What are the effects and uses of castor beans? Do they really only cause diarrhea when consumed? Let's explore these questions in detail. Castor beans are pungent and hot in nature, highly toxic, and classified as a hot purgative. They possess multiple functions: warming the intestines to eliminate stagnation, expelling water to reduce bloating, clearing accumulated food, and purging deep-seated cold from the gastrointestinal tract. They are also commonly used externally to treat sores and abscesses, break up accumulations, and detoxify.Additionally, castor oil irritates skin and mucous membranes. When ingested, it acts as a potent purgative with strong antiparasitic and antibacterial properties.
【Functions of Castor Oil】
Expels cold accumulations, unblocks orifices, expels phlegm, promotes water metabolism, and kills parasites.Treats cold stagnation, chest and abdominal distension with acute pain, blood masses, phlegm accumulation, diarrhea, edema. Externally applied for sore throat, throat obstruction, malignant sores, scabies, and ringworm.Purifies the five viscera and six bowels, unblocks obstructions, and facilitates water and grain passage. Eliminates necrotic tissue.
② Compendium of Materia Medica: Treats amenorrhea, fetal decay, purulent blood stasis in wounds, male impotence, and neutralizes blister beetle venom.
③ Treatise on Medicinal Properties: Breaks up abdominal masses and stagnant qi, treats ten types of edema, paralysis, and abdominal distension.④ Ben Cao Shi Yi: Treats abdominal masses, stagnant qi, fullness, internal accumulations, cold qi blood clots, undigested food, phlegm retention, and water retention.Treats malignant sores, polyps, scabies, and carbuncles. ⑥ Medical Origins: Guides qi to eliminate accumulations, dispels stagnant cold in viscera, digests injuries from cold, raw, or hard foods, and removes cold-dampness from the stomach. ⑦ Essentials of Decoction Formulas: Promotes bowel movement and stops diarrhea.
⑧ Compendium of Materia Medica: Treats diarrhea, epilepsy, abdominal pain, hernia, facial paralysis, deafness, sore throat, toothache, and unblocks orifices.【Dosage and Administration】
Internal use: Incorporate into pills or powders at 0.5–1 fen (using croton seed powder). External use: Wrap in cotton and insert into ears or nose; apply as a paste or wrap in silk to rub affected areas.
【Precautions】
Contraindicated for those without cold-induced stagnation, pregnant women, and the physically weak.
① Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu: Yuan Hua serves as its adjuvant.It is incompatible with Eupatorium fortunei. It is contraindicated with Rheum palmatum, Coptis chinensis, and Euphorbia lathyris.
② "Yao Du": It is contraindicated with asparagus, water chestnut shoots, fermented soybean paste, and cold water. It benefits from fire. It is incompatible with Pharbitis nil.
③ "Yao Xing Lun": It induces abortion.
④ "Ben Cao Yan Yi Bu Yi": Contraindicated for those without cold accumulation.
【Formulas】
1. For cold-induced chest constriction without heat symptoms: 3 parts Platycodon root, 1 part Croton seed (remove seed coat, roast until blackened, grind into paste), 3 parts Fritillaria bulb. Grind into powder. Take with warm water: 1/2 qian for robust individuals, less for the weak. If the disease is above the diaphragm, vomiting will occur; below the diaphragm, diarrhea will occur.If no bowel movement occurs, administer one cup of warm porridge. If diarrhea persists excessively, administer one cup of cold porridge. (White Powder from Shanghan Lun)
2. For sudden-onset abdominal disorders, including evil qi invasion, abdominal distension, acute stabbing pain, shortness of breath, jaw locking, or sudden collapse: 1 ounce rhubarb, 1 ounce dried ginger, 1 ounce croton seed (dehulled, roasted, ground into paste).. All ingredients must be fresh and potent. First, grind rhubarb and dried ginger into powder. Grind castor beans and mix into the powder. Pound the mixture thoroughly with a pestle. Form into powder or mix with honey to make pills.Administer three to four pills the size of soybeans with warm water or wine. If not expelled, lift the head and force-feed until swallowed; relief should follow shortly. If ineffective, administer three more pills. Abdominal rumbling will occur, followed by vomiting and defecation. For locked jaw, pry teeth open to administer.(Three-Ingredient Emergency Pill from Golden Cabinet Essential Prescriptions)
3. For cold-induced abdominal masses, undigested food, chronic indigestion, and constipation: One liter of croton seeds, five liters of clear wine. Simmer for three days and nights. Grind while extremely hot, combine with wine, and gently boil. Form pills the size of broad beans. Take one pill with water. If vomiting occurs, take two pills.(Thousand Gold Prescriptions)
4. For treating abdominal masses and masses: Five castor seeds (wrapped in paper and pounded to remove oil), three liang red yeast rice (roasted), one liang wheat bran (roasted). Grind all into fine powder, mix thoroughly, and form into pills the size of millet grains. Take ten pills on an empty stomach with clear soup.(From Sea-Side Formulas)
