When we were children, we used to find something called castor beans in the fields. We would pluck seeds with soft thorns and play with them, completely unaware of its dangers. But what you may not know is that in the United States, castor beans are considered a strategic material and need to be imported in large quantities every year. So what exactly is castor for?What does the United States do with it?
Castor is a versatile plant, its rhizome can be used to make rope, paper, and castor leaves can be used to feed silkworms, but the most useful part is its seeds.
Castor beans contain up to 40% 70% oil, which can be refined into castor oil. This castor oil contains up to 80% ricinic acid, has a long carbon chain and a high degree of unsaturation, and can form a relatively stable molecular chain structure, so as to maintain good lubricating properties. At the same time, castor oil also contains a variety of unsaturated fatty acids, which can maintain stable performance in high-temperature environments. Castor oil, as a biodegradable lubricant, is environmentally friendly. Compared with petrochemical lubricants, it can degrade quickly in the natural environment, reducing pollution to the environment.
In addition, castor oil itself is less toxic, so it is widely used in medicine, food, cosmetics and other fields.
As early as the beginning of the 20th century, castor oil was widely used in aircraft, ships, machinery, and automobiles. During the First World War, castor oil began to be used in warplanes. Castor oil has also been used in modern aircraft, ships, heavy machinery and equipment, and other fields. The United States has listed castor oil as one of the important strategic materials, and they use castor oil to make various high-performance lubricants and hydraulic oils, such as aircraft engine lubricants, ship lubricants, tank hydraulic oils, etc.
The uses of castor beans are more than that, it also has medicinal properties. Castor oil has a laxative effect, people often use a little castor oil with fruit juice to ** constipation and hemorrhoids, the effect is very obvious. In addition, castor beans also have the effect of reducing swelling, draining pus, and pulling out poison. I remember when I was a child, I accidentally burned my arm with boiling water, and my mother applied the oil squeezed from castor beans to the burned area, and after several applications, the redness and swelling gradually subsided and the pain was no longer painful.
Castor beans are also wonderful. People can pick fresh leaves to raise silkworms, or use fresh leaves to wrap fish and other foods, and can also be used as a green pesticide and put into ponds to kill maggots. When we are bitten by mosquitoes or poisonous insects, we can mash a few fresh castor beans and apply them externally, which can relieve swelling and itching. For eczema patients, washing the affected area with castor leaves and decoction can reduce itching and return to normal.
In addition, the stalks and roots of castor beans should not be wasted. The stems can be made into ropes and paper, and the rhizomes have the effects of dispelling wind and invigorating blood, relieving pain and sedation, and can be used as medicinal materials. Once when I was suffering from beriberi, my mother peeled and spun thread from castor rhizomes and made two pairs of cloth shoes for me to wear. I switched into two pairs of shoes, and before I knew it, my athlete's foot had improved, and my sleep quality had improved.
It is important to note that castor beans contain the deadly ricin in them. After the extraction and isolation of ricin by chemical methods, ricin with high purity can be obtained. In castor beans, ricin accounts for only a small proportion, and the main component is oil. People can be poisoned by ingesting 2 to 7 castor beans, and ingesting 20 castor beans can even lead to death. Different varieties of castor beans have different toxicity, among which African castor beans are the most toxic, and adults can be fatal if they eat 2 capsules.
0. on average2 mg of ricin can kill an adult, while arsenic and cyanide are considered highly toxic and can only be fatal if people consume more than 60 mg. It can be said that ricin is the "king of poisons", and there is no effective antidote at present.
Ricin attacks the ribosomes of the body's cells, thereby interfering with specific procedures in the functioning of life. In addition, ricin causes the body's red blood cells to agglutinate, and the main role of red blood cells is to transport oxygen, so this toxin can easily lead to respiratory failure.
It is important to note that many people may put castor beans in a pot to refine oil when they are young, but they are almost never poisoned. This is because ricin, as a protein, loses its activity at high temperatures, making it much less toxic.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the global castor acreage has continued to grow in recent years. As of 2021, the global castor plantation area is about 2 million hectares, with countries such as China, India, and Brazil being the major castor growing countries. However, global castor oil production is only about 500,000 tons, which is insufficient compared to global demand. Currently, the European Union and the United States are the world's largest importers of castor oil, but as a producer, China is still dependent on imports. According to customs data, China imports about 10,000 tons of castor oil every year, with an import value of about 40 million US dollars. Due to the large demand and low quantity, coupled with the unstable production, castor oil has become a strategic material.
Castor is also a traditional Chinese medicine in China, mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi and other places. Among them, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the main provinces for castor beans cultivation. At present, castor planting in China is generally stable, but it has declined in terms of planting area and output. According to the data of the Bureau of Statistics, in 2019, the castor planting area in China was about 1930,000 hectares, a decrease of 15%；The castor production is about 2220,000 tons, a decrease of 2 from the previous year6%。
With such huge demand, why are yields and acreage still declining?The main reason is that there are very few related enterprises. There are less than 100 castor processing enterprises in China, and most of them are small enterprises, which leads to very few acquisitions and acquisition points. In many areas, there are no businesses in place, so farmers can't sell even if they grow them. In addition, due to the relatively small production of enterprises and the increasing planting of surrounding farmers, the purchase of castor beans** has also decreased year by year. Farmers' profits are reduced, which naturally leads to a reduction in acreage and other cash crops.
In addition, there are fewer castor varieties in China, and the level of scientific research is also low, which is also one of the reasons for the decline in yield and planting area. Most of China's castor beans are planted with conventional species, and the yield and oil content are much lower than those of hybrids, which makes China's castor beans cultivation industry uncompetitive in the international market. Whether it is a domestic company or a foreign company, they are more willing to purchase better quality hybrid products, which is also an important reason for the formation of a vicious circle. As of 2023, China's annual castor oil is about 350,000 tons, of which 330,000 tons need to be imported from abroad. In this context, the state is also promoting the strategy of going out.
In summary, castor beans have a wide range of industrial and medicinal properties. Castor oil can be used to make lubricants, paints, soaps and other products with good performance and biodegradability. Castor bean husk and ricinic acid also have certain medicinal value and can be used for diseases such as constipation and auxiliary**tumors.
It is important to note that ricin is a huge hazard to both humans and animals, so you need to pay attention to safety when using castor.
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