Cassia occidentalis L. [CAESALPINACEAE]

This plant is in english called "coffee senna" or "negro coffee". The plant is a annual herb and it is basically the seeds that have been used for medicinal purposes.  They contain different types of anthraquinones, amongst these rhein and aloe emodin, and also the polysaccharide galactomannan.  Traditionally the powder of the seeds is applied on skin diseases as well as wounds. The seeds are also used as a bitter agent or tonic and as a purgative, i.e. as a laxative that can be attributed to the presence of the antraquinones. The dried leaves are in Mali used as one of the plant parts present in the ITM ”Malarial”.