Castor Oil
Proven Health Benefits of Castor Oil
- Castor oil kills fungi without asking twice.
- Castor oil is a powerful laxative and relieves of constipation.
- Castor oil is good for acne and other skin infections.
- Castor oil is friendly with hair, helping its growth and giving it luster.
- Castor oil promotes skin regeneration and helps in wound healing.
What is Castor Oil?
Castor oil is from the seed of castor plant. The plant, Ricinus communis, is a tall shrub, reaching about 3 meters with stout hollow branches and large leaves, spreading over them. The fruit that bears the seeds is a spiny capsule with spikes, which break open on maturity. Castor seeds are rich in oil, and will give a yield of about 40 – 60%. The oil, which is yellowish in color, is a major topic for debate concerning its safety. This because it contains allergenic proteins and ricin, which is described as extremely toxic to human and livestock. However, this only but discourages DIY castor oils, because modern industrial process purifies the oil and rid them of these compounds such that they are even applied in the pharmaceutical industry.1 Indeed, castor oil is widespread across many industries due to its peculiar composition and structure. This, to the oil, is just a mere continuation of culture, as castor oil has found itself in many ancient herbal medicine preparations, especially in ancient Asia.
What is the Usefulness of Castor Oil?
Castor oil finds itself healthy in many areas. When administered orally, anecdotal observations have attributed constipation relief and laxative effects to castor oil. It has also been observed in animal studies that castor oil is a powerful anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent.3 The most common ways that castor oil is used, with respect to human health, are topical application to hair and skin. Here, the effective anti-fungal and anti-bacteria properties of the oil are employed to counter skin infections and lesions. Castor oil also helps in wound healing, hair growth, luster and prevention of breakages. Other industrial applications see castor oil being used for biofuels, fertilizers, polymers, biodegradable polyesters, soaps and waxes, lubricants and much more.2
Health Benefits:
- Hair growth
- Skin care
- Wound Healing
- Laxative
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-fungal
- Anti-bacteria
Nutrition
The chemical composition of castor oil is peculiar and quite fascinating to the scientific community. It is virtually the only known natural oil that contains as much as 90% mono-unsaturated fatty acids, with little inclusions of poly-unsaturated and saturated fatty acids. In particular, ricinoleic acid is the most abundant fatty acid, with the others including oleic, linoleic and stearic acid. Other compounds in castor oil are phytosterols such as β-sitosterol and 4-desmethylsterols, tocopherols and tocotrienols, phospholipids and phenolic compounds. These are mostly responsible for its anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties.
Toxicity:
As already mentioned, unpurified DIY castor oils may be deadly, due to the presence of ricin, a protein that irreversibly inactivates ribosomes, halting protein manufacture and eventually, cell death. Only purified castor oils should be used, with appropriate direction. Castor oil may also induce parturition. Therefore, it may cause pre-mature births and even miscarriages in pregnant women, who use it indiscriminately.