Ah, the infamous castor oil. Were you ever subjected to a spoonful of castor oil when you were feeling sick? Castor oil comes from the castor bean — a plant used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Ancient Indians called it eranda, a name from the Sanskrit that is still used today. Castor bean seeds have been found in four thousand year old Egyptian tombs. Ancient Greeks left information on how to extract the oil from the bean. It was only during the eighteenth century that castor bean oil was used internally. Ancient Greeks used the oil only externally. … Continue reading →