# Castor Oil **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 10, 2000, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445 "2000-03-10T04:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/1 "2000-03-10T04:52:00Z")
Is castor oil nutritious or just cathartic and otherwise medicinal. Someone just told me they take it by the spoon like a vitamin, (especially for the vitamin e), and I can’t find any written souce of such discussion. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/2 "2000-03-10T05:16:00Z")
I don’t know, that’s why I ask. ---
**Author:** ![Oblio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c4cdca/32.png) [@Oblio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblio)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/3 "2000-03-10T06:33:00Z")
[http://daphne.palomar.edu/Wayne/plmar99.htm](http://daphne.palomar.edu/Wayne/plmar99.htm) A good (or fun anyway) all around site for strange botanicals. From shrooms to castor beans to mexican jumping beans to hitchiking seeds, I found this site fascinating. * * * A point in every direction is like no point at all ---
**Author:** ![InutilisVisEst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d2c977/32.png) [@InutilisVisEst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InutilisVisEst)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/4 "2000-03-10T21:59:00Z")
That WAS an interesting site, but they left out my favorite part. As they mentioned, castor oil makes a great motor oil. It was used extensively in WWI in biplane engines. So much leaked out and was vaporized by hot surfaces and the slipstream that every pilot’s first task upon landing was to find the nearest latrine. * * * Sure, I’m all for moderation – as long as it’s not excessive. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/5 "2000-03-10T23:46:00Z")
Replying to OBLIO: Thanks for the website address. It’s great. It specifies “cure-all” usage but, still, (just as the general literature does) it’s not clearly specifiying and explaining nutritional (or dietary supplementation value and usage). Since it’s so cathartic at 1/2 an ounce or two tablespoonfuls, I’m not assuming (without reference to dosage and properties valued) that it has been used as a stable nutritional supplement. Any comments? ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2000, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/6 "2000-03-11T17:33:00Z")
Um, are you sure your acquaintance was talking about _castor_ oil and not _cod-liver_ oil? * * * “And thanks agin fur the plague, Porpentine.” – mr. john ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2000, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/7 "2000-03-12T06:23:00Z")
I did a little search and came up with Castor Oil history and Castor Oil packs. And suddenly one piece of obvious observation popped up: internal use. Castor Oil is so dramatic as a purgative that the injestion of it for other purposes is moot. But thanks for causing the search, ASPA. You gave me a private “Duh” moment…for the first time I realized why Castrol Motor Oil is called that! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2000, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/8 "2000-03-12T06:48:00Z")
An earlier thread about castor oil: [http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003188.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/003188.html) ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2000, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/9 "2000-03-12T04:32:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine: > \*\*Um, are you sure your acquaintance was talking about _castor_ oil and not _cod-liver_ oil? > \*\* Thanx, yah. The inquiry into nutritive value, properties and dosage levels is my own concern. I originally wrote that a friend suggests castor oil is used by spoonful as a nutritional supplement (like any vitamin, I guess). All the replies about the general history and medicinal uses and toxic parts of the bean I am fully abreast of. Indeed, it’s clear that the general literature or information doesn’t refer to nutritive usage, but rather cathartic and limited, cautious, and/or external reliance for some curative AND NOT NUTRITIVE purposes. Still, there may be some written referencxe somewhere to case notions supporting nutritive use. Everybody: Let’s end all this stuff about castor oil, unless specific to nutrition: that’s the information challenge. Anyone interested in the general topic can review the existing body replies—which are replete with overall discussion and which hold some cool website addresses dealing with the subjuct. Time for a new topic. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2000, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/castor-oil/8445/10 "2000-03-12T04:39:00Z")
Thanx, yah. The inquiry into nutritive value, properties and dosage levels is my own concern. I originally wrote that a friend suggests castor oil is used by spoonful as a nutritional supplement (like any vitamin, I guess). All the replies about the general history and medicinal uses and toxic parts of the bean I am fully abreast of. Indeed, it’s clear that the general literature or information doesn’t refer to nutritive usage, but rather cathartic and limited, cautious, and/or external reliance for some curative AND NOT NUTRITIVE purposes. Still, there may be some written referencxe somewhere to case notions supporting nutritive use. Everybody: Let’s end all this stuff about castor oil, UNLESS specific to nutrition: that’s the information challenge. Anyone interested in the general topic can review the existing body replies—which are replete with overall discussion and which hold some cool website addresses dealing with the subject. Time for a new topic.