Senna

Never heard of Senna? Actually, it's likely you've already taken it in small doses. Senna is an ingredient in many drugstore laxatives, including Fletcher's Castoria, Senokot and Innerclean Herbal Laxative.

Senna is strong stuff, so it performs its job as a laxative quite well. "Like aloe and cascara sagrada, Senna contains anthraquinone glycosides-chemicals that stimulate the colon," says James A. Duke, Ph.D., a botanist retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and author of The CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs.

In fact, Senna may work too well for some folks. Anthraquinone laxatives should be considered as a last-resort treatment for constipation, says Anne Simons, M.D., assistant clinical professor of family and community medicine at the University of California's San Francisco Medical Center. "First, eat foods higher in fiber, drink more fluids and get more exercise," she advises. "If that doesn't provide relief, try a bulk forming laxative." One such laxative is psyllium, available in products such as Metamucil. "If that doesn't help," says Dr. Simons, "try ingesting the laxative mineral oil. And if that doesn't provide relief, talk to your doctor about trying an anthraquinone laxative."

Healing with Senna:

To be quite frank, Senna tastes awful. For that reason, herbalists generally discourage using the plant material and instead recommend the drugstore remedies that contain it. If you're still interested in trying it as is, you can brew a medicinal tea from 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaves per cup of boiling water. Let it steep for 10 minutes. Add sugar, honey and lemon-lots of it. You can also mix Senna with pleasant tasting herbs such as anise, fennel, peppermint, chamomile, ginger, coriander or licorice. Drink one cup a day, either in the morning or before bed, for no more than a few days. To take Senna in capsule form, simply follow the package directions.

Safety Considerations:

Senna should not be given to children under the age of two (2). For older children and people over 65, start with a low-strength preparation and increase the dose if necessary. Don't be tempted to use more these small amounts of Senna. Larger doses can cause diarrhea, nausea and severe abdominal cramping with possible dehydration. Senna should never be used for more than two weeks, because over time it can cause "lazy bowel syndrome"-the inability to move stool without chemical stimulation.

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