Senna occidentalis

Coffee senna
Senna occidentalis flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Cassieae
Genus: Senna
Species: S. occidentalis
Binomial name
Senna occidentalis
(L.) Link, 1829
Synonyms

Cassia caroliniana, C. ciliata Raf.
C. falcata L.
C. foetida Pers.
C. laevigata sensu auct. non Prain non Willd.
C. macradenia, C. obliquifolia, C. occidentalis, C. occidentalis L. var. arista sensu Hassk.
C. occidentalis L. var. aristata Collad.
C. planisiliqua
C. torosa Cav.
Ditrimexa occidentalis (L.) Britt.& Rose

Senna occidentalis is a pantropical plant species.[1]

Vernacular names include : ʻauʻaukoʻi in Hawaii, septicweed,[2] coffee senna, coffeeweed, Mogdad coffee, negro-coffee, senna coffee, Stephanie coffee, stinkingweed or styptic weed.

The species was formerly placed in the genus Cassia.

The plant is reported to be poisonous to cattle.[3] The plant contains anthraquinones. The roots contain emodin[4] and the seeds contain chrysarobin (1,8-dihydroxy-3-methyl-9-anthrone) and N-methylmorpholine.[5]

Uses

Coffee Senna seeds

Mogdad coffee seeds can be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. They have also been used as an adulterant for coffee. There is apparently no caffeine in mogdad coffee.

Despite the claims of being poisonous, the leaves of this plant, Dhiguthiyara in the Maldivian language,[6] have been used in the diet of the Maldives for centuries[7] in dishes such as mas huni and also as a medicinal plant.[8]

In parts of India, consumption of the plant has caused the poisoning deaths of children due to Acute HME syndrome. Once the plant was identified as the cause, the number of deaths plummeted.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Senna occidentalis (L.) Link". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2004-01-22. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  2. ↑ "Senna occidentalis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Coffee Senna (Senna occidentalis) poisoning in cattle in Brazil. Barth AT, Kommers GD, Salles MS, Wouters F and de Barros CS, Vet Hum Toxicol. 1994 Dec;36(6):541-5.
  4. ↑ Emodin, an antibacterial anthraquinone from the roots of Cassia occidentalis. J.C. Chukwujekwu, P.H. Coombes, D.A. Mulholland and J. van Staden, South African Journal of Botany, Volume 72, Issue 2, May 2006, Pages 295-297, doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2005.08.003
  5. ↑ Isolation of N-methylmorpholine from the seeds of Cassia occidentalis (coffee senna). Hyeong L. Kim, Bennie J. Camp, Ronald D. Grigsby, J. Agric. Food Chem., 1971, 19 (1), pp 198–199, doi:10.1021/jf60173a026
  6. ↑ Thimaaveshi - Catalogue of Plants
  7. ↑ List of food items in 'Maldives Coding System'
  8. ↑ Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84-7254-801-5
  9. ↑ Cassia occidentalis poisoning as the probable cause of hepatomyoencephalopathy in children in western Uttar Pradesh

External links

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