About Senna
Senna leaves and pods contain sennosides (anthraquinone glycosides) that the colonic microbiota converts to rhein anthrone — the active stimulant laxative metabolite. Strong clinical evidence and FDA OTC drug status for short-term constipation; multiple meta-analyses confirm efficacy for chronic constipation and bowel preparation. SAFETY: stimulant laxative dependence and 'lazy bowel' with prolonged daily use (>1–2 weeks). Hypokalemia and electrolyte loss with chronic use, especially dangerous with diuretics, digoxin, or cardiac glycosides. Melanosis coli (dark pigmentation of colonic mucosa) is benign but a marker of chronic use. Avoid in pregnancy, lactation, IBD flares, and bowel obstruction. The senna-without-standardization on herbal-bitters labels delivers variable sennoside content — score against the FDA dose range, but flag the unpredictability.
What Senna supports
- Established short-term stimulant laxative — FDA OTC drug
- Dependence and electrolyte loss with prolonged daily use; not for chronic constipation
How much Senna to take
The RDA prevents deficiency. The effective range is what clinical trials used to actually move the outcome.
Effective
15–30
mg
FDA OTC monograph dose is 15–30 mg sennosides/day (the standardized active). When labeled as whole-leaf herb, 1–2 g/day delivers a comparable sennoside dose, but herb-form delivery is less predictable than standardized extract.
Clinical evidence
Strong clinical evidence. Multiple meta-analyses + FDA OTC monograph for short-term constipation; mechanism (anthraquinone → rhein anthrone) is well characterized.
Reference