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Giffarine Herbal Senna Infusion 20 Sachets 48015
Herbal Senna Infusion (Giffarine Brand)
INGREDIENTS (Per Sachet)
- Senna leaves 80 % (1,600 mg.)
- Senna sheath 20 % (400 mg.)
How To :
Dosage: Take 1 sachet by soaking with 1 cup of hot water (150 mg.) for 10-20 minutes. Drink once a day before bedtime, once constipation occurred.
Warning: Read the warning label before consumption. Do not use this medicine as diet pills or weight loss pills.
CODE 48015
Net Weight : 20.00 sachets
Gross Weight : 75 g.
Constipation and Senna
Interesting Facts regarding Constipation and Senna
Constipation is a gastrointestinal disorder, which can occur in anybody. For mild constipation, no treatment is required. However, for severe and constant constipation, laxatives and enemas may be used. Constipation is a symptom, not a disease. The criteria to identify patients with symptoms of constipation are the necessity to force out feces 25% of the defecating time, or have hard passing stool, or experience bloating, or the feeling of incomplete stool elimination, or having to use fingers to assist fecal evacuation and finally passing stool less than 3 times per week. The presence of 2 or more of the above mentioned symptoms are considered diagnostic for constipation.
Causes of Constipation
1. Physical abnormalities which may occur from anatomical defect, diseases of bowel, anus, spinal cord, and disorders of the nerves controlling excretion. It may also occur from bowel obstruction, colorectal cancer and systemic diseases such as hypothyroid. Certain drugs can cause constipation as well e.g. sedatives, anti-anxiety, antidepressant and psychiatric drugs.
2. Non-Physical or functional abnormalities are found in healthy persons. It may be due to defecating habits, individual life style, environmental and emotional impact e.g. consuming food low in fiber, drinking little amount of daily water, lacking enough exercise. Even ignoring defecation due to the rush in work may cause functional constipation.
Treatment of Constipation
1. Non-medication. For mild constipation, alleviation can be made without medication. Suggestions are as follows;
- Increase consumption of food rich in fiber e.g. various vegetable and increase water intake.
- Lifestyle modification and put more effort to have daily exercise e.g. attempt to walk instead of using the lift or escalator, try to walk instead of driving in a short distance.
- Exercise body parts involving belly muscles. This helps maintain regular defecation such as lay down, put hands on the chest, use muscle to pull the body up to a sitting position without bending the knee or lifting the feet then repeat as many times as possible or ; lay down, put hands on the chest,
use muscle to pull the feet up with straight legs then repeat.
2. Medications for constipation must not be used on regular basis. Drugs should not be carried out consistently over 1 week, especially the stimulant laxatives, in order to avoid addictive side effect and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, as that may worsen the bowel function. Moreover, it may cause intestinal mucosal atrophy, thickening of the bowel's epithelium, neuron ganglion degeneration and protein-losing enteropathy (bowel protein
loss)(reference 1).
The stimulating laxatives include Diphenylmethanes, Castor oil, Antichalinesterases, Glycerin, Anthracene Glycosides. One particular well-known stimulant is Senna, which is in the Anthracene Glycosides group.
Senna has a scientific name of Senna alexandrina P. Miller or Cassia angustifolia. It has long been used as a laxative for almost 100 years. The leaves and pods of Senna contain Antraquinone, a bowel movement stimulator which eases defecation. There are many scientific evident to affirm the property of Senna as follows;
1. Laxative substances
Laxative property is gained from Senoside A and B, Aloe Emodin, Dianthrone Glycoside which are anthraquinone glycoside substances. These substances are not active upon the passage through the small intestine. But once it gets into the colon, Senoside A will be hydrolyzed and transformed into Senoside A-B-monoglucoside.
Thereafter, Senoside A-B-monoglucoside will be hydrolyzed by bata-glucosidase provided by bacterias in the colon (Bacillus, E.Coli) to give out sennidin A. Sennoside B is transformed by the same process to gain sennidin B. Both sennidin A and B are mutually alterable and are able to transform to rheinanthrone which acts on the colon directly. Rheinanthrone is an important substance for stimulating bowel movement (Reference 3).
2. Bowel stimulant property
Senna can improve large bowel motility (reference 3). A study evaluating the images on MRI of the intestine before and after drinking senna tea compared to taking erythromycin antibiotics in 12 volunteers revealed that volunteers taking Senna obtained more bowel movement than the ones taking erythromycin (reference 3,4).
3. The clinical experiment as constipation treatment
A clinical study conducted on 92 patients aged between 48-82 years with post-surgical constipation from prostate and bladder cancer operation. 61 patients administered 2 tablets of 15 mg. calciumsennocide, a calcium form of sennocide derived from senna leaves, from day 1 to 7 post-operation at bedtime. The remaining 31 patients did not receive any treatment for constipation. Results revealed that patient receiving calciumsennocide obtained significantly better defecation with 90% having easy stool elimination (averaging 1.23 times per day) compared to 19% of the control group. This was statistically significant (reference 3).
Moreover, there was another study on 81 patients with prior operation of prostate cancer aged between 52-86 years old. In this trial, patients were divided into 3 groups. In the first group (control group), patients had no medication. In the second group, patients were assigned to receive 2 tablets of Senna before bedtime for 14 days after operation. Finally, in the last group, patient obtained milk of magnesia (MOM) 30 ml. at night for 14 days. The results demonstrated that the control group had undesirable hard stool, while the MOM group had liquefied feces. The senna group, however, developed the most favorable defecation (normal and minimally
liquefied) (Reference 3). This is proof that senna offers better stool elimination compared to MOM.
Furthermore, ingestion of senna in lactating women confirmed to be effective for constipation and safe with no side effects to the
infants (Reference 5).
Reference :
1. เอกสารเผยแพร่เรื่อง การใช้ยาระบาย. กลุ่มพัฒนาระบบ กองพัฒนาศักยภาพ
ผู้บริโภค สำนักงานคณะกรรมการอาหารและยา. http://www.oryor.com/
oryor/admin/module/fda_info/file/f_39_1171707297.pdf
2. มะขามแขก. องค์การเภสัชกรรม
http://www.gpo.or.th/herbal/senna/senna.htm
3. มะขามแขก, สมุนไพรที่ใช้ในงานสาธารณสุขมูลฐาน. หน่วยบริการฐานข้อมูล
สมุนไพร ณ สำนักงานข้อมูลสมุนไพร คณะเภสัชศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยมหิดล.
http://www.medplant.mahidol.ac.th/pubhealth/index.asp
4. Assessment of large bowel motility by cine magnetic resonance
imaging using two different prokinetic agents: a feasibility study.
Invest Radiol. 2005 Nov;40(11):689-94.
5. Clinical Study of Senna Administration to Nursing Mothers
Assessment of Effects on Infant Bowel Habits. Can Med Assoc
J. 1963 September 14; 89(11):566-568.
