Castor seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs dated to 2000 BC. The use of castor in India also dates back 4000 years to the Susruta Atharvaveda, and castor is mentioned in the Unani and Ayurvedic medical systems. Castor seed and oil are also documented in ancient Chinese medical texts.
The use of castor to affect fertility is various and widespread. In Africa, the hot water extract of the dried leaf is taken orally to produce sterility and to promote menstruation,[179] and the seed is taken orally as a contraceptive.[180] In Egypt, a hot water extract of the seed is taken orally as a contraceptive.[181] In Spain, castor seed oil is rubbed on the abdomen and genital area to encourage uterine contractions.[182] In Liberia, the hot water extract of the root of castor is taken orally as an emmenagogue.[183] In South Korea, the decoction of the dried seed is utilized as a contraceptive and to induce abortion.[184]
In India, castor is used in many different ways to affect fertility. The hot water extract of leaf, seed oil, or the seed oil alone is taken orally as an emmenagogue.[185] A section of the stem of castor is inserted into and held in the vagina to induce abortion.[186] The dried flowers of castor, hibiscus, and pomegranate along with pomegranate peels are burned and the smoke inhaled to produce abortion.[187] As a contraceptive measure, the castor beans’ seed coat is removed and the cotyledons are dried and taken orally on or about the 5th - 12th day of the menstrual cycle.[188]
Scientific research into the fertility regulating effects of castor has shown abortifacient, estrogenic, uterine contracting, and embryo toxic effects. The seed oil, taken orally by full term pregnant women, was shown to have a labor inducing effect at a dose of 2 ounces (60 ml).[189] The estrogenic effect of castor beans was verified when rats were fed an ethanol extract of the castor bean seed cake combined with papaya enzyme to liberate the estrogenic proteins.[190] Uterine stimulant results were shown with castor bean leaf and stem extract in rats,[191] and the embryo toxic effect of the water extract of castor bean cotyledons was shown in chicken embryos.[192]
Gathering: Sap from the seeds and leaves may cause contact dermatitis. In warmer climates castor seed pods ripen throughout the year and are gathered by hand. Where castor is grown as an annual, the fruiting branches are cut off as soon as the pods begin to pop open, and this harvest is repeated every week until the end of season. The branches are then spread out on a cloth as the pods and seeds dry, and the seeds pop out of the pods.
Preparation: Cold pressed castor oil is odorless and tasteless when pure. Seeds, if purchased for medicinal purposes, should be untreated with germination chemicals and organic.
Castor oil is most effective as an abortifacient when used in early pregnancy. Castor oil is sometimes combined with Asian ginger Zingiber officinale. Castor seed is sometimes combined with papaya enzyme, papain.
Words to the Wise: Castor is estrogenic and should be avoided by anyone taking birth control pills, estrogen medications, or blood pressure medications. Estrogenic substances are known teratogens. Castor may not be as effective for premenopausal women. Persons suffering from kidney infections should not take castor oil as a purgative. Castor oil should be avoided by anyone suffering abdominal pain or intestinal infection. The toxicity of castor beans is well documented; however reports of poisoning are rare. In most cases, adults would require in excess of eight beans to achieve a lethal dose; however fatalities have occurred from consuming as few as three seeds. Castor seeds are pretty, and children may think they are candy, so castor seeds should be stored in a locked cabinet.
Ricin is the very deadly poison that is removed in the process of cold pressing and filtering the castor beans to produce castor oil. One gram of ricin has been estimated to be 6000 times more deadly than cyanide and 12,000 times more deadly than rattlesnake venom! The seed pulp left over from castor bean oil extraction contains approximately 5% ricin by weight. A fatal dose for an adult is 0.2 mg of ricin. In the United States, due to fears of bioterrorism, a person caught in possession of ricin can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
Watch for Signs of Toxicity Specific to Castor Oiclass="underline" Violent vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration, gastro intestinal bleeding, skin cold and clammy, reduced pulse, and collapse.
Castor Oil Menstrual Promoter: 2 oz. (60 ml) castor oil are taken with 8 - 12 oz. (250 -375 ml) lukewarm milk. Asian ginger can be taken to calm the stomach. Purgative effects will be seen in one to two hours.
Castor Bean Contraceptive*: Take ½ -1 castor bean after menstruation to provide contraceptive action for one month. When conception is desired, castor beans are stopped and conception follows after one year.
*One study shows taking a single dose of three castor bean seeds at one time provides contraceptive action for one year.[193] However, this number of castor beans may be fatal, as fatal poisonings of adult humans have occurred with as few as three castor seeds.[194]
Chamomile
The... steaming of the parts by sitting over a chamber filled with hot chamomile tea, is the first step taken by the nervous wife when the menstrual flow has failed to appear sharp on time and she still lives in hopes that it is but a cold which has interfered with the regularity of its return.
-William Pepper in A System of Practical Medicine, 1886
AKA: Chamomile, chamomile, anthemis, matricaria, ground apple, and manzanilla.
Parts Used: Flowers and essential oil distilled from flowers.
Medicinal Properties: Antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, nervine, stomachic, and tonic.
Effects on the Body: Flowers are soothing to nerves and stomach; essential oil is a tonic stimulant to uterus, kidney, spleen, and liver.
Abortifacient Action: Uterine contracting, prolongs the action of the adrenal hormone adrenaline and decreases capillary permeability in the uterine tissues, and contains beta-bisabolene (abortifacient chemical).
Contains: Essential oil (with azulenes), vitamin P (rutin), thujone, and beta-bisabolene.
Description: Roman chamomile Anthemis nobilis is native to the Mediterranean region. Perennial Roman chamomile is more aromatic and robust than annual German chamomile. Roman chamomile is short, l2 in. (30 cm), and grows wild in dry sandy soil and full sun. Hemispherical daisy-like flowers (June-September) with a strong scent appear singly and occasionally in pairs off its many erect branches. Pale green, feather-like leaves line Roman chamomile’s downy stems.
179
A. Searpa .and Guerci, “Various Uses of the Castor oil Plant
181
A.A. G. El-Dean Mahmoud, “Study of Indigenous (Folk Ways), Birth Control Methods in Alexandria.” (master’s thesis-University of Alexandria – Higher Institute of Nursing, 1972).
182
D. Vitalyos, “Phytotherapy in Domestic Traditional Medicine in Matouba-Papaye (Guadaloupe).” Ph.D. Diss. – University of Paris (1979), 110.
184
W.S. Woo, E.B. Lee, K.H. Shin, S.S. Kang and H.S. Chi, “A Review of Research on Plants for Fertility Regulation in Korea.”
185
J. C. Saha, E.J. Savini and S. Kasinathan, “Ecbolic Properties of Indian Medicinal Plants. Part 1.”
186
G. Venkataraghavan, M. M. Naidu and M. Mahender, “Haematological Studies: An Experimental Feeding of Castor Bean Meal
187
Pankaj Oudhia, “Research Note,” (2003), http://www.botanical.com/site/column_poudhia/77_gyn.html (accessed April 14, 2008).
188
S.K. Vedavathy, N. Rao, M. Rajaiah and N. Nagarju, “Folklore Information from Rayalaseema Region, Andhra Pradesh for Family Planning and Birth Control.”
189
A. Mathieu, “Observations on the Use of Castor Oil, Quinine, and Pituitary Extract in the Induction of Labor. An Analysis Based on the Study of 320 Consecutive Cases from Private Practice,”
190
M.B. Sahasrabudme, “Estrogen Potency of the Defatted Castor Seed.”
191
P.C. Feng, L.J. Haynes, K. E. Magnus and J. R. Plimmer, “Further Pharmacological Screening of Some West Indian Medicinal Plants
192
S.A. Odunfa, “Microbiological and Toxicological Aspects of Fermentation of Castor Oil Seeds for Ogriri Production.”
193
F.K. Okwuasaba, S.C. Das, C.O. Isichei, M.M. Ekwenchi, and A.O. Olayinka, “Pharmacological Studies on the Antifertility Effects of RICOM-1013-J from Ricinus communis var minor and Preliminary Studies on Women Volunteers
194
Alexander Henry,