Senna Pods - Health Benefits, Uses and Important Facts

Senna also known as senna alexandrina comes from northern Egypt. It is a member of the pea family, or Fabaceae, and is grown in parts of India, Sudan, and Somalia. Senna is a shrub with long, spreading branches and yellow flowers that turn into flat, oblong fruits when they are ready. Its leaves and fruit pods have been used in traditional medicine for a long time because they are good for you. Senna pods are often used as a mild laxative. They can be extracted or steeped as senna pod tea.

Senna makes it easier to go to the bathroom by slowing down the smooth muscles that hold stool and speeding up the smooth muscles that move stool through the intestine. The herb won't work unless the good bacteria in the colon change the sennosides in the herb into rheinanthrones.

Senna plant description:

There are different kinds of senna plants. They all belong to the genus Cassia, which is in the pea or legume family (Fabaceae). Plants that look like senna grow naturally in subtropical and tropical areas, like Africa and India. In the eastern U.S., you can also find wild senna plants like Cassia hebecarpa and Cassia marilandica.

Senna tea:

Senna tea and senna supplements are made from the leaves, fruit, and pods of the plant. Most of the time, tea made from senna comes from either Cassia acutifolia or Cassia angustifolia. Is senna a stool softener or a laxative? It is called a laxative, which means it is a medicine or substance that helps people who have trouble going to the bathroom.

As a laxative, senna can make your intestines contract, which can help you go to the bathroom. These contractions are caused by anthraquinone glycosides, also known as sennosides, which are chemically active parts of senna. Senna only works as a laxative if good bacteria in the colon change the sennosides in it into rheinanthrones.

Health benefits of senna pods:

Treats constipation:

Senna pods are mostly used to treat constipation and make you have bowel movements more often. The active ingredients in senna are called sennosides or senna glycosides. Our digestive system can't break them down; only the bacteria in our gut can do that. But the process of breaking them down just a little bit irritates the colon and makes you go to the bathroom 6 to 12 hours after eating them. Senna is used as an ingredient in many over-the-counter medicines for constipation because of this.

Helps with the pain of a haemorrhoid

Senna is a good way to relieve the pain of hemorrhoids. The veins and tissues in the lower part of the rectum swell up because of this disease. This causes itching, pain, and even bleeding. Long-term constipation can make hemorrhoids worse, so senna tea is often suggested to ease the pain. Before a colonoscopy, some people drink senna tea to get their bowels ready.