Castor bean oil uses

Castor oil is made from the beans of a castor oil plant and has numerous uses. Some of these uses include;
Medicinal purpose
Castor oil is used as an additive to avoid giving drugs in a pure chemical form. It has been proven to be safe for use by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States of America. It can also be used for treatment of skin diseases. However, it is not preferably used as a medicine since it has some profound effects. It may cause severe diarrhea and even painful cramps when used.
Food Preservative
It is applied in cereals such as wheat and rice to protect them from rotting in some countries such as India and Pakistan. Also it is used by food industries in additives and flavorings as a mild inhibitor.
Lubrication
Castor oil has good low temperature viscosity which makes able to be used as a lubricant. It also has high temperature lubrication properties which makes it good for use in jet and race car engines. However, it forms gums easily hence it works best in the frequently rebuilt engines. It is biodegradable hence friendly to the environment. In the early aviation, this oil was used to lubricate rotary engines.

In Derivatives
The process of making undecyclenic acid, sebacic acid, and nylon-11 requires castor oil as a raw material. There are also other derivatives which are produced through changing of castor oil to methyl ricinoleate.
Biodiesel
Castor oil is less expensive compared to other vegetable oils hence making it suitable to be used in the production of biodiesel. It is also biodegradable which makes it less pollutant to the environment.
Industrial use
Many industries use castor oil in manufacturing different products. Mostly, it is used in transportation, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic industries in making adhesives, brake fluids and even high voltage capacitors. The oil has a high dielectric constant of 4.7 which makes it suitable to be used as a dielectric fluid when refined.
Intimidation of Rebels
During the reign of Benito Mussolini in Italy, soldiers used castor oil to torture political rebels. The forced them to drink a lot of castor oil which affected them severely. After receiving other forms of punishment such as been beaten, they were forced to take excess of this oil which caused them to have severe diarrhea. Many of them died while those who survived experienced laxative effects due to excessive consumption of the oil. It was also used as a tool for discouraging soldiers and other workers from pretending to be sick while on duty. For these workers, they were given small quantities of the oil whenever they claimed to be sick. It was also administered to the expectant mothers and the mentally sick in many hospitals. In Spain, it was used to torture people who supported democracy during the Spanish civil war. 
Despite the few negative effects, castor oil has many uses which help to boost industrialization due to the fact that it is readily available and cheap.