August 4th, 2007 
Von 
Sickle senna, sickle pod, coffee weed, tavara.
Description:
Annual shrubby weed, 30-90 cm. in height. Leaves alternate, pinnate, with 3 pairs of obovate leaflets. Inflorescence in axillary raceme, shorter than the leaf; flowers yellow: 1-3. Pod slender, very long, curved. Seeds numerous, dark-brown, shining.
Flowering period:
April – May.
Distribution:
Grows wild on roadsides and field margins in the midlands and mountains.
Parts used:
Seeds of ripe fruit. The mature fruit is usually collected at the end of autumn. The seeds are separated from the dried fruit and roasted before use.
Chemical composition:
The whole plant contains anthraglucosides that on hydrolysis yield emodin and glucose, chrysophanol and rhein. The seeds yield a fatty oil consisting of oleic, linolic, palmitic and lignoceric acids and sitosterol.
Therapeutic uses:
The raw seeds are utilized as a laxative, in a dose of 10 to 15g per day. The torrefied seeds are effective for insomnia, headache, constipation, oliguria, cough, ophthalmia, dacryoliths, amblyopia, ocular congestion and hypertension. The daily dose is 5 to 10g in the form of a decoction, powder or pills. The alcoholic or vinegar maceration of pounded fresh leaves is used externally to treat eczema and dermatomycosis.
Source: Medicinal plants in Viet Nam (Institute of Materia Medica – HANOI – WHO/WPRO, 1990, 444 p.)
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