In my childhood, I weighed 2 stone at age 7 and I was under observation at Bart's Hospital in London. Today, it would be called an "eating disorder" by GP's. Basically, I refused to eat veg out of the ground, I was born soon after the end of the WWII and my view is that my soul knew that those foods were contaminated. After coming off my mother's breast milk, I also refused cow's milk and didn't start to drink cows milk until I was nearly 8 years old.
I would eat what a vine produced, e.g. tomatoes, and I would eat the fruit that came from trees, there was still food rationing when I was born and my parents would give me their fruit rations.
Now to get to the point of why I am sharing this in self-disclosure. My mother, a Sunday School teacher would give her young child Castor Oil orally has a laxative and the oil is biblical.
It can be found mentioned in the book of Jonah: "Now the Lord God appointed a kikayon, and it grew up over Jonah to be shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, and Jonah was overjoyed with the kikayon".
https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16186/jewish/Chapter-4.htm
Kikayon is Hebrew for the perennial Castor Oil plant and it is written that it grows wild in the Jordan valley, in the coastal plain, and on the wadi banks in other regions of Erez Israel. It grows quickly and produces large, shady leaves. The fast growth of the plant, overnight, was thought to be a supernatural phenomenon and it flowers from March - November.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/castor-oil-plant
It is written that Egyptians used the oil for fuel light, prior to learning of its impressive healing qualities and it is affectionally known has kiki. In the Flowers in Israel pictures; you can see that it looks like a nut, although often referred to has the Castor bean. It also looks like it has pods upon the plant. The oil comes from the seeds of the plant and it has also grown wild in Greece.
Apparently, throughout the middle ages the plants were called PALMA CHRISTI (hand of Christ), as the leaf looks like a hand.
http://www.flowersinisrael.com/Ricinuscommunis_page.htm
A few medical studies are mentioned in this website posting.
https://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/diet/castor-oil-the-ancient-egyptians-used-it-as-a-medicine-so-can-you-696467/
A previous blogpost "Power of Castor Oil". s
https://lotusfeet22.blogspot.com/2023/02/power-of-castor-oil.html
This is one of the very best articles that I've read on Castor Oil, especially important that it was used for eyes, skin and hair. I've been using Castor Oil externally for about a week and I am impressed with the improvement.
My facial skin was very dehydrated and I tried different skin creams and natural moisturiser's including coconut oil and what the opticians recommended for Blepharitis.
Very soon after I began applying the Castor Oil on my face, my face wasn't dry anymore. Castor Oil can be used has a carrier oil for other healing oils too. My face, felt like mine again.
There are some more studies cited in this article and it includes an oral application that was found to help people with osteoarthritis. Hence it can also be taken has a supplement, although it is wise to discuss it with your GP. Pregnant women certainly shouldn't take it internally
https://earthtoyou.co/blogs/learn/castor-oil-the-worlds-oldest-herbal-medicine