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Jan 20, 2009

Miracle Gifts from Nature

Health Benefits of Castor Seed Oil
The castor is a small annual plant. It ranges from 1 to 7 meters in height. It has well-developed roots , with green and reddish stems which become hollow with age. The fruit is a spherical capsule with small grey seeds with brown spots.

The seeds of the plant contain alkaloid ricinine and toxalbumine ricin. They yield a fixed oil, which is used chiefly for medicinal purposes. Though castor plant or its oil is not a food, yet it is one of the most commonly used oil all over the skin and alleviating swelling and pain.

Castor oil chiefly consists of ricinoleate of glycerol or triricinolein with a small quantity of palmitin and stearin. Unlike most fixed oils, castor oil possesses the remarkable property of mixing with absolute alcohol and glacial acetic acid in all proportions. The glycerides of ricinoleic acid in castor oil are mainly responsible for its purgative effect.

Botanical Name- Ricinus communis ,Indian Name- Arandi ,ODIA NAME : JADAA
Castor Oil is a vegetable oil that is extracted from the castor bean, though it is not classified as a bean. Castor Oil is also used in some household toiletry products such as soap and lubricants. But is also used in things like brake fluid, paints, dyes, inks and waxes, the reason why is that castor oil is very smooth and silky. The health benefits of castor oil include relief from rheumatism, menstrual disorders, and constipation. It also helps in oral care, proper lactation, birth control, hair care, and skin care.
Some of the health benefits are that Castor Oil helps kidney burn; it also serves as a laxative. It can lubricate your bowels and make your system flow a little better. It is also safe to be used by pregnant women as they give birth; it makes the birth a lot smoother so to speak. Castor oil is also said to be great for dry skin conditions, the lubricant in the Castor Oil helps ease the roughness of the skin but castor oil is an eye irritant and is very similar to pepper spray. Be careful when handling it; even if you touch a little bit do not touch your eyes.
Even half a century ago, castor oil was a nightmare among children, and there were sufficient reasons behind that. It was extensively used as a purgative, and most peculiarly, as a medicine against almost all ailments in children (and olds too), ranging from cough and cold, fever, constipation, indigestion, ingestion of any poisonous stuff, tape worms and round worms, skin diseases and so on. The idea behind such a treatment was that malfunctions in the stomach were the roots to all other problems. So, whenever you have a problem, you need a thorough wash of your digestive system and the problem will be gone. Castor Oil was infamous due to other reasons too. All the medicinal uses it has are mostly due to its germicidal, toxic, purgative and disinfectant properties. Castor Oil is tasteless and odorless oil extracted from Castor Seeds obtained from castor plant which is scientifically known as Ricinus Communis.

The health Benefits of castor oil :

Rheumatism: The Ricinoleic Acid, Oleic Acid, Linoleic Acid and other fatty acids found in castor oil are very effective in treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, gout etc. They easily penetrate through the skin. Castor Oil is many a times mixed with other medicines for rheumatism to facilitate their penetration and to enhance the effects.

Birth Control: Castor Oil contains a toxin called Ricin (a protein) which, if administered in very low dosages, acts as germicidal. Due to this property, it is also used as Spermicidal (in spermicidal gels, lotions etc.). If administered to pregnant ladies in higher dosages, it can also cause abortions. However, the second mode of birth control can be fatal for the mother too and is never recommended.

Menstrual Disorders: Ricinoleic acid, present in castor oil, is Emenagogue in nature and helps open menstruation in cases of delayed or painful or stopped menstruations. It also helps relieve pain during menstruations.
Skin Care: Castor oil contains Undecylenic Acid which, due to its germicidal and disinfectant properties, is useful in treating skin diseases and skin ulcers, particularly those which are caused due to bacterial or fungal infections.

Lactation: Most of the substances which are Emenagogue in nature, are also Galactagogue in nature, that is, they stimulate secretion of milk. So is castor oil. Apart from easing and enhancing milk flow, it also increases quantity of milk due to presence of fatty acids in it. However, its cold-compressed form only should be taken in low doses to avoid its adverse effects on the infant.

Hair Care: The germicidal, insecticidal and fungicidal properties of Ricin and Ricinoleic acid present in castor oil protect the scalp and hair from microbial and fungal infections, the two prime causes for hair loss. In addition, the fatty acids in it nourish hair and prevent the scalp from drying by retaining moisture.

Constipation: Castor is most widely used as a laxative (better call it purgative). It is thus a very effective treatment in extreme cases of constipation where the bulk laxatives do not work.

Other Benefits: Used as an effective purgative. Ricinoleic acid is anti inflammatory in nature. Castor oil is also used in medicines for HIV positive people, as compounds like Ricinoleic acid and Ricin in it have germicidal and anti viral effects. Castor oil is also used on burns, wounds etc. to protect them from infections

Medicinal Action and Uses : Castor Oil is regarded as one of the most valuable laxatives in medicine. It is of special service in temporary constipation and wherever a mild action is essential, and is extremely useful for children and the aged. It is used in cases of colic and acute diarrhoea due to slow digestion, but must not be employed in cases of chronic constipation, which it only aggravates whilst relieving the symptoms. It acts in about five hours, affecting the entire length of the bowel, but not increasing the flow of bile, except in very large doses. The mode of its action is unknown. The oil will purge when rubbed into the skin, or injected. It is also used for expelling worms, after other special remedies have been administered.

Castor Oil forms a clean, light-coloured soap, which dries and hardens well and is free from smell. It has been recommended for medicinal use. The inferior qualities of the oil are frequently employed in India for soap-making.
Externally, the oil has been recommended for various coetaneous complaints, such as ringworm, itch, etc. The fresh leaves are used by nursing mothers in the Canary Islands as an external application, to increase the flow of milk.
The oil varies much in activity - the East Indian is the more active, but the Italian has the least taste.

Castor Oil is an excellent solvent of pure alkaloids and such solutions of Atropine, Cocaine, etc., as are used in ophthalmic surgery. It is also dropped into the eye to remove the after-irritation caused by the removal of foreign bodies.
Below are some other medicinal properties of castor seeds:
- A poultice of castor seeds can be applied with gratifying results to gouty and rheumatic swellings. A decoction of the roots of castor plant with carbonate of potash is useful in the treatment of lumbago, rheumatism and sciatica. A paste of the kernel without the embryo, boiled in milk, is also given as a medicine in these conditions.

- Castor oil is a harmless purgative. It simply passes out after completing its purgative action, making the patient feel a mild irritation in the anus at that time. Administering of castor oil as a purgative is very simple. About 30 to 60 grams of pure odorless castor oil is given orally with 250 to 375 grams of lukewarm milk. It acts just after an hour.

Those who find its use nauseating and unpalatable can take it with ginger water or aqua anisi in place on milk. This greatly reduces its unpleasantness, while destroying mucous and promoting healthy appetite.

- A poultice of castor leaves is useful as an external application of boils and swellings. Coated with some bland oil such as coconut oil and heated, the hot leaves can be applied over guinea-worm sores to extract the worms. A poultice of castor seeds is also applied to scrofulous sores and boils due to tuberculosis of lymph nodes.

- Castor oil massaged over the breast after child-birth increases the flow of milk, as it stimulates the mammary glands. The leaves of castor can also be used to foment the breast, for the same purpose.

- Castor oil massaged over the body, before bath, keeps the skin healthy and imparts sound sleep. Such an oil bath may be taken once in a week. Applying castor oil over hand and feet before going to bed keeps them soft and similarly over the eyebrows and eyelashes keeps them well-groomed.

- If used regularly as hair oil, it helps the growth of the hair and cure dandruff.