Since ancient times, people have been aware of the beneficial properties of senna leaf. This plant is often called the Alexandrian leaf, holly hay, narrow-leaved cassia. Senna belongs to the legume family. This is a wild tropical plant, blooming with light yellow flowers and lanceolate leaves, which have medicinal properties. Senna leaf is collected in Arabia, Asia, India, in Russia, in some countries of Europe, where the plant is found.
In medicine, only the leaves of the plant are used. They have many useful organic acids, alkaloids, flavonoids, resins and glycosides, as well as other elements. The antraglycosides that make up the senna leaf have a laxative effect, which is why decoctions and infusions are recommended as a laxative.
Now pharmacological companies produce a variety of drugs based on senna. The main active ingredient in them are sennosides B and A. In pharmacies you can buy lozenges, tablets, plant materials, granules. All these drugs are aimed at eliminating constipation and normalizing bowel function.
Plant description
Senna is a shrub up to a meter high. Lower branches creep on the ground. The plant has been growing for several years. Leaflets are arranged sequentially, on a common petiole without apical plate. On each leaf there are up to eight pairs of elongated leaflets with whole edges; at the base they are not isoscephalic.
The plant blooms with yellow flowers, which have five sepals and are collected in simple inflorescences in the sinus in the form of a brush. After the petals fall, the beans ripen. They are flat in shape, have a leathery finish with an olive tint. A shrub has been blooming since mid-summer. Seeds ripen in early September.
Chemical composition
The plant contains the following components:
- Tanning elements. Basically, this substance contains glucoaloe-emodin, glucorein, rhein, chrysofanol.
- Flavonoids. Senna contains isoramnitene and kempferol.
- Organic acids. The raw materials include linoleic, hexadecanoic, salicylic, octadecanoic acid.
- Sterols
- Resins
- Mucous substances.
- Alkaloid residues.
Anthracene derivatives are contained in a minimal amount in the wooden part, about five percent in the pericarp and about four percent in the leaves.
Pharmacological characteristics
Senna leaf is a unique laxative of plant origin. The constituent substances mechanically irritate the receptors of the mucous membranes of the intestinal tract, due to which there is a reflex increase in intestinal motility. The laxative property of the plant allows you to normalize the natural functioning of the digestive tract, and the natural basis helps to soften the therapeutic effect without affecting the digestion processes. The instructions for the leaves of the senna say that there is no addiction to the drugs. Due to the nature of the effects, plant-based preparations are allowed in pediatrics. After taking the drug, the effect occurs in ten hours.
Indications for use
Useful properties and plant safety allow it to be used in the following cases:
- With constipation. The instructions for the use of senna leaves say that the plant can be used not only with sluggish peristalsis of the large intestine, but also after childbirth, with atony, after surgery.
- A laxative is prescribed for bowel cleansing in preparation for x-ray studies.
- With hemorrhoids, anal fissures.
Mode of application
Senna casting is used not only as a laxative, but also to cleanse the body for a variety of pathologies that require gentle bowel movement. It can be ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids, anal fissures, etc.
To cleanse the intestines and eliminate constipation, it is necessary to prepare an infusion by taking one teaspoon of raw materials and steaming with a glass of boiling water. The drug is infused for a day, periodically stirs. Then the medicine is filtered. An infusion for the night is taken.
Senna for weight loss
According to reviews, senna leaves are great for weight loss. Often these raw materials are included in the diet. One of the options for such diets is designed for three weeks. On it is after six in the evening is strictly prohibited. Throughout the day, it is recommended to eat prunes, dried apricots, raisins and figs. All these ingredients are taken one hundred grams and passed through a meat grinder. The resulting slurry is mixed with 100 grams of honey and the same amount of senna leaves, previously steamed with boiling water. The finished composition is placed in a glass container and stored in the refrigerator.
With a diet, nutrition does not change completely, but sweet, fatty, smoked dishes are completely excluded from the diet. The diet itself is not strict and well tolerated. Judging by the reviews, on such a diet it turns out to get rid of several kilograms of excess weight. Those who tried senna leaves for weight loss claim that they felt light in the abdomen, the intestines were cleansed, and overall health improved.
Body cleansing
Using a plant helps cleanse the body. For this purpose, it is necessary to take a decoction of the leaves once a week. To prepare it, you need a tablespoon of raw materials and a glass of boiling water. The leaves are poured into water and put in a water bath for twenty minutes, after which the product is filtered. A decoction is taken two hours after a meal or at night.
Senna leaves prepared for clarification help to remove all toxins from the body, remove sand and small stones. Cleansing can be done no more than once a month. Take a decoction according to the following scheme: on the first day, one hundred grams of a decoction is taken. From the first day, small colic, pain in the abdomen may occur, as well as a weakening of the intestine. From the second and sixth day, the dosage is increased by twenty milliliters, bringing the volume to the seventh day to two hundred grams.
Contraindications, side effect
Senna leaves have contraindications. The tool can not be taken by those who have intolerance to the components of the grass. Do not use the product during pregnancy, during lactation. Also, do not use it for serious gastrointestinal pathologies.
With prolonged use of senna, a nutrient deficiency, intestinal degeneration may occur, the liver function is disrupted. To avoid trouble, you should consult your doctor before using Senna.
Senna in cosmetology
The plant is used not only in medicine to cleanse the intestines, but also in cosmetology. Leaves and flowers are used to make hair and skin care products. Cosmetics developed on the basis of cassia are recommended for people with dry, aging skin. It is noted that this plant is able to have a rejuvenating effect.
Powder extract perfectly cleanses the skin, preventing aging. Cassia-based cosmetics are also used for oily skin. It helps to remove excess fat, freshen the skin, narrow pores. This substance also helps to achieve dullness, removing the oily sheen of the skin.
Interesting Facts
Senna flowers and leaves are widely used in cooking. This plant is used to prepare various dishes in India, China, Australia. The plant is used as an element for making curry seasoning. With it, the dishes are refined, delicious. The seasoning itself has a universal purpose and can be used as food with any dish, but it is especially tasty to eat with dishes of meat and potatoes.
Cassia or Senna can be grown at home. This requires bright lighting, but without direct sunlight, the temperature is about twenty degrees. The plant propagates by cuttings and seeds. The latter can be purchased at the summer shop. Seed propagation is carried out in the spring, and cuttings - in the fall.
The grown plant can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, the Chinese are using Senna to treat glaucoma, relieve swelling, with nausea, headaches and more.