5. For yin-poisoned cold damage causing cardiac constriction with extreme tenderness on palpation, constipation of both bowels, and only slightly warm exhaled breath: Grind ten castor seeds, mix with one money of flour, form into a cake, place on the navel, and moxa with five moxa cones. When qi reaches, relief follows.(Ren Zhai Direct Point Prescriptions)
6. For infantile phlegm-induced wheezing: Pound one croton seed into paste, wrap in cotton, and insert into nostrils. Phlegm will discharge spontaneously. (Ancient and Modern Medical Mirror)
7. For cold phlegm-induced wheezing:Unripe tangerine peel (one piece), spread flat. Place one castor bean inside, secure with hemp thread. Roast over fire until charred but intact. Grind into powder. Mix with ginger juice and one cup of wine. Sip and swallow. (Medical Discourse)
8. Treating persistent summer diarrhea: One large castor bean (shell removed). Pierce with a needle, then roast over a lamp until charred but intact. Grind finely. Mix with melted wax to form one pill. Take with water before meals.(Effective Prescriptions from the World of Medicine, Needlehead Pill)
9. Treating dysentery: One ounce of croton seeds, remove skin and core, roast, grind finely. Mix with hot pork liver to form pills. Take on an empty stomach with rice water, adjusting dosage as tolerated. Beef liver is especially effective. Alternatively, take with steamed buns. (Prescriptions from Experience)
10. Treating bloody and white diarrhea in children:One qian of croton seeds (roasted until soft, oil removed), two qian of hundred-grass ash (ground into powder). Mix with roasted flour paste to form millet-sized pills. Dose according to individual condition. For bloody diarrhea, take with licorice decoction; for white diarrhea, take with rice water; for both, take with ginger decoction. (Complete Guide to Pediatric Care)
11. For latent summer heat combined with cold injury, irregular body temperature, vomiting and diarrhea in cholera, dry mouth and thirst:Twenty-five large croton seeds (peeled, membrane removed, ground until oil-free, powdered), one ounce and one-tenth of yellow丹 (fried, ground, sifted). Grind both ingredients evenly. Melt beeswax into liquid, form into pills the size of a tung seed. Take five pills each time, soak briefly in water, then swallow with fresh well water. Take without regard to time.(Water-soaked Dan from Bureau Formulas)
12. For abdominal distension with rumbling sounds and dark skin, termed water-dropsy: Ninety castor beans (dehusked and pitted), sixty apricot kernels (dehusked and de-tipped). Roast both until golden, pound and mix. Take one pill the size of a small bean with water as needed. Avoid alcohol.(Supplement to Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies)
13. For liver cirrhosis with ascites: One qian (3.75g) croton seed powder; half qian (2.5g) mercury sublimate. Place on four to five layers of gauze, apply to navel, cover with two more layers of gauze. Remove after one to two hours when stinging sensation occurs, then await watery diarrhea. Reapply if no diarrhea occurs.(Compilation of New Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapies, Inner Mongolia)
14. For sore throat: Two liang of white alum (crushed), half liang of croton seed (lightly crushed). Stir-fry together in a wok until the alum is dry. Discard the croton seed, grind the alum into a fine powder. When needed, mix with water and administer orally, or dry and blow into the throat.(Selected Prescriptions from Baiyi)
15. Treating Diphtheria: Equal parts croton seed kernels and cinnabar, each ground into fine powder. Mix thoroughly. Apply 3–5 fen of the mixture to a medicated plaster and affix above the eyebrows (avoid powder entering the eyes).After 8–12 hours, when blisters of varying sizes appear locally, remove the plaster, wipe off the powder, and apply 1% gentian violet solution to prevent infection. (Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine (11): 23, 1959 Croton Seed and Cinnabar Plaster)
16. For sudden deafness:Wrap one croton seed in wax, pierce it with a needle until perforated, and insert into the ear. (Experienced Formulas)
17. For wind-insect toothache: One method: Grind one croton seed, wrap in cotton, and bite. Two methods: Pierce the croton seed with a needle, burn it over a lamp until smoke emerges, and fumigate the painful area. (Experienced Formulas)
18. For all malignant sores:Thirty croton seeds fried in sesame oil until blackened. Remove seeds. Mix the oil with realgar and talcum powder. Apply frequently until effect achieved. (From Universal Relief Formulas)
19. For all toxic sores and putrid, stagnant flesh: Remove shells from croton seeds, roast until charred, grind into paste. Apply to swollen areas to neutralize toxins; apply to stagnant flesh to promote decay.(Secret Formula for Boils and Abscesses: Black Gold Paste)
20. Treating coin-shaped ringworm sores: Pound three castor seeds with their oil into a paste. Wrap in raw silk and apply, once or twice daily. (Secretly Transmitted Empirical Formulas)