Essence.
Dioscorides says: “Some people call it kirutun, that is, mites, and they call it so because its grains look like mites. It is a tree the size of a small fig tree, with leaves similar to those of a plane tree, but larger, smoother and darker. Its trunk and branches are hollow, like a reed, and its fruits are in thorny capsules. If you peel the fruit, the mite-shaped seeds will become visible. An oil called kikinun is squeezed out of them; this is castor oil. It is not suitable for food and is only suitable for lamps and as a mixture in some patches and medicines. If you peel up to thirty seeds of this plant, crush, grind and drink, it drives away mucus.
Actions and properties.
Dimashki says: “The castor bean absorbs and softens, and the oil thins it, and it is thinner than pure olive oil.”
Cosmetics.
If castor bean is crushed and applied as a medicinal bandage, it reduces warts and freckles.
Tumors.
Its leaves, crushed and mixed with barley flour, cause mucous tumors to fall off.
Ulcers.
Castor oil is suitable for jaraba and wet ulcers.
Nutritional organs.
If you crush thirty castor bean seeds and drink it, it induces vomiting, because they greatly relax the walls of the stomach and cause nausea.
Breast organs.
If you apply a medicinal bandage made from castor beans alone or with vinegar, it causes tumors in the female breast to fall off.
Eruption organs.
Pounded castor bean seeds, if drunk, expel mucus and bile and remove worms from the stomach.