- Senna occidentalis
-
Coffee senna 
Coffee senna (Senna occidentalis) leaf 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, 1829Synonyms 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.& RoseSenna occidentalis is a pantropical plant species.[1]
Vernacular names include : ʻauʻaukoʻi in Hawaii, 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.[2] The plant contains anthraquinones. The roots contain emodin[3] and the seeds contain chrysarobin (1,8-dihydroxy-3-methyl-9-anthrone) and N-methylmorpholine.[4]
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 Dhivehi,[5] have been used in the diet of the Maldives for centuries[6] and also as a medicinal plant.[7]
References
- ^ "Senna occidentalis (L.) Link". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2004-01-22. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?100059. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ Thimaaveshi - Catalogue of Plants
- ^ List of food items in 'Maldives Coding System'
- ^ Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84 7254 801 5
External links
- "Senna occidentalis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=505166.
- Cassia occidentalis poisoning as the probable cause of hepatomyoencephalopathy in children in western Uttar Pradesh
Categories:- Senna
- Plants described in 1829
- Caesalpinioideae stubs
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