Editing Ricinus (section)

== Uses ==

=== Folk medicine ===
Castor oil and the plant's roots and leaves are used in the ancient Indian medicinal system of [[Ayurveda]].

=== Modern commercial usage ===
{{Main|Castor oil}}

Global castor seed production is around two million tons per year. Leading producing areas are India (with over three-quarters of the global yield), China and Mozambique, and it is widely grown as a crop in Ethiopia. There are several active breeding programmes.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+Top ten castor oil seed producers – 2019
|-
! Country
! Production ([[tonne]]s)
! Footnote
|-
| India || align="right" |1,196,680 || align="right" |
|-
| Mozambique || align="right" |85,089 || align="right" | F
|-
| China || align="right" |36,000 || align="right" | *
|-
| Brazil || align="right" |16,349 || align="right" |
|-
| Ethiopia || align="right" |11,157 || align="right" | *
|-
| Vietnam || align="right" |7,000 || align="right" | *
|-
| South Africa || align="right" |6,721 || align="right" | F
|-
| Paraguay || align="right" |6,000 || align="right" | *
|-
| Thailand || align="right" |1,588 || align="right" | *
|-
| Pakistan || align="right" |1,107 || align="right" | *
|-
| bgcolor="#cccccc" |{{noflag}}'''World'''
| bgcolor="#cccccc" align="right" | '''1,407,588 '''
| bgcolor="#cccccc" align="right" | '''A'''
|-
| colspan="5" |No symbol = official figure, F = FAO estimate,<br>* = Unofficial/Semi-official/mirror data,<br>A = Aggregate (may include official, semi-official or estimates)
|}

Other modern uses of natural, blended, or chemically altered castor products include:
* As a non-freezing, [[antimicrobial]], pressure-resistant lubricant for special purposes, either of latex or metals, or as a lubricating component of fuels.<ref name="MortierOrszulik2012">{{cite book |author1=R. M. Mortier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uKKNBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA226 |title=Chemistry and Technology of Lubricants |author2=S. T. Orszulik |date=6 December 2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4615-3272-9 |pages=226–}}</ref>
* As sources of various chemical [[feedstock]]s.<ref>[http://www.castoroilworld.com/castor-crop-information/ Castor Oil World]</ref>
* As a raw material for some varieties of [[biodiesel]].
* As attractively patterned, low-cost personal adornments, such as non-durable necklaces and bracelets. Holes must not be drilled in the beans to make beads. The outer shell protects the wearer from the poison. Wearing castors beans has been known to cause rashes, and worse.
* As a component of many cosmetics.
* As an anti-microbial. The high percentage of [[ricinoleic acid]] residues in castor oil and its derivatives, inhibits many microbes, whether viral, bacterial or fungal. They accordingly are useful components of many ointments and similar preparations.
* As the major raw material (in oil form) for [[polyglycerol polyricinoleate]], a modifier that improves the flow characteristics of [[cocoa butter]] in the manufacture of [[chocolate bar]]s, and thereby reduces the costs.
* As a repellent for [[mole (animal)|mole]]s and [[vole]]s in lawns.

=== Historical usage ===
==== Ancient uses ====
Castor seeds have been found in [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] tombs dating back to 4000 BC; the slow-burning oil was mostly used to fuel lamps. [[Herodotus]] and other [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] travellers noted the use of castor seed oil for lighting, body ointments, and improving hair growth and texture. [[Cleopatra]] is reputed to have used it to brighten the whites of her eyes. The [[Ebers Papyrus]] is an ancient Egyptian medical treatise believed to date from 1552 BC. Translated in 1872, it describes castor oil as a [[laxative]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tunaru |first1=S |last2=Althoff |first2=TF |last3=Nusing |first3=RM |last4=Diener |first4=M |last5=Offermanns |first5=S |year=2012 |title=Castor Oil Induces Laxation and Uterus Contraction via Ricinoleic Acid Activating Prostaglandin EP3 Receptors |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=109 |issue=23 |pages=9179–9184 |bibcode=2012PNAS..109.9179T |doi=10.1073/pnas.1201627109 |pmc=3384204 |pmid=22615395 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The use of castor bean oil (''eranda'') in India has been documented since 2000 BC in lamps and in local medicine as a laxative, [[purgative]], and [[cathartic]] in [[Unani]], [[Ayurvedic]], [[siddha]] and other [[ethnomedical]] systems. Traditional Ayurvedic and [[siddha medicine]] considers castor oil the king of medicinals for curing [[arthritis|arthritic diseases]]. It is regularly given to children to treat infections with parasitic worms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rekha |first=D. |date=2013 |title=Study of medicinal plants used from koothanoallur and marakkadai, Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India. |journal=Hygeia Journal for Drugs and Medicines |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=164–170}}</ref>

The ancient Romans had a variety of medicinal/cosmetic uses for both the seeds and the leaves of ''Ricinus communis''. The naturalist [[Pliny the Elder]] cited the poisonous qualities of the seeds, but mentioned that they could be used to form wicks for oil lamps (possibly if crushed together), and the oil for use as a laxative and lamp oil.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Bostock & H.T. Riley |year=1855 |title=Pliny, the Natural History Chapter 41. – Castor Oil, 16 Remedies |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D23%3Achapter%3D41}}</ref> He also recommends the use of the leaves as follows:

{{blockquote|"The leaves are applied topically with vinegar for [[erysipelas]], and fresh-gathered, they are used by themselves for diseases of the mamillæ [breasts] and de- fluxions; a decoction of them in wine, with [[polenta]] and [[saffron]], is good for inflammations of various kinds. Boiled by themselves, and applied to the face for three successive days, they improve the complexion."<ref>{{cite book| title=Natural History| author=Pliny the Elder| page=Chapter 41, Book 23.41}}</ref>}}

In [[Haiti]] it is called ''maskreti'',<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeA1-Of-LscC&pg=PA347 |title=Guide to Afro-Cuban Herbalism |year=2009 |isbn=9781438980973 |editor=Quiros-Moran, Dalia |page=347 |publisher=AuthorHouse |access-date=5 August 2017}}</ref> where the plant is turned into a red oil that is then given to newborns as a [[purgative]] to cleanse the insides of their first stools.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FelsAAAAMAAJ&q=maskreti+newborn+haiti |title=Comprehensive Maternity Nursing: Perinatal and Women's Health |year=1990 |isbn=9780867204216 |editor1=Auvenshine, Martha Ann |page=122 |publisher=Jones and Bartlett Publishers |access-date=5 August 2017 |editor2=Enriquez, Martha Gunther}}</ref>

Castor seed and its oil have also been used in China for centuries, mainly prescribed in local medicine for internal use or use in dressings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Scarpa |first1=Antonio |last2=Guerci |first2=Antonio |date=1982 |title=Various uses of the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis L.) a review |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=117–137 |doi=10.1016/0378-8741(82)90038-1 |issn=0378-8741 |pmid=7035750}}</ref>

==== Uses in punishment ====
{{further|Castor oil#Punishment}}
Castor oil was used as an instrument of coercion by the paramilitary [[Blackshirts]] under the regime of [[Italian Fascism|Italian]] dictator [[Benito Mussolini]] and by the [[Civil Guard (Spain)|Spanish Civil Guard]] in Francoist Spain. Dissidents and regime opponents were forced to ingest the oil in large amounts, triggering severe [[diarrhea]] and [[dehydration]], which could ultimately cause death. This punishment method was originally thought of by [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]], the Italian poet and Fascist supporter, during the [[First World War]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Petersen |first=Jens |title=Violence in Italian Fascism, 1919–25 |date=1982 |work=Social Protest, Violence and Terror in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century Europe |pages=275–299 |place=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-16941-2_17 |isbn=978-1-349-16943-6}}</ref>

=== Other uses ===
Extract of  ''Ricinus communis'' exhibited [[acaricide|acaricidal]] and [[insecticide|insecticidal]] activities against the adult of ''[[Haemaphysalis bispinosa]]'' ([[Acarina]]: [[Ixodidae]]) and [[hematophagous]] fly ''[[Hippobosca maculata]]'' ([[Diptera]]: [[Hippoboscidae]]).<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Zahir AA, Rahuman AA, Bagavan A |title=Evaluation of botanical extracts against ''Haemaphysalis bispinosa'' Neumann and ''Hippobosca maculata'' Leach |journal=Parasitology Research |volume=107 |issue=3 |pages=585–92 |date=August 2010 |pmid=20467752 |doi=10.1007/s00436-010-1898-7 |s2cid=20498642 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

Members of the Bodo tribe of [[Bodoland]] in [[Assam]], India, use the leaves of the plant to feed the [[larva]]e of [[Muga silk|muga]] and [[Eri silk|endi]] [[silkworm]]s.

Castor oil is an effective motor lubricant and has been used in [[internal combustion engine]]s, including those of [[World War I]] airplanes, some racing cars and some [[model airplanes]]. It has historically been popular for lubricating [[two-stroke engines]] due to high resistance to heat compared to petroleum-based oils. It does not mix well with petroleum products, particularly at low temperatures, but mixes better with the methanol-based fuels used in [[Glow plug (model engine)|glow model engines]]. In [[Total-loss oiling system|total-loss-lubrication]] applications, it tends to leave carbon deposits and varnish within the engine. It has been largely replaced by synthetic oils that are more stable and less toxic.

[[Jewellery]] can be made of castor beans, particularly necklaces and bracelets.<ref name="Dogs" /> Holes must not be drilled into the castor beans as the shell protects the wearer from the ricin.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}  Any chips in the shell can cause poisoning of the wearer.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}  Pets who chew the jewellery can become ill.<ref name="Dogs">{{Cite web | url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/31130769/ns/health-pet_health/t/growing-danger-toxic-plants-pose-pet-threat/#.VEOiHxaNrIU | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511004106/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/31130769/ns/health-pet_health/t/growing-danger-toxic-plants-pose-pet-threat#.VEOiHxaNrIU | url-status=dead | archive-date=11 May 2014 | title=Growing danger: Toxic plants pose pet threat| website=[[NBC News]]| date=2009-06-10}}</ref>

''Ricinus communis''  leaves are used in botanical printing (also known as ecoprinting) in Asia. When bundled with cotton or silk fabric and steamed, the leaves can produce a green-colored imprint.<ref>{{Citation |title=how to make ECOPRINT DIY | date=3 September 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7zPTcR1bFE |language=en |access-date=2022-10-23}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=YouTube not a reliable source|date=October 2022}}