Disease relevance of Sennosides

• Isolation of a human intestinal anaerobe, Bifidobacterium sp. strain SEN, capable of hydrolyzing sennosides to sennidins [1].
• After gastric administration of daily 100 mg sennosides/kg body weight, no morphological differences could be found between the colon of treated rats and the controls [2].
• The effect of raw material purity on the acute toxicity and laxative effect of sennosides [3].
• There were no signs of habituation or secondary hyperaldosteronism due to sennosides or danthron in spite of chronic diarrhoea over 6 months [4].
• The effect of sennosides on bacterial translocation and survival in a model of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis [5].

High impact information on Sennosides

• It is concluded that sennosides acutely induce apoptosis of colonic epithelial cells, presumably by a p53, p21/WAF-mediated pathway, resulting in shorter crypts [6].
• Colorectal biopsies from 15 subjects receiving sennosides 6 h before sigmoidoscopy (Sen), 15 controls (NSen), and 27 with MC [11 moderate (MMC) and 16 severe (SMC)]. were analysed for degree of apoptosis (H&E staining), immunohistochemical p53, p21/WAF and bcl-2 expression, and proliferative activity (labelling index, LI) [6].
• In this paper, the influence of rhein, danthron, sennidins A/B, sennosides A/B, and senna leaf infusion was investigated on the permeability of furosemide, ketoprofen, paracetamol, propranolol, verapamil, digoxin, and Rhodamine 123 across Caco-2 monolayers [7].
• RESULTS: Crypts were shorter in Sen than in NSen in the transverse and sigmoid colon [8].
• Genotoxicity of sennosides on the bone marrow cells of mice [9].

Biological context of Sennosides

• Thus, sennosides and their natural metabolites specifically influence large intestinal motility [10].
• After daily doses of 5 g of the senna laxative containing 15 mg sennosides for 3 days, the rhein concentration in milk samples from every lactation during 24 h post-dose varied between 0 and 27 ng/ml with values below 10 ng/ml in 94% [11].
• The colour intensity of these products was approximately the same by weight as that of the sennosides themselves, although sennidins could no longer be freed from these by acid hydrolysis [12].
• Effects of sennosides and nonanthranoid laxatives on cytochemistry of epithelial cells in rat colon [13].
• The effects of sennosides on uterine motility were evaluated by electromyography in healthy adult ewes between day 70 and 120 of pregnancy to assess possible disturbances of the physiological pattern of contractility and eventual risks in pregnancy maintenance [14].

Anatomical context of Sennosides

• A strictly anaerobic bacterium capable of metabolizing sennosides was isolated from human feces and identified as Bifidobacterium sp., named strain SEN [1].
• Dual effect of orally administered sennosides on large intestine transit and fluid absorption in the rat [15].
• Addition of rhein-Na, as one of the probable active metabolites of sennosides, into the bath medium of isolated colon and ileum segments of untreated rats showed a reduction in contractility at concentrations of more than 10(-5) and 10(-4) mol/l, respectively [16].
• The alkali fusion method may be useful in connection with the isolation of as yet unknown metabolites of the sennosides in the gastrointestinal tract [12].
• These results suggest that sennosides have a good intestinal mucosa tolerance as opposed to aglycosidic-related compounds [17].

Associations of Sennosides with other chemical compounds

• Male guinea pigs were treated with senna pods, sennosides, danthron or bisacodyl by gastric intubation for 14 consecutive days [18].
• Treatment with sennosides, bisacodyl and sodium picosulfate does not influence the LI in the ileum and induces no statistically significant increase of the LI when the treated groups are compared with the control group [19].
• Indomethacin partly inhibited the acceleration of large intestine transit induced by sennosides [10].
• Indometacin, loperamide, and calcium-channel antagonists (verapamil, nifedipine) partially antagonized the effect of intracecal sennosides on LIT and delayed, but did not suppress, appearance of soft feces [20].
• The increased paracellular permeability of small molecules fits into the concept of stimulation of active chloride secretion by sennosides, which is electrochemically and osmotically balanced by an increase in Na+ and H2O flow via the paracellular pathway [21].

Gene context of Sennosides

• Cytokeratin AE1 expression increased on picosulfate and sennosides [13].
• Rhein anthrone, the active metabolite of sennosides A and B, stimulated PGE2 release into the mouse colonic lumen [22].
• A reversed-phase column liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of sennosides A and B present in leaf and pod extracts of Cassia angustifolia has been developed using a Symmetry C18 column and a linear binary gradient profile [23].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Sennosides

• The effects of sennosides on colonic motility were investigated in eight conscious dogs chronically fitted with two strain gauge transducers in the proximal colon, an intracolonic silicone catheter and a polyethylene catheter implanted in a branch of the right colonic artery [24].
• Forced decomposition of this herbal drug preparation under high temperature caused oxidative decomposition of the sennosides to rhein 8-O-glucoside [25].
• Oral administration of sennosides (20-30 mg/kg) to fasted dogs has been shown to induce a strong and long-lasting inhibition of myoelectric colon activity which was evident after a delay of 6-10 h corresponding to oro-cecal transit and colonic metabolism and was accompanied by abundant diarrhea [26].
• Validated HPLC method for determination of sennosides A and B in senna tablets [27].
• Analytical studies on the active constituents in crude drugs. IV. Determination of sennosides in senna and formulations by high-performance liquid chromatography [28].

References