Castor oil plant is known by it’s Latin name “Ricinus”. Other names are “Christ’s palm” or “Tree of the cross” or “Eranda“.
It’s leaf has a shape of hand and pointing upwards. It is native to Africa and India. It is annual herb and grows about 1 to 3 meters in height.
It is known as ஆமணக்கு ஆலை (tamil), ఆముదము (telugu), ಹರಳು (kannada), अरंडी (hindi), কেগে (manipuri), Gandharva-Hasta, Panchangul, Vatari (Sanskrit), Erri (Assamese), Bherenda (Bengali), Erando (Gujarati), Ambanakka, Avanakku (Malayalam),
Castor oil plant has three varieties. They are white, red, and big Castor oil plants. The plant having small leaves is considered for medicinal applications. Castor oil is pale yellow in color, and gets it’s medicinal properties from high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids.
It is acrid and bitter in taste and causes over heat. It helps in curing all stomach ailments both in upper and lower abdomen and controls blood motions. Also helps in healing diseases like piles, heart problems, Typhoid fever, Leprosy, itching, swelling, gastric worms, and constipation.
It excretes all toxic substances from the body, Removes headaches caused by overheat, and best medicine for back aches.
Castor Oil Plant usages in Ayurveda to cure various diseases
In Manipur, castor plant leaves are warmed, crushed and applied to anus as a remedy for bleeding piles. Castor Seed oil is purgative. Castor Leaf paste is used as poultice on sores, gout or rheumatic swellings. Decoction of root is given in lumbago. For lactation, leaves of the plant are heated and applied to a woman’s breasts to improve secretion of milk.
Castor oil is found to be having chemical properties which makes it a very good medicine and also food ingredient. People believed it and used this for body massage, and to cure many diseases. This is strongly opposed by modern medical educationists and physicians. Due to this our present generation is observing hair loss, deaf, lack of clear vision at a very early stage that is before 25 years only. It would be better if we can understand the reality and make use of Castor oil at least in little quantities to have a pleasant and healthy life.
For Elephantiasis
Take equal quantities of roots of Castor oil plant , Thorn apple plant, Five leaved chaste tree, Trianthema Portulacastrum, Drum stick tree and mustered.
Grind all with water and extract juice. Measure the juice and add equal quantity of caster oil to it. Heat the mix till only oil remains and filter it. Measure the filtered oil and add Honey wax equal to half of the oil and make an ointment.
Store this ointment in glass bottle and apply on the leg affected by elephantiasis to cure it.
For Kidney Problems
Regularly Consuming 10 grams of edible Castor oil before sleeping at night improves kidney function. It allows passage of free urine, and dissolves stones in urinary tract.
For Intestinal Worms and Tapeworms in Kids
Drinking 10 grams of lukewarm Castor oil early in the morning will get ride of all intestinal and tapeworms through motion.
For Sticky Motions
Take leaves of Castor oil plant and bandage on lower abdomen. Or Drinking 10 grams of Castor oil with a pinch of camphor in it, Early in the morning will cure sticky motions in 2 to 3 days.
For Black Spots on Skin
Take 225 Castor oil seeds, Remove the shell and extract the gram. To this add 12 grams of dry ginger powder and grind together to make fine powder. Make small pills out of this mix. Swallow one pill both in the morning and evening with water, remove black spots from skin in few days.
For Cluster Headaches and Pneumonia
Extract 5 grams Castor oil seed gram and 3 grams of dry ginger powder and add them to half liter of water. Boil this water till only half of it remains and filter it. Drink this hot decoction half in the morning and remaining in the evening. This cures cluster headaches and pneumonia.
For Joint Pains
Take young tender leaves of Castor oil plant, Thorn apple plant(ummetha), Madar plant (Jilledu) and tobacco plant. Grind all together into fine paste and make tiny pills out of it. Air dry them and store. Consume one pill twice a day to cure joint pains. This must be done under the supervision of a ayurveda medical practitioner only.
For Sciatica Pains
Take Castor oil seeds, Remove the shell and extract the grams. Take 10 grams of this and crush with water and, add 250 ml of milk to it. Mix 30 grams of candy sugar powder to this liquid. Drinking this regularly will give relief from sciatica pains.
For eye diseases: Using Castor oil lamp in bed room helps in preventing many eye diseases. The light and smoke from the lamp will be good for cooling eyes. Also massage feet with this oil to have gradual cure from many eye diseases.
For variety of fevers: The root of Castor oil plant can be used as the best medicine for many fevers. Crush the root to fine powder after fine cleaning. Heat the powder with the water and make a decoction. By consuming one to two tea spoons, twice a day as per the need, will cure fever.
For jaundice: Consuming the mix prepared from the juice extracted by the leaves of Castor oil plant, and cow milk each in equal quantities of 10 ml morning, and taking rice with cow milk, also drinking cow milk even for thirsty cures jaundice in few days.
For diseases of head: Massaging head slowly with the Castor oil and taking head bath removes unnecessary excessive heat from the head and also helps in recovery from the head and eye diseases.
For severe pains: Mix the decoction prepared from the roots of Castor oil plant, dry ginger powder, and asafoetida and also little salt. This mix can be consumed twice a day about 10 grams to get relief and cure from severe pains.
For constipation: Mix four spoons of Castor oil, two spoons of ginger juice, and two spoons of honey. Heat the mix and consuming it early in the morning helps you in recovering from constipation and related diseases. Only rice with pepper juice (rasam) can be taken as food through out the day.
For Back pain: Remove the external part of the Castor oil seeds and crush the seeds to paste. Heat the mix of the paste and milk and filter the composition. By drinking the extracted milk regularly, reduce the back pain.
For paralysis: Mix the juice extracted from the bark or roots of ganuga tree in equal quantity with Castor oil. Heat the mix till Castor oil remains. Filter this oil and use to massage on affected parts of the body to recover from paralysis.
Note: Pregnant and lactating women, people suffering from appendicitis and abdominal pain should avoid Castor oil.
These seeds are toxic and more than 1 seed or 15 of oil for kids and more than 3 seeds or 50 ml of oil for adults can prove dangerous.
It is always advisable to consult your physician before using Castor oil as medicine.