Castor oil, produced from castor beans, has long been considered to be of important commercial value primarily for the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, and coatings, among others. Global castor oil production is concentrated primarily in a small geographic region of Gujarat in Western India. This region is favorable due to its labor-intensive cultivation method and subtropical climate condit...

With the current high level of interest in patches to deliver drugs across the skin, the concept of external applications for delivery of medicinal substances is becoming widely accepted. This study evaluated the potential for transdermal absorption of castor oil, a treatment modality recommended by Edgar Cayce. Specific epoxydicarboxylic acids are known to be excreted via the urine when castor...

Castor oil is one of the oldest drugs. When given orally, it has a laxative effect and induces labor in pregnant females. The effects of castor oil are mediated by ricinoleic acid, a hydroxylated fatty acid released from castor oil by intestinal lipases. Despite the wide-spread use of castor oil in conventional and folk medicine, the molecular mechanism by which ricinoleic acid acts remains unk...

Castor oil is 90% ricinoleate (12-hydroxy-oleate) and has numerous industrial uses. Components of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) pose serious problems to processors. We are evaluating two complementary approaches to providing a safe source of castor oil.

This paper reports on the assessment of the quality and quantity of castor oil from castor seeds collected from different regions in Tanzania. The castor seeds from Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kagera and Morogoro regions in Tanzania were extracted by Soxhlet method using n-hexane and the oil yields were determined. The yields were 52.78%, 49.95%, 47.89%, 44.23%, 43.71% and 43.69% for...

Castor oil is the source of numerous products and is the only commercial source of the fatty acid ricinoleate, 12-hydroxy-oleate. Hydrogenated castor oil is similarly useful as the source of 12-hydroxy-stearic acid, best known as a component of lithium grease. Monoand diacylglycerols are derived from castor oil and are useful in development of lubricants and emulsifiers for cosmetics, pharmaceu...

Castor plant (Ricinus communis L.) produces a unique seed oil with numerous industrial applications. However, castor seed contains toxin ricin and hyper-allergenic 2S albumins detrimental to castor grower and processor. Our project goal is to develop a safe source of castor oil through genetic engineering. The general approach is to generate a safe castor crop by blocking expression of the rici...

Castor oil was first noted to have oxytocic properties by ancient Egyptians. Derived from the castor plant Ricinus communis, castor oil may possess properties that are useful are in post-term pregnancies This study was performed at Khatam-Alanbia, hospital in shoushtar city in 1381.In this clinical trail 80 pregnant women, who had indication for induction of labor at term were randomly assigned...

Castor oil was extracted by mechanical cold pressing (< 45 0 C) of the seeds of wild castor plant (Ricinus communis L.) found in wet marginal lands of Katsina, Nigeria. Oil yield was 39.43%. The virgin oil (obtained as clear, viscous, pale-yellow liquid) was further purified by filtration through sintered glass (fine mesh screen). This was to eliminate any dust, gum, or other particulates prese...

The castor plant Ricinus communis L., Euphorbiaceae produces seeds containing a unique oil. Castor oil is the only commodity vegetable oil that contains significant amounts of hydroxy fatty acid. This fatty acid is ricinoleic acid (12-hydroxy oleic acid) (Fig. 1) and it comprises up to 90% of the total fatty acid (FA) content of castor oil. Due to the physical and chemical properties imparted b...