Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani
Sickle senna (Senna tora), of the Fabaceae (Caesalpiniaceae) family. Foetid annual herb with obovate leaflets and slender sickle-shaped pods; native range: tropical Asia, a common weed throughout India and China. Globally recognized as chakramarda in Sanskrit, panwar / chakvad in Hindi, jue ming zi (決明子) in Chinese, panwar in Arabic, and sickle senna, foetid cassia, sickle-pod in English. The part used is seed; leaf. Small, hard, rhomboid glossy seeds, faintly mucilaginous, roasting to a coffee-like aroma; the bruised leaf smells rank.
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.
SICKLE SENNA
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Sickle senna
- Scientific name
- Senna tora (L.) Roxb.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Caesalpiniaceae)
Form
- Part used
- seed; leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · bitter · salty
- Ayurveda
- dominant: pungent (katu) · bitter (tikta) · then: astringent (kashaya)
- Unani
- bitter
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
- Ayurveda
- heating (ushna)
- Unani
- hot & dry (2nd degree)
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Large Intestine · Kidney
- Unani
- liver · stomach · intestines
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears and calms the Liver, brightens the eyes, clears heat and moistens the intestines to move the bowel; lowers blood pressure
- Ayurveda
- kushthaghna (skin), krimighna, kaphaghna, kandughna (antipruritic), dipana; leaf mildly laxative
- Unani
- jali (detergent), muhallil (resolvent), daf-e-hikkah (antipruritic), mulaiyin (laxative)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- loose stool and low blood pressure; pregnancy in medicinal doses
- Toxicity
- large seed doses purge and gripe; the raw seed is faintly toxic and best roasted
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