European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW ON BOTANICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CASTOR PLANT (RICINUS COMMUNIS L.)

G. Esteru Rani and G. Gaddeyya*

ABSTRACT

Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae and commonly known as „Palm of Christ‟. Castor is an important oilseed crop with great utilitarian value in industry, pharmaceutical, ethnomedicinal and agricultural sectors. Earlier workers reviewed that castor plant is an agricultural solution for addressing many agricultural practices and inputs as well as to making eco-friendly approaches (Biodiesel formation). Castor is a hardy crop and easy to establish on the field and the plant is more resistant to drought and other biotic and abiotic stresses. Castor plant has several effective medicinal properties such as antifertility activity, anticancer activity, antioxidant activity, immunomodulatory activity, hepatoprotective activity, antidiabetic activity, antiulcer activity and antimicrobial activity. The plant parts viz., stem, leaf, root and seed are highly specialised with different kinds of phytochemicals which have great pharmacological value. A comprehensive review on Castor plant aimed to explore its botanical characteristics, economic importance of various fields and the phytochemical aspects.

Keywords: Castor oil plant, Ricinus communis L., Ricinine, Antifertility, Antioxidant, Castor cake.