Castor Bean

Overview

As an oil-bearing and medicinal plant, castor bean has a long history of cultivation, having been cultivated in ancient Egypt. It is native to the tropical North-East of Africa. The plant is so called because its seed looks like a 'tick, and in many parts of the world its occurrence is' normal.' If swallowed, every part of this plant is poisonous, mainly the seeds that consist of highly toxic ricin.

Vernacular Names

Jarak kepyar (Indonesia), Bi ma (Chinese), Wonderboom (Dutch), Grand ricin (French), Christuspalme (German), Haralu (India), Hima (Japanese), Jarak (Malaysia), Lahung (Thai), Daudan (Vietnam), Tangan-tangan (Philippines), Amanaku maram (Sri Lanka).

Agroecology

A shrub of the tropics and subtropics, it can also be cultivated in temperate zones as a summer annual. It can be found in the tropics at elevations up to 2,000 m. In areas where annual daytime temperatures are in the range of 20-30 °C, it grows best, but can withstand 15-39 °C. It prefers an average annual precipitation in the 600-1000 mm range, but tolerates 400-2000 mm. Prefer a retentive clay or sandy loam with well-drained moisture in full light. Rich soil needs it. Prefers a pH in the 5-6.5 range, tolerating pH 4.5-8.

Morphology

• Roots - taproot and prominent lateral roots.
• Stems - branched with conspicuous nodes and ringlike scars of the bracts.
• Leaves - spirally arranged on 5–40 cm long petioles, lobes sharply acuminate with serrate margins, lamina palmately 5–11-lobed.
• Flowers - unisexual, regular, short-pedicelled, lobes 3–5, apetalous, yellowish green or shades of red.
• Fruits - an ellipsoid to globose capsule, softly spiny, sometimes smooth, green turning to red or purplish red and drying to brown, dehiscent.
• Seeds - ellipsoid, 7–17 mm long, compressed, with a brittle, greyish, silvery or beige with mottled markings and shining seed coat .

Cultivation

• By seeds - Seeds retain their viability 2–3 years.
• By cuttings - cutting branches of 1-2 years old, retaining one leaf with the leaf area being 20%-25% of the original leaf area on each branch.

Chemical Constituents

Flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, alkaloid ricinine, quersetines, kaempferol, steroids, coumarin, terpenoids, tannins, sesquiterpene, gallic acid, quercetin, gentisic acid,  rutin, epicatechin, ellergic acid.

Traditional Medicinal Uses

Medicinal uses

• Castor oil as a laxative is commonly used. It is known to be quick, healthy and gentle, prompting a bowel movement in 3-5 hours, and is recommended for young and old alike. It is so effective that in cases of poisoning, it is routinely used to clear the digestive tract. It is also a part of jellies and contraceptive creams.
• Castor oil gel is useful for the treatment of non-inflammatory skin diseases and in cases of occupational eczema and dermatitis, it offers good protection.
• In the treatment of sores, castor is also applied as an emollient and as a solvent for antibiotic eye drops.
• In the processing of skin-conditioning agents, seed oil and its primary constituent, ricinoleic acid, are used as emulsion stabilizers and surfactants in cosmetics. The oil has an anti-dandruff property that is extraordinary.
• It have several biological activity such as antioxidant, antinociceptive, antiasthmatic, anti-fertility, antihistaminic, in vitro immunemodulatory, antimicrobiial, antidiabetic, wound healing, hepatoprotective, antiulcer, and lipolytic activity.

Traditional Uses

• In Kenya and the decoction of the fresh root is taken orally to encourage the expulsion of placenta or hasten parturition.
• In the form of a decoction for lumbago and allied complaints, roots are administered.
• Dried root hot water extract is used orally in Tanzania to treat diarrhea, stomach ulcers, and stomachaches.
• In Senegal, for bilharziasis, a decoction of dried leaves is externally applied.
• In South Africa, hot water extract of leaves is taken orally as an emenagogue.
• Kheer of erand seeds is a popular household remedy for Sciatica-Lumbago Syndrome after boiling them in milk.