CASTOR
Other names comunes
Palma Christi, Castor Oil Plant, Castor Oil Plant, Higuerilla, Infernal Fig
Scientific name
Ricinus communis
botanical family
Euphorbiaceae
Description
It is an erect-stemmed herb, 1 to 5 meters tall, more or less branched, often becoming arboreal, with a robust trunk. The leaves are alternate and palmate. The flowers are numerous, apetalous, small, greenish, and in terminal clusters. The fruit is a spiny, tubular capsule containing an ovoid seed in each cell. The seeds are shiny, smooth, black, tinged with white, and mottled with gray and brown markings. The endosperm is fleshy and oily.
Origin
It is a plant native to southern Asia and mainly to India and Java.
Location
Common in Cuba on barren and cultivated lands. Having escaped cultivation, it continued to grow spontaneously. It also exists in the other Antilles, the southeastern United States, Bermuda, continental tropical America, and various regions of Africa, Indonesia, and Southern Europe.
Useful part
Industrial seed oil.
Recognized medicinal properties
Digestive: Purgative (Oil industrially extracted from seeds)
Pharmaceutical forms described
Oil extracted from the seeds (castor oil).
Route of administration
Orally.
Other attributed properties (Not yet approved)
The leaves are applied topically to the breasts to stimulate milk production. A decoction of the root is used for prostate problems for its diuretic effect and is also used to treat colic. The leaves are applied to the head in cases of fever to relieve pain and to treat any external inflammation. Castor oil is used to treat incipient styes by applying a drop to the eyelid.
Warnings
Lectins extracted from the seeds are cytotoxic. Cases of poisoning in cattle caused by the plant and the seeds have been reported. The seed husk contains an allergen that causes allergic reactions in hypersensitive individuals. One of the seed lectins (Ricinus communis agglutinin) has been shown to have neurotoxic effects, causing neuronal degeneration in the spinal cord in rats. One case of possible teratogenic effects caused by castor oil has been reported.
Other uses
Lectins (ricin and agglutinin) extracted from the seeds are used as markers in histochemical techniques and affinity chromatography. Castor oil is also used in soap making and as a lubricant for internal combustion engines.
Alternative
The main components of the seeds are: oil, 49–85% ricinoleic acid glycerides; proteins, 20% ricin-toxoalbumin; alkaloids (ricinin, ricidin); enzymes; phosphatidylethanolamine.
Cultivation
It is grown in loose or irrigated land and in warm climates.
Preparation and dosage
Castor oil is used as a cathartic in the usual dose of 15 ml for adults.
Source: FNM
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