Family Name: Caesalpinaceae
Botanical Name(s): Cassia Augustifolia
Popular Name(s): Senna, Indian Senna, Tinnervelly Senna, Cassia Senna, Locust Plant, Rajavriksha
Parts Used: Pods, Stems and Leaves
Habitat: Cultivated in dry lands of Southern & Western India, and indigenous to Arabia.
Description: Cassia angustifolia is native to India and is cultivated mainly in India and Pakistan. The parts of this plant used medicinally are the leaves and the pods. The leaves have a purging quality but afterwards have a binding effect. Both the leaves and pods are used in many over-the-counter pharmaceutical preparations.
Uses: It is useful in habitual costiveness. It lowers bowels, increases peristaltic movements of the colon by its local action upon the intestinal wall.