Naturopathic Medicine and the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease
Stephen T. Sinatra, Mark C. Houston in Nutritional and Integrative Strategies in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2015
One of the most important detoxification treatments that I offer to my patients is the castor oil pack.124 Castor oil is an anti-inflammatory agent that when absorbed through the skin promotes increased circulation, decreased constipation symptoms, elimination of toxins, and stimulation of white blood cells.125–127 The castor oil pack should be done five to seven times a week for a month to promote optimal detoxification of the liver, intestines, and lymphatic system. It can be done whenever you are feeling run down, or want to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and immune system. It is now known that approximately 60%–70% of our immune system is found around our intestines as a vast network of gut-associated lymphatic tissue (GALT). According to one study looking at the immunomodulation effects of topical castor oil, a 2-hour application led to a significant increase in blood lymphocytes.125
Catalog of Herbs
James A. Duke in Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, 2018
Considered anodyne, antidote, aperient, bactericide, cathartic, cyanogenetic, discutient, emetic, emollient, expectorant, insecticide, lactagogue, larvicidal, laxative, POISON, purgative, tonic, and vermifuge, castor or castor oil is a dangerous ingredient in folk remedies for abscess, anasarca, arthritis, asthma, boils, burns, cancer, carbuncles, catarrh, chancre, cholera, cold, colic, convulsions, corns, craw-craw, deafness, delirium, dermatitis, dogbite, dropsy, epilepsy, erysipelas, fever, ñu, gout, guineaworm, headache, inflammation, moles, myalgia, nerves, osteomyelitis, palsy, parturition, prolapse, Puerperium, rash, rheumatism, scald, scrofula, seborrhea, skin, sores, stomachache, strabismus, swellings, toothaches, tuberculosis, tumors, urethritis, uteritis, venereal disease, warts, whitlows, and wounds. The oil and seed have been used as folk remedies for: warts, cold tumors, indurations of the abdominal organs, whitlows, lacteal tumors, indurations of the mammary gland, corns, moles, etc. Castor oil is a cathartic and has labor-inducing properties. Ricinoleic acid has served in contraceptive jellies. Ricin, a toxic protein in the seeds, acts as a blood coagulant. Oil used externally for dermatitis and eye ailments. Seeds, which yield 45 to 50% of a fixed oil, also contain the alkaloids ricinine and toxalbumin ricin, and considered purgative, counterirritant in scorpion sting and fish poison. Leaves applied to the head to relieve headache and as a poultice for boils.32,33,63
Old Egyptian Medicine
Arturo Castiglioni in A History of Medicine, 2019
The papyri that have been mentioned contain an enormous number of prescriptions. The Ebers Papyrus alone contains almost a thousand, the components of which are not yet all known to us. We find that among the remedies most used by the Egyptians were: honey, beer of various kinds, yeast, oil, dates, figs, onions, garlic, flaxseed, fennel, and so forth. Other medicines often prescribed were myrrh, aloes, lettuce, crocus, opium, and various lead preparations; parts of organs of various animals were often used (the fat, the brain, excrement, blood): of the hippopotamus, crocodile, gazelle, deer, numerous birds, reptiles, fish, and so forth. Minerals, such as salt, alum, antimony, copper, sodium carbonate, and others not yet identified were also utilized. Dawson describes the use of castor oil (degam or, later, kiki, according to Herodotus, Dioscorides, Oribasius, and others) for the scalp, as an ointment for foul sores, and as a temple illuminant, as well as for its purgative action. Medicines were prescribed in all the forms still in use today, in pills and in suppositories, whose form and function were accurately indicated, both to provoke evacuations and to lessen pain.
Antidiarrheal activity of methanol extract of Sophora tonkinensis in mice and spasmolytic effect on smooth muscle contraction of isolated jejunum in rabbits
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2019
Yangyou Li, Jing Li, Xin Liu, Jianwu Zhang, Xue Mei, Rudan Zheng, Wei Chen, Qian Zheng, Shangjie Zhong
Castor oil is a colorless or very pale yellow liquid with a unique flavor obtained from the seeds of castor oil plants. As a plant oil, castor oil has several advantages for pharmacological use, including antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, low toxicity, low cost and easy availability (Yeganeh and Hojati-Talemi 2007; Valera et al. 2012; Holm et al. 2013; Salles et al. 2015). Ricinoleic acid is an active hydrolytic metabolite of castor oil which can induce diarrhea. It not only creates extensive contractions in the transverse and distal colon by inducing changes in electrolyte and water transport (Aleem and Janbaz 2018), but also produces irritant and inflammatory effects on intestinal mucosa, resulting in the release of several mediators including prostaglandins, nitric oxide, platelet activating factor cAMP and tachykinin (Guo et al. 2014a). Therefore, the castor oil model incorporates both motility and secretory diarrhea (Rouf et al. 2003).
The Efficiency of Cyclosporine A-Eluting Contact Lenses for the Treatment of Dry Eye
Published in Current Eye Research, 2019
Jung Han Choi, Ying Li, Rujun Jin, Tina Shrestha, Ji Suk Choi, Won Jun Lee, Myung Jae Moon, Hyoung Tae Ju, Won Choi, Kyung Chul Yoon
DED is a common disorder that affects the tear film and ocular surface which causes chronic irritating symptoms in millions of people worldwide.1 Topical administration is the main route for the treatment of DED, and the targeted organs are the cornea, conjunctiva, or lacrimal gland.11 Recently, 0.05% CsA has become one of the standard treatments for inflammatory DED and is commercially available in the form of oil-in-water emulsion eye drops (Restasis®, Allergan).30 CsA has been shown to inhibit epithelial apoptosis and cytokine production by activated T lymphocytes which infiltrate the ocular surface, leading to a decrease in inflammation and increase in tear production, both effect has been highly beneficial for the treatment of DED.9,31 Due to its hydrophobicity with a poor water solubility (0.012 mg/mL at 25°C), CsA must be solubilized in non-aqueous media that include surfactants.24 CsA emulsion is an oil-in-water emulsion eye drop that contains a mixture of castor oil and Tween 80. This castor oil can induce side effects like ocular burning or irritation following the chronic use of eye drops. In addition, adverse effects such as itching, redness, visual disturbance, and eye pain prevent patients from using these eye drops.10,18 Many studies have attempted to improve the availability and tolerance of topically applied CsA through the development of such forms as pro-drugs, emulsions, and colloidal systems.24 Nevertheless, there is still no way to address the limitations and drawbacks of eye drops.
Contribution of oxidative stress in acute intestinal mucositis induced by 5 fluorouracil (5-FU) and its pro-drug capecitabine in rats
Published in Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2018
Kaïs Rtibi, Slimen Selmi, Dhekra Grami, Mohamed Amri, Hichem Sebai, Lamjed Marzouki
In the present study, we analyzed the toxicity of 5-FU and its pro-drug into the intestinal mucosa. In this context, we firstly showed that these drugs significantly cause diarrhea by fluid accumulation in small intestine. These actions were accompanied with perturbation of absorption as well as the secretion of water and electrolytes throughout the intestine. These observations reasonably suggest that these chemotherapeutic agents induce changes in mucosal fluid and electrolyte transport that results in a hypersecretory response and diarrhea. This leads to depletion of fluids and electrolytes, malnutrition, dehydration and acute damage to the intestinal mucosa including loss of intestinal epithelium, superficial necrosis and inflammation of the bowel wall, all of which can lead to cardiovascular compromise and death (Gibson and Stringer 2009). These results are in agreement with those which have showed that MgSO4 is an osmotic laxative and prevents water absorption from gut and causes diarrhea by creating osmotic pressure. Studies have shown that the castor oil acts primarily in the small intestine to stimulate secretion of fluids and electrolytes and speed up intestinal transit (Sadraei et al. 2014). These disturbances in the digestive tract are accompanied by histological injuries. Indeed, as expected, the chemotherapy-intoxication provoked a destruction of the mucosal barrier function, leading to decrease of mucosal intestine permeability.