What is castor oil used for

Castor is a common Chinese medicine in our lives. When it just starts to grow, the leaves are relatively large and the flowers are white after blooming, which looks very much like morning glory. When the flowers fall off, fruits will be produced. The fruits have a layer of thorns on the outside. After the intestines mature, the thorns on the outside will be particularly prickly. The seeds inside are the Chinese medicine. So what are the uses and effects of castor?

Castor can be used medicinally:

Leaves: sweet, spicy, neutral. Slightly poisonous.

Root: light, slightly spicy, neutral.

Function and indications

Leaves: reduce swelling, remove toxins and relieve itching. For treating sores, swelling and infection, mash the fresh product and apply externally; for treating eczema and itching, boil the product in water and use it for external washing; it can also kill maggots and mosquito larvae.

Root: dispels wind and promotes blood circulation, relieves pain and provides sedative effect. Used for rheumatic joint pain, tetanus, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.

Calms and relieves spasms, dispels wind and relieves blood stasis. Treat tetanus, epilepsy, rheumatic pain, bruises and pain, and scrofula.

Castor seeds can be used to extract oil, which has high viscosity and low freezing point. It is resistant to both severe cold and high temperature. It does not freeze at -8~-10℃ and does not solidify or denature at 500~600℃. It has properties that other oils do not have. It is an important raw material for industries such as chemical industry, light industry, metallurgy, electromechanical, textile, printing, dye and medicine.

Castor seeds contain about 50% oil. Castor oil is an important industrial oil that can be used to make surfactants, fatty acid glycerides, fatty glycols, drying oils, sebacic acid, stabilizers and plasticizers for polymerization, foam plastics and elastic rubber, etc. It is also a high-grade lubricant raw material. It can also be used as a medicine, having a laxative effect. Cake meal is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It is a good organic fertilizer and can be used as feed after high-temperature detoxification. The stem bark is rich in fiber and is the raw material for papermaking and artificial cotton.