Besides being a laxative, senna is used as a febrifuge, in splenic enlargements, anaemia, typhoid, cholera, biliousness, jaundice, gout, rheumatism, tumours, foul breath and bronchitis, and probably in leprosy. It is employed in the treatment of amoebic dysentery as an anthelmintic and as a mild liver stimulant. Leaves are astringent, bitter, sweet, acrid, thermogenic, catharitic, depurative, liver tonic, anthelmintic, cholagogue, expectorant, ferbifuge. Usefull in constipation, abdominal disordes, leprosy, skin disorders, leucoderma, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, dyspepsia, cough, and bronchitis.

The Commission E approved the internal use of senna leaf for constipation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) approves senna leaf for short-term use in occasional constipation (WHO, 1999). The British Herbal Compendium indicates its use for constipation and conditions in which easy defecation with soft stools is desirable, such as anal fissure or hemorrhoids (Bradley, 1992). ESCOP indicates it for short-term use in cases of occasional constipation (ESCOP, 1997); the German Standard License for senna leaf tea indicates its use for constipation; conditions in which easy bowel evacuation with soft stools is desirable, for example in cases of anal fissures, hemorrhoids, and after recto-anal operations; for bowel clearance before X-ray examinations; and before and after abdominal surgery (Bradley, 1992; Wichtl and Bisset, 1994).