castor oil can have a bad reputation among the people who were force-fed spoonfuls like children, but it is not a myth that tonic has health effects. Today, scientists have elucidated the molecular mechanism of the active ingredient in castor oil, which has been used for thousands of years as a laxative and labor spillway. ricinoleic acid, which fatty acid is about 0% oil, binds to a particular receptor in the gut and uterus, the researchers found. The discovery explains how castor oil and could lead to development of drugs less unpleasant.
While taking a daily spoonful of castor oil diluted as general assistance for health is more fashionable, alternative health stores still sell the liquid foul-tasting as a laxative. The Food and Drug Administration has classified castor oil as "generally recognized as safe and effective," but researchers do not understand its mechanism.
"When you study classic, old drugs, is almost always learn something from them," said first author of the new study Stefan Offermanns, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research Germany. "The biggest surprise here was how specifically castor oil worked."
Offermanns and his colleagues were screening different fatty acids for their ability to bind to