Alexandrian Senna

''Senna alexandrina'' (Alexandrian senna, in Arabic عشرج or عشرق or سنامكي and see below) is an ornamental plant in the genus '' Senna''. It is used in herbalism. It grows natively in upper Egypt, especially in the Nubian region, and near Khartoum (Sudan), where it is cultivated commercially. It is also grown elsewhere, notably in India and Somalia.

Description

Alexandrian Senna is a shrubby plant that reaches 0.5–1 metres (20" to 40"), rarely two metres (6') in height with a branched, pale-green erect stem and long spreading branches bearing four or five pairs of leaves. These leaves form complex, feathery, mutual pairs. The leaflets vary from 4 to 6 pairs, fully edged, with a sharp top. The midribs are equally divided at the base of the leaflets.

The flowers are in a raceme interior blossoms, big in size, coloured yellow that tends to brown. Its legume fruit are horned, broadly oblong, compressed and flat and contain about six seeds.

Uses

When cultivated as medicinal herb, the plants are cut down semi-annually, dried in the sun, stripped and packed in palm-leaf bags. They are then sent on camels to Essouan and Darao, then down the Nile to Cairo or else to Red Sea ports. Trade in senna provides a significant source of income for the nomadic Ababda.

Names and taxonomy

''Senna alexandrina'' is also known under the names ''Egyptian senna, Tinnevelly senna, East Indian senna'' or the French ''séné de la palthe.''

It received the names ''Alexandrian senna'' and ''Egyptian senna'' because Alexandria in Egypt was the main trade port in past times. The fruits and leaves were transported from Nubia and Sudan and other places to Alexandria, then from it and across the Mediterranean sea to Europe and adjacent Asia.

Though it might look like a scientific name, ''Cassia Officinalis'' is actually the apothecary term for this plant, and hence ''Officinalis''—the Latin adjective denoting tools, utensils and medical compounds—is written with an initial upper-case letter, unlike specific epithets, which are always written with an initial lower-case letter today.

Synonyms:
* ''Cassia acutifolia'' Delile
* ''Cassia alexandrina'' (Garsault) Thell.
* ''Cassia angustifolia'' M. Vahl
* ''Cassia lanceolata'' Collad.
:''C. lanceolata'' Link is a synonym of ''Senna sophera'' var. ''sophera'')
:''C. lanceolata'' Pers. is a synonym of ''Chamaecrista desvauxii'' var. ''mollissima''
* ''Cassia lenitiva'' Bisch.
* ''Cassia senna'' L.
* ''Senna acutifolia'' (Delile) Batka
* ''Senna alexandrina'' Garsault
* ''Senna angustifolia'' (Vahl) Batka

Medicinal use

Historically, ''Senna alexandrina'' was used in the form of senna pods, or as herbal tea made from the leaves, as a laxative. It also serves as a fungicide.

Modern medicine has used extracts since at least the 1950s as a laxative. If accidentally ingested by infants, it can cause side effects such as severe diaper rash. The active ingredients are several senna glycosides which interact with immune cells in the colon.

See also

* List of herbs with known adverse effects

References

Further reading

* (1993): ''Medicinal plants & Aromatic plants - Its chemistry-production-benefits'' (2nd ed.). Dar el Maaref, Alexandria
النباتات الطبية والعطرية : كيمياؤها ، انتاجها ، فوائدها
/ تاليف محمد السيد هيكل ، عبد الله عبد الرزاق عمر. منشاة المعارف ]
* (2005)
Genera ''Cassia'' and ''Senna''
Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2007-DEC-20.
* (1982): The American Cassiinae. ''Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden'' 35: 1-918

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q132675

Senna (plant), alexandrina
Flora of Africa
Flora of the Arabian Peninsula
Medicinal plants
Subshrubs
Taxa named by Philip Miller