In the Soviet fairy tale, Buratino drank castor oil and "woke up the next morning cheerful and healthy, as if nothing had happened." However, in reality, castor oil is made from a toxic plant that poses a danger to human health. So why was it once used to treat numerous diseases, and where has castor oil disappeared to in our days?
What is castor oil?
Once, castor oil was extremely popular, used to treat numerous ailments—from colds to hepatitis. However, over time, the myths about its healing properties were dispelled, and today castor oil is mainly found in the composition of Vishnevsky's ointment and various natural hair strengthening products. Currently, castor oil is recommended exclusively for external use, although it is also known as a laxative. Why did this happen?
Castor oil is obtained from the seeds of a plant called castor bean, also known as the wonder tree, prickly castor oil plant, Turkish hemp, or ricin. The native land of this shrub is considered to be Africa—castor oil was used as far back as Ancient Egypt, from where it spread to India and gained popularity among followers of Ayurveda. Interestingly, the name of the oil is not related to the name of the plant from which it is produced (in Latin, ricinus means "tick"), but comes from the Latin castor, which translates to "beaver." It is said that this confusion with names arose because the smell of castor bean seeds was as repulsive as the scent of beaver castoreum, which was also used in medieval medicine. This is hard to disagree with.
The Benefits and Harms of Castor Oil
There is an opinion about the benefits of castor oil, but it is important to consider one key point: castor bean is a poisonous plant capable of causing severe, and sometimes fatal, poisoning. The culprit is ricin—a toxic protein contained in the seeds that penetrates cell membranes and blocks protein synthesis, leading to cell death. As a result, the cells of the lungs, liver, kidneys suffer, and the functioning of the intestinal wall is disrupted. The phytotoxin ricin is 6000 times more toxic than potassium cyanide!
Fortunately, during the oil production process, castor bean seeds are pressed, treated with steam, and hot water, which practically reduces the amount of toxic substances to zero. Nevertheless, even a small amount of refined castor oil ingested can cause rapid detoxification of the body, accompanied by diarrhea and vomiting. Such "cleansing" can lead to severe dehydration: this is how Italian fascists tortured their opponents by forcibly administering castor oil, causing them to suffer from severe diarrhea and die from dehydration.
Why Was Castor Oil Popular in the USSR?
So why was castor oil so popular in the Soviet era? William Pokhlebkin devotes an entire chapter to castor oil in his book "The Cuisine of the Century": he claims that true castor oil (from the Caribbean) was available only in Tsarist Russia. In the Soviet Union in the 1930s, castor oil was "faked," but it was done wisely—up to 90% of high-quality sesame or sunflower oil was added to a small amount of real castor oil obtained from America for currency. Such castor oil acted weaker, but in conditions of vegetable oil shortages in stores, it was in high demand among cooks—it could be purchased at pharmacies for pennies! The terrible smell of such oil did not deter anyone.
Today, castor oil from castor bean seeds is sold in pharmacies as a laxative, but it is more often used as an external remedy—for treating acne, burns, fungal nail diseases, as well as for stimulating the growth of eyebrows and hair.
