Phytochemical, pharmacognostic and pharmacological aspects of Ricinus communis seed oil: An overview

Abstract

Castor oil is a multipurpose vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the Ricinus communis from the family Euphorbiaceae. The castor oil contains a mixture of esters of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids such as ricinoleic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid linked to glycerol. The unique structure of major constituents of castor oil offers several functionalization possibilities for transforming it into advanced functional material. Although castor oil is considered nonedible, after purification, it is widely used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. The objective of this paper is to review and compile the research work on the castor oil, its chemicals composition, different methods of extraction with their significance and use of castor oil and its derivatives in healthcare, agriculture, and industrial applications. The literature related to castor oil and its applications was collected through different websites, academic research portals and databases, sorted and presented in this review. Castor oil has been investigated for several medicinal applications including, antiulcer, antimicrobial, bone degeneration, wound healing, and immune-booster etc. Recently, castor oil and its derivatives have been explored as lubricants, bioadhesive, polishing agents, insecticides, fertilizer, in biodiesel production, and as vehicles for various drug delivery systems. This review summarizes the chemical composition of castor oil, various methods for its extraction and purification, castor oil derivatives, and different pharmacological, medicinal, industrial and drug delivery applications. The castor oil and its derivatives offer numerous potential applications in food, pharmaceutical, agricultural and cosmetic industry that has opened up several opportunities of research in this area.