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Cassia Tora
Family Name : CAESALPINACEAE
Botanical Name : CASSIA TORA
Common Name : FOETID CASSIA,
TORA, SICKLE SENNA, SICKLE POD, COFFEE POD, TOVARA, CHAKVAD
Part Used : SEEDS
Habitat : Grows in dry soil
throughout tropical parts of India.
Uses : It is Aperient, Germicide,
Mucilaginous & Laxative. It is used as a coffee substitute and has
a maturant and anodyne action. Useful in treating skin diseases like ring
worm and itch and psoriasis.
Senna obtusifolia (syn.
Cassia obtusifolia L., Cassia tora, Emelista tora) is a plant in the genus
Senna. It is also known as foetid cassia, sickle senna, Chinese senna,
sicklepod, sickle-pod, sickle pod, coffee weed, coffeeweed, coffee pod,
coffee-pod, java bean, java-bean, or arsenic weed. It grows wild in North,
Central, and South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, and is considered
a particularly serious weed in many places.
The species's name comes
from the Latin obtus ("dull or blunt"), and folium ("leaf"). Its leaves,
seeds, and root are used medicinally, primarily in Asia. It is believed
to possess a laxative effect, as well as to be beneficial for the eyes.
The plant's seeds are a source
of cassia gum, a food additive usually used as a thickener. As a folk remedy,
the seeds are often roasted, then boiled in water to produce a tea. Roasted
and ground, the seeds have also been used as a substitute for coffee. |
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