Cassia occidentalis is an erect, annual herb or undershrub. The leaves are lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, the leaflets, 3-paired, membranous, glaucous, ovate or lanceolate; the flowers, yellow, in short racemes; the pods, recurved, glabrous and compressed; the seeds, dark olive green, ovoid, compressed, hard, smooth and shining.

Antibacterial (root, seed and leaf); diuretic (root), bitter and has tonic, febrifugal and purgative properties (seed); antiinflammatory and hepatoprotective (Jafri).

Tropical Plant Database
Coffee senna

Cassiolin, emodin, physcion, sitosterol and chrysophanol (plant); dihydroxy-anthraquinone and phytosterolin (seed); quercetin, phytosterol, xanthorin and anthraquinones (root); mattucinol and jaceidin-7-rhamnoside (leaf).

Snakebite antidote (root); skin diseases (seed and leaf); digestive problems such as constipation, indigestion, gastric pains in children; in cough, asthma and whooping cough, convulsions and in heart diseases (seeds).

Fedegoso leaf extracts have demonstrated weak uterine stimulant activity and smooth-muscle relaxant actions in rats. As such, the use of this plant is contraindicated during pregnancy. May speed the clearance of some drugs in the liver (thereby reducing their effect). It is mildly hypotensive (lowers blood pressure).

Sharma, Classical Uses of Medicinal Plants.