon)
- Unani
- mus-hil (purgative), especially mus-hil-e-safra-o-balgham — purges bile and phlegm
Cautions
Contraindications: intestinal obstruction or stenosis, acute inflammatory bowel disease, appendicitis, undiagnosed abdominal pain; pregnancy, lactation and young children; not for more than a week or two of continuous use
Toxicity: griping and colicky pain; chronic overuse brings potassium loss, fluid and electrolyte depletion, dependence, an atonic 'cathartic colon' and reversible melanosis coli
Interactions
- Western
- cardiac glycosides: chronic use depletes potassium; the resulting hypokalaemia potentiates digitalis toxicity · diuretics: additive potassium and fluid loss with thiazide and loop diuretics
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