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The castor oil seed has a very unique chemical composition. The seed plant is native to India and 90% of its composition is ricinolete acid. This is a fatty acid that is thought to be responsible for castor oil’s healing properties. In Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Persia and 17th Century Europe and the Americas, it was used for medical reasons.
There are many uses for castor oil besides medical such as food additive, flavoring agent, mold inhibitor, ingredient in skin care products and cosmetics, used in the manufacturing of plastics, rubbers, synthetic resins, fibers, paints, varnishes, lubricants, sealants, dyes and leather treatments. In WWI it was used as an aircraft lubricant.
Besides being used in the industrialized world, were you aware that castor seeds could be deadly? The toxin ricin is made from a protein in the castor seed and if ingested, gets into the ribosomes of your cells where it prevents protein synthesis that kills the cells. Mash that is left over after processing castor seeds into oil, makes the ricin. Just 1 milligram of ricin is fatal if inhaled or ingested and eating just 5 to 10 seeds would be fatal.
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