Smooth Move tea contains senna leaf as its primary active ingredient, supported by a blend of six other herbs: licorice, bitter fennel, cinnamon, ginger, coriander, and sweet orange. Each tea bag delivers about 1,080 mg of senna leaf, which provides 20 mg of sennosides A and B per cup when brewed as directed. Those sennosides are the compounds that make the tea work as a stimulant laxative.
Senna: The Active Ingredient
Senna leaf makes up more than half the weight of each tea bag, and it’s the only ingredient responsible for the laxative effect. The key compounds are sennosides A and B, which pass through your stomach and small intestine without being absorbed. When they reach your large intestine, gut bacteria convert them into an active compound called rhein anthrone.
Rhein anthrone does two things. First, it slows down contractions in the upper part of the colon, which reduces how much water your body absorbs from stool. This keeps the contents softer and wetter. Second, it speeds up the movement of those contents through the lower colon, pushing them toward the exit. The result is a bowel movement that typically arrives 6 to 12 hours after drinking the tea, which is why most people drink it before bed and feel the effects in the morning.
The Supporting Herbs
The other six ingredients aren’t there to make you go. They serve a different purpose: easing the digestive discomfort that senna can sometimes cause.
- Bitter fennel is a traditional remedy for gas, bloating, and cramping. In a senna-based tea, it helps counterbalance the abdominal discomfort that stimulant laxatives can trigger.
- Ginger is widely used to reduce nausea, gas, and bloating, all of which can accompany senna’s effects on the gut.
- Licorice root adds natural sweetness to the blend while also having a mild soothing effect on the digestive tract.
- Cinnamon, coriander, and sweet orange round out the flavor profile. They give the tea a warm, slightly spicy taste that makes it more pleasant to drink than senna alone would be.
All ingredients in the blend are certified organic. The tea is caffeine-free.
How It Works in Your Body
The 20 mg of sennosides per cup is a moderate dose, enough to produce a reliable laxative effect for most adults dealing with occasional constipation. Once the sennosides reach the colon and convert to their active form, they trigger a chain of events: your colon releases more of a signaling molecule called prostaglandin E2, which in turn reduces the number of water channels in the intestinal lining. With fewer channels pulling water out of the stool and back into your body, the stool stays softer and moves through more quickly.
This is different from fiber-based or osmotic laxatives, which work by drawing water into the bowel. Senna actively stimulates the muscular walls of the colon to contract. That’s why it’s classified as a stimulant laxative, and why it’s effective but also carries a few more side effects than gentler options.
Common Side Effects
The most frequent side effects are stomach cramps and diarrhea, which affect more than 1 in 100 people who take senna in any form. For many Smooth Move drinkers, the cramps are mild and pass once the bowel movement happens. The supporting herbs in the blend, particularly fennel and ginger, are intended to reduce this cramping, though they don’t eliminate it entirely.
If you use the tea repeatedly over a longer period, senna can disrupt your body’s electrolyte balance. Levels of potassium, sodium, and magnesium can shift too high or too low, which in severe cases leads to muscle spasms, twitching, or more serious problems. This is one reason why senna products carry clear duration limits.
How Long You Can Safely Use It
Smooth Move tea is designed for short-term, occasional use. NHS guidelines recommend taking senna for no longer than one week, and suggest talking to a doctor if constipation hasn’t resolved after three days. The concern isn’t just electrolytes. Used beyond a week, your colon can begin to depend on the stimulation to function normally, making it harder to have a bowel movement without the tea.
Joint guidelines from the American Gastroenterological Association and the American College of Gastroenterology position stimulant laxatives like senna as “rescue or short-term therapy,” not a first-line daily treatment. They’re best suited for situations like travel-related constipation or temporary backup from a medication. For chronic constipation, fiber supplements and osmotic laxatives are generally recommended before stimulant options.
Who Should Avoid It
Because senna is a pharmacologically active ingredient, not just an herbal flavoring, there are several groups who should skip this tea. You should avoid it if you have inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis), a bowel obstruction, severe abdominal pain with nausea or vomiting, or signs of dehydration. People with kidney or heart problems should check with a doctor first, since electrolyte shifts pose a higher risk for these groups. The tea is also not recommended if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive.
If you have no underlying conditions and just need short-term relief from occasional constipation, the ingredient profile of Smooth Move tea is straightforward: a clinically effective dose of senna leaf, softened by a handful of traditional digestive herbs that improve both the taste and the experience.