(Fabaceae) Senna occidentalis (L.) Link

Local name(s): (Lab meun pou) 

Medicinal use(s): treat fever

Part(s) used: root and seed

Field Characters: Small herb with yellow, zygomorphic flowers and slender, long, flexible and thin, villose pods.

Locality: Xiengkhouang Province, Kham District, Xieng Khouang Medicinal Biodiversity Preserve, mountain road between Muang Kham and Ban Tha.

Habitat: Roadside. Good quality, secondary tropical rainforest, on a mountain slope.

Altitude: 1137 m asl. 

Collector(s): J.M. Henkin, K. Sydara, M. Xayvue, D.D. Soejarto 

Collection number(s): JMH 007

Collection Date: December 9, 2015

Additional information:  

Voucher specimen is in deposit at the Field Museum (F) Herbarium, Chicago, USA under accession no. 2320634.

Synonyms, images, taxonomic description: 


Plants of the World onlineFlora of China Vol. 10 Page 29, 30GBIF | Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Medicinal properties:


Al-Snafi AE. The therapeutic importance of Cassia occidentalis- An overview. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science & Research 2015, vol 5, issue 3:158-171. https://scispace.com/pdf/the-therapeutic-importanceof-cassia-occidentalis-an-overview-25jo1vlmxs.pdf

Anonymous. Senna occidentalis. Drugs.com Coffee senna

Mali P, Khan S. Pharmacology of Cassia occidentalis L. A review. World Academy of Informatics and Management Sciences 2012, vol. 1 (5), ISSN (online):2278-1315. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354248899_Pharmacology_of_Cassia_occidentalis_L_A_review 

Manikandaselvi S, Vadivel V, Brindha P. Studies on physicochemical and nutritional properties of aerial parts of Cassia occidentalis L. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis 2016, volume 24, issue 3, pages 508-515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfda.2016.02.003.

Singh VV, Jain J, Mishra AK. Pharmacological and phytochemical profile of Cassia occidentalis L.: A review. J. Drug Delivery Ther. [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2025 Aug. 30];6(5):91-6. https://jddtonline.info/index.php/jddt/article/view/1284

Yadav JP, Arya V, Yadav S, et al. Cassia occidentalis L.: A review on its ethnobotany, phytochemical and pharmacological profile. Fitoterapia 2010, 81(4):223-230.  DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2009.09.008