If you eat too many laxative products such as Changqing tea, dense black stripes will appear on the intestinal mucosa, showing a leopard pattern, which is called melanosis coli.

It is dark because these laxative products contain anthraquinones. Anthraquinones can directly stimulate intestinal peristalsis, help defecation and defecation, and at the same time induce apoptosis of intestinal mucosal epithelial cells. After dead cells are swallowed by macrophages, lipofuscin is slowly produced in macrophages, which will make intestinal mucosa show this dark brown when lipofuscin is gradually concentrated.

Only laxatives containing anthraquinones can cause melanosis coli, mainly some plant medicines, such as senna and rhubarb.

Fortunately, melanosis coli has no definite health risk.

Although it is uncomfortable to look black, this kind of melanosis coli is not very dangerous, and it will not further become worse things such as colorectal cancer. There is not enough evidence to support the previous fears of possible cancer. Even, because of the strong contrast of mucosa blackening, which is equivalent to artificial staining, it is possible to help find small polyps in colonoscopy.