Senna leaves

The active constituents in both senna leaf and fruit are dianthrone glycosides, principally sennosides A and B (Figure 3.33). These compounds are both di-O-glucosides of rhein... 

The major laxative constituents of Senna Leaf and Pod are the sennosides and it has recently been established using RIA that the sennosides are only formed when the leaf and pod are allowed to dry gradually at room temperatures. 

Occurrence Bitter almonds Liquorice root Foxglove An-Senna leaf Buckwheat Uva ursi leaves Willow... 

Elderflower Yarrow Poke root Burdock root Clivers Poplar bark Senna leaf Uva ursi... 

SENNA LEAF, Sennae folium The dried leaflets of both of the Senna species are also used medicinally. The leaves of both contain the same amount (not less than 2.5%) of anthracenes and for this reason Pharmacopoeias permit the use of either species or of a mixture of the leaves of both the Alexandrian and Tinnevelly types. 

Senna pod and senna leaf are both approved German Commission E monographs (Blumenthal, 1998). 

Senna leaf 0.5-3.0 g infused in hot water for 10-15 minutes (Bensky et al. 2004 Weiss and Meuss 2001 Wichtl 2004). 

Senna leaf typically contains 1.5-3% dianthrone gluco-sides, consisting primarily of sennosides A and B (Khan and Abourashed 2011). 

Pharmacopeias of Europe, India, and China specify that senna leaf must contain a minimum of 2.5% hydroxy-anthracene glycosides, calculated as sennoside B. Senna fruit typically contains 3-5% sennosides. Pharmacopeias of Europe and India recognize Senna alexandrina as two species, S. angustifolia, which must contain a minimum of 3.4%, and S. acutifolia, which must contain a minimum of 2.2% hydroxyanthracene glycosides, calculated as sennoside B. 

Records of use, case reports, research papers, and recommendations for appropriate use of senna products often do not differentiate between the fruit (pod) or the leaf, and numerous references are addressed to the sennosides contained in both of these plant parts. Unless otherwise specified, the information in this entry is relevant to both senna fruit and senna leaf. 

Several authorities note that preparations of senna fruit act more gently than senna leaf (Weiss and Meuss 2001 Wichtl 2004). However, concerns regarding the long-term use of stimulant laxatives are relevant to both the fruit and the leaf. 

Some references advise cautious or supervised use of senna fruit or the contained seed and senna leaf during pregnancy (Bradley 1992 Chen and Chen 2004 ESCOP 2003). 

Hepatitis was reported in a 28-year-old woman with a variant of the drug-metabolizing isoenzyme CYP2D6. The woman had recently been consuming 3 to 4 liters of beer per week, and had also been consuming an herbal tea containing senna leaf (dose, duration, and presence of other ingredients not specified). Re-exposure to the tea led to elevated liver enzyme levels (Seybold et al. 2004). 

Hepatitis was reported in a 26-year-old woman who had been taking 10 g senna leaf tea twice a week for an unspecified length of time, and began also taking senna fruit containing 100 mg sennoside B daily 1 month prior to the hepatitis. This combined dose of senna products was noted as being 10 times the recommended dose. Liver enzyme levels returned to normal after cessation of senna products (Beuers et al. 1991). 

Portal vein thrombosis was reported in a 42-year-old woman who had taken 200 ml of senna leaf tea (amount of senna used to make tea was not specified) daily for 2 years (Soyuncu et al. 2008). 

Paralytic ileum was reported in an 85-year-old man who had been taking a tea with senna leaf and fruit (with licorice, mallow, fennel, "balum," and caraway) every other day for 2 months. At the time the condition was diagnosed, the man was being hospitalized for transitory ischemic stroke. He had a history of high blood pressure, chronic obstructive bronchopneumopathy, and cholelithiasis, and a 5-year history of constipation, for which lactulose, bisacodyl, and sodium picosulfate were taken, with enemas used every 15 to 30 days (Sossai et al. 2007). 

In the Salmonella typhimurium reversion assay, senna glycosides were inactive in all strains, except for a slight but significant increase in mutant frequency in TA102 in the absence and presence of liver microsomes. Extracts of senna fruit and senna leaf demonstrated weak activity in TA97a, TAIOO, and TA102 in the presence of liver microsomes, and... 

Genotoxicity tests were performed with senna fruit, senna leaf extract, sennosides, rhein, and aloe-emodin. Senna fruit, sennosides, and rhein did not increase mutation frequencies in the following test systems bacterial systems, mammalian cell culture tests, mouse lymphoma test, chromosome aberration test with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, bone marrow micronucleus test, chromosome aberration tests, and melanoblast cell test. With aloe-emodin, mutagenic effects were observed only in vitro in the chromosome aberration test with CHO cells and in the Salmonella reverse mutation test. In the in vitro gene mutation test with V79 cells, no mutagenic potential of aloe-emodin was observed. In vivo studies indicated no mutagenic activity of aloe-emodin, and aloe-emodin did not induce unscheduled DNA synthesis in an ex vivo assay performed with hepato-cytes of male rats (Heidemann et al. 1993). 

An aqueous extract of senna leaf was tested in four different assays for genotoxic and mutagenic effects E. coli cultures, bacterial growth inhibition, reverse mutation test, and DNA strand break analysis in plasmid DNA. The extract produced single and double strand breaks in plasmid DNA in a cell-free system but was not cytotoxic or mutagenic in the E. coli strains tested (Silva et al. 2008). 

Senna leaf extract. See Senna (Cassia obovata) extract... 

Standardized extracts contain constituents (single or groups) that are solely responsible for the acknowledged and documented therapeutic activity and the adjustment to a defined content is acceptable (e.g., standardized Senna leaf dry extract, Aloe dry extract. Belladonna leaf dry extract. Liquorice... 

Regulatory Status. Only Alexandrian senna (leaf and pod) has been approved for food used ( 172.510). Senna leaves, pods, and their preparations are subjects of a positive German therapeutic monograph. " ... 

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