Category Archives: Castor Oil – Research

Biodegradable Lubricant from Castor Biodiesel Esters

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Worldwide, 12 million tonnes per year of lubricants are disposed of in the environment through leakages, exhausted gas, incorrect disposal, water–oil emulsions and so on. Some are resistant to biodegradation, representing an environmental threat. One solution to modify this situation is the replacement of mineral oils by biodegradable synthetic lubricants. Esters, whose chemical structures are similar to natural triglycerides, are excellent substitutes for mineral oils. Castor oil contains around 90% ricinoleic acid, and as a result, castor oil has a higher viscosity and a lower viscosity index, compared with other vegetable oils. This work was based on the production of biodegradable lubricant base fluids from castor biodiesel esters, using various chemical catalysts.

Read More – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ls.1205/full

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Seed yield and yield components of castor influenced by irrigation

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An understanding of yield components is critical to the successful development of castor cultivars (Ricinus communis L.) adapted for different cropping systems (such as mechanical harvest) and growing regions.

In this article, a detailed study was made on the changes occurring in the castor oil yield components in response to irrigation. The experiments were conducted in Lubbock, TX in 2009 and 2010. Six castor cultivars highly divergent in seed weight, plant height, and number of racemes were cultivated on a subsurface irrigation system with total water (including precipitation) varying from 188 to 897 mm. Seeds were harvested, counted, and weighed from individual racemes. Irrigation increased seed yield in all the cultivars. Read More: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926669013001726

Potency of Castor Biodiesel for Lubricant Production

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Lubricants are well known to act as substances for minimization of friction in locomotive engines and other spare parts. As we know they can be synthesized from multiple synthetic and natural sources and some of which prove to be environmentally recalcitrant and pose adverse effects.Studies indicate that nearly 12 million tonnes of lubricants are eliminated after usage and majority of them are disposed in a biologically unsafe manner. To reduce their prolonged existence, people are in relentless efforts to identify and formulate eco-safe lubricant substances.

The answer to this query has been recently addressed though biodiesel produced from castor oil.It is not surprising to implicate castor oil for lubricant synthesis as some of its prominent derivatives as 12-hydroxy stearic acid are well characterized lubricants. Now, castor biodiesel  what is to be fed as a fuel possesses typical properties to yield biodegradable lubricants with desired functions as oxidation stability, thermo-tolerance and high viscosity index etc. Researchers of this study have witnessed that the fluids generated from castor biodiesel esters are lubricative due to the presence of ricinoleic acid.

The results seem to be exiting to watch in a perspective where castor biodiesel effectively fails to compete with conventional fuels on certain fuel parameters. So, research initiatives on castor biodiesel such as this would add up its industrial scope in different dimensions with ecological significance.

For reference: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ls.1205/abstract

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Play off between castor oil and bio-components of human intestine

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It is not astonishing to see the action of this oil from castor seed on administration of it as a remedy to gastro-intestinal disorders across humans of all the ages in the world. Even then mystery with castor oil has remained all throughout the ages over the way this edible laxative works in physical system to display conditions of stool emergency. With science as a tool for facts, researchers at a German centre, The Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research finally have unraveled the mode by which castor oil expresses its functionality in the human body. Authours of the study report that it is exciting to watch that cells in intestine harbours a receptive protein called, EP3 that recognizes the ingested castor oil and mediates cells and their constituents to elicit the laxative effect. Following a robust experimental analysis in animal models to attribute the sensory factors of castor oil derived ricinoleic acid, scientific experts and critical analysts believe that there could be a modulation brought about in the human body to selectively harvest the therapeutic activities and avoiding irritating side effects from castor oil.

For reference: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/5608/scientists-uncover-mechanism-behind-ancient-drug

 

Castor oil to aid healing of wounds and cuts

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It is obvious to us that several plants act as excellent sources of chemicals with medicinal value which dwell either in a definite organ or whole bio-system.Castor seed oils are not an exception to this storage nature of plants where constituents in it tend to display therapeutic activities to cure the physical discomforts directly or indirectly.

With continued scope for natural products in global pharma divisions, a recent press release from firm, Morinda Bioactives, USA which it claims to be specialized in formulation of drugs on phyto-chemicals has reported that its launch of a new stream of drugs called Shield Biomedicals at International Leadership Conference Salt Lake City, Utah, contain castor oil derived chemicals as base ingredients to contribute for moisture retention function. As per the manufacturer’ statement, their ointment formulation with castor oil is a home remedy to wounds and burns etc with pain relieving properties.

Information source such as this keeps boosting the potential of castor oil in high value market sectors which the producer nations should realize well to upgrade their line of products from this vegetable oil, gifted for industries.

For reference: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/10/4480034/morinda-bioactives-releases-new.html

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Return of Castor in North America

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Castor, an oil seed crop is currently confined to oriental countries to a vast extent in terms of cultivation and oil production but the demand is constantly mounting from the western countries so as to produce precious chemical derivatives from it.It is a crop relatively suitable for cultivation in West as well but  has been strongly ignored on account of its toxic properties including allergens and toxins.Research efforts have been continuously made to overcome the defined, negatives of castor and yielded appreciable results in recent years particularly in USA.

Such committed actions in castor biology are not restricted to research levels but tend to proceed further when a collaborative agreement has been made between a Canadian bio-products company Lubbock-Castagra and Texas AgriLife Research to produce castor seed with less toxin and high, sustainable yield. Reports from concerned authourities said that  encouraging the crop improvement in castor would restore the abandoned castor cultivation with desired modifications in cropping patterns of the Texas state and directly reduce the burdens of import of this plant oil commodity from countries including India.CEO of Canadian Castagra-Lubbock, Mr:Peter Roosen further added that the oil extracted from this quantitatively toxin compromised, castor would be exploited for the production of renewable bioplastics and hence carrying a tremendous potential for the generation of employment in green technology sector.Presently,the castor crop with reduced levels of toxin is at the trial stage in Texas and evaluation studies are being undertaken for a bulk cultivation, expected in 2012.

It is inspiring to watch such an activity adopted by the legal bodies in developed nations to complement the defects what they are experiencing in their environment with respect to castor. Similar sort of co-ordinated plans are mandatory to maximize the revenues from castor in India.This is well punched with reference to the promotion of end derivatives of castor oil in which India is placed way behind the Westerners in the production tally.It not alone ensures economic exchanges of profits but depicts India an industrially competitive nation at the global level.

For reference: http://media-newswire.com/release_1152924.html

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Castor oil derived eyewears

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Castor oil is known well for its industrial applications and a new crown has been added up to  its credit when Italian fashion icon Gucci announced an eco-eyewear made from castor oil as a prime constituent.It has claimed that the rationale behind  the promotion of eco wears is to integrate environmental consciousness with fashion and further added that this latest eco-friendly product will perform on par to its synthetic counterparts.However no clear release of information has been made over the price of this elite product in the market.Reports say that Safilo Australia will overlook the commercial aspects of the eco-eyewear.It is optimistic to note a vital product in fashion, being made available on techno-economical and sustainable grounds.Functional efficacy of Castor oil yet again is proved and serves to be a true elixir in addressing the accessory demands of humans in a clean way.

For reference: http://www.ragtrader.com.au/news/gucci-invests-in-eco-eyewear

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Secondary metabolite profile in castor seed

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Plant systems are rich in secondary metabolites as they play vital roles in plant development, interactions, resistance to abiotic and biotic stress etc as regulatory activators and suppressors of signal transduction physiology to mount the preprogrammed response. Virtually any evolved plant is packed with a vast array of metabolites and is well studied in medicinal herbs and shrubs, agricultural crops etc. However analysis of such functionally potent molecules in castor seed debris is rudimentary.

Secondary metabolites are  broad category compounds and scientists of this study have chosen to characterize one of the principal categories, phenolics from castor deoiled cake.The phenolics being non polar in nature differential extraction of molecules in cake was made with methanol-ether bisolvent system and they ended up with a biochemical mixture. Spetroscopic analysis showed a strong absorbance corresponding to phenolics and further chemical disintegration revealed five principal compounds namely p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, o-coumaric acids, syringic, and cinnamic acids .

This is a remarkable metabolite profile for the presence of secondary metabolites. Eventhough the authors did not disclose the functional significance of them in seeds, it  could most probably be associated with herbivore feeding deterrent activity.

For reference: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a781971780

Castor oil based matrix for drug delievery

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Drug delievery is an exciting branch of pharmaceutical chemistry where scientists tend to apply importance for carrier matrices to precisely release the drug at the specific targets for its mechanism of action. Medium formulation is a classical process where pharmaceutical minds have exploited a diversified range of solvents varying in their electrostatic behavior with the drug for delievery at defined dosages but frequently encountered limitations in toxicity and biodegradation properties in spite of their potential activities which led to bio-based medium with self-destructive nature.

Researchers from India have utilized castor oil as a key source for the synthesis of bio-polymer based medium in drug delivery process as it well noted earlier that castor oil is an excellent substrate for the production of polyamides and polyesters etc. Experimenters have synthesized a co-polyester with castor oil and citric acid in a catalytic reaction and paracetamol drug of standard concentration was immobilized on to the matrix polymer.They made their initial evaluation under bio simulated,  in vitro conditions for the drug delievery into the surrounding solution and found that the drug was released at elevated levels initially but gradually fell down and it was confirmed through their spectroscopic analysis.They also reported that the matrix  exhibited hydrolytic degradation after a complete release of drug.

The results of the experiment seem to be promising for an alternate carrier medium but it would be convincing to display it under in vivo conditions as the parameters affecting the ligand-receptor dissociation are in multiples under the real gastro-intestinal physiology.It is also worthwhile to note the mechanism of detoxification that the castor oil based co-polyester follows in the body for its wide spectrum of drug delievery applications in a systemic run.

For reference:Iranian Polymer Journal, Volume 5-Number 1 (1996).

Castor biodiesel run in Ethiopia

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The concept of renewable energy has really taken momentum all around the world as the African nation Ethiopia has made moves to initiate ventures on bio-diesel production from castor oil.The prime objective is to reduce the energy burden of the nation since experts  claim that Ethiopia allocates 90% of its foreign revenue to fossil fuel import and hence focus has been applied to exploit the renewable resources for ensuring the sustainability in nation’s economy.

Among the leading Ethiopian energy investors,Global Energy Ethiopia(GEE) has started its operation on renewable energy  since 2007 by pumping US$ 20 million into castor and jatropha seed farming and processing business.According to sources,GEE firm has an opportunity to process 40,000 tonnes of vegetable oil in its investment on concerned bioenergy crops from 30,000 hectares of leased land.Besides GEE, other firms namely Eco Energy has also entered into  bio-energy sector with collaborations from abroad.

According to Ethiopian Investment Agency(EIA),the potential of 25 million hectares of land suited for bio-diesel farming when tapped completely,Ethiopia becomes one of the highest producers of bio-diesel with an estimated capacity of 20 million liters of crude vegetable oil.

Reports such as this are motivating because the nations that have been torn by the economic crisis,civil wars and political instabilities, would have a tremendous scope to lift their socio-economic and environmental consciousness at the competitive International stage.

For reference: http://energybusinessdaily.com/renewables/ethiopia-sets-its-sights-on-biodiesel/

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