Even before the news broke of the poisonous substance ricin, the waste mash from castor oil production, being found on Capitol Hill, two readers e-mailed me after my last column appeared to tell me that I should have included a warning that castor beans are poisonous and should never be planted where children can get near them. And it is true – eating even one seed may be fatal to a child.
I did some research on the castor bean and found that the ancient Egyptians used the oil as a purgative or laxative and to induce labor. Today it is still used externally for ringworm, itches, hemorrhoids, sores, abscesses and as a remedy for dandruff. While castor oil may taste terrible, those whose mothers gave it to them as children need not fear that she was trying to poison them, as the oil itself is safe to ingest.
Oddly enough, there is research that shows that the deadly ricin can be bioengineered to attack only cancer cells or only AIDS virus cells. Using such techniques, the diseases might possibly be prevented from spreading and causing life-threatening symptoms. Castor oil has also been suggested as a renewable energy source.
There are other things in your medicine chest that come from plants. Ipecac, which is used to induce vomiting, grows wild from coastal New Jersey to Florida. American Indians used ipecac leaf tea for diabetes; root tea as a strong laxative, and for pinworms and rheumatism; and the poulticed root on snakebites.
Aspirin, or acetyl-salicylic acid, was derived from salicin, found in the bark of willow trees. Today we use aspirin to reduce pain, inflammation and fever, but the willow bark was traditionally used for diarrhea, fevers, pain, arthritis and rheumatism. A poultice or wash of the bark was used for corns, cuts, cancers, ulcers and poison ivy rashes. Today willows are grown commercially in Europe and use of the bark is approved in Germany for fever, rheumatic complaints and headaches.
Witch hazel, an unusual shrub that blossoms in late fall after the leaves have fallen, is the basis for the witch hazel in our medicine cabinets that we use for skin irritations, minor pain and itching. If you grow your own witch hazel, a tea made from the bark can be drunk to relieve coughing and asthma. The tea can also be used externally on bruises and sore muscles.
Many people use aloe vera gel to soothe sunburns. While we can’t grow the aloe plant outdoors here in Wisconsin, it is a popular indoor plant. It is a thick, fleshy, spiky looking plant that requires very little care other than periodic watering. Many cooks keep a plant handy in the kitchen. If they burn themselves they cut off a leaf and apply the gel inside to the burn to help it heal faster.
The majority of today’s pharmaceuticals have their basis in plants. Scientists study plants to try to isolate which chemicals in them cause certain effects and then try to reproduce those chemicals synthetically. This is because a plant or plant part cannot be patented, but a synthetic chemical can.
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