Senna tora (L.) Roxb. (Fabaceae/Leguminosae)

Abstract

A native of southern China, India, Iran, Indochina, Japan, the Philippines, and Java. Muslim writers described seeds and leaves to have solvent properties in those forms of skin diseases accompanied with induration, such as leprosy, keloid and psoriasis. Seeds ground with sour buttermilk are used to ease irritation of itchy eruptions, and the root, rubbed on a stone with lime juice is one of the best remedies for ringworm. In Unani medicine, seeds and leaves are described as purgative, blood purifier, good for piles, and to expel phlegm and black-bile; and useful as a paste for skin diseases, such as leprosy, vitiligo, bahq, and kalaf, and cold diseases, such as paralysis and arthritis. In India, it is also used in oral healthcare to treat plaque and caries, and prescribed for various eye and liver disorders. Decoction of the whole plant is used as vermifuge and purgative in the Philippines. In Chinese medicine, it is considered a superior drug and has been recorded in The Herbal by Shen Nung. Dried ripe seeds are used for headache with fever, eye disorders, ophthalmia with swelling and pain, glaucoma, and dry stools. Seeds are also used as laxative and tonic, and as a popular health tea drink. Commercial products include both unroasted and roasted samples, and the laxative effect is higher in unroasted compared with the roasted seeds. Roasted seeds are favored for their flavor, and popularly used as tea in Korea. Seeds contain antihepatotoxic naphthopyrone glycosides, cassiaside and rubrofusarin-6-β-gentiobioside. Roasting of seeds decreases the contents of antihepatotoxic constituents. Anthraquinones, chrysophanol, emodin and rhein contents in the extract decreased with increased roasting temperature; the decrease in antigenotoxic potency of roasted seeds was related to reduction in their anthraquinones contents. Water extract of roasted seeds reversed B[a]P-induced DNA damage in human hepatoma cell line HepG2, which was less effective than produced by unroasted seeds. Methanol seed extract exhibits anticancer effects, induces apoptosis and exerts antimetastatic effects. It shows anti-inflammatory activity and significantly downregulates expression of genes associated with inflammation. Ethanol seed extract significantly reduced blood glucose, TC, TGs, phospholipids, and FFAs of diabetic rats.