Constipation, hemorrhoids treated with TCM senna leaf

What is senna leaf (Fan Xie Ye)? Also known as Folium Sennae, it means the dried leaflets from Cassia angustifolia Vahl. or Cassia acutifolia Delile., plants in the family legume. The former is mainly produced in India, Egypt and Sudan, and that latter is mainly from Egypt and cultivated in some regions of China, such as Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan. It is usually harvested in September, dried and used raw.

Leaves of Cassia angustifolia Vahl. are ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate, 1.5 to 5cm long, 0.4 to 2cm wide, and with entire margin, abruptly pointed blade tip, and slightly asymmetrical leaf base. Up surface is yellow-green while lower surface is pale yellowish green, glabrous or nearly glabrous, and with slightly ridgy veins. It is leathery, slightly sticky, and with weak but peculiar odor and slightly bitter taste. Leaves of Cassia acutifolia Delile. are lanceolate or ovate, slightly curly, and with short-pointed or slightly convex blade tip, asymmetrical leaf base, and surface covered with short soft fuzz.

As for chemical constituents, C. angustifolia Vahl. mainly contains sennoside A, B, C, D, chrysophanol, emodin, physcion, 3-methyl-8-methoxy-2-acetyl-1, 6-naphthalenediol-6-O-β-D-glucoside (tinnevellin glucoside), and kaempferol in its lobules. C. acutifolia Delile. mainly contains sennoside A, B, C, D, chrysophanol, emodin, and physcion. Young leaf contains kaempferol. In addition, Cassia auriculata, the plant in the same genus, contain leucoanthocyanins in leaves and polyphenoloxidase in bark.

Senna leaf benefits
As one of the most important laxatives, the lapactic effect of senna leaf herb is pretty obvious, which is the main reason why nowadays this herb is widely used for colon cleansing and detox and a variety of conditions like Constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), bloating, Hemorrhoids, and so on. Actually a series of ready-made products, such as senna leaf tea, extract, powder, capsules, extract syrup, and concentrate, have been developed for easy consumption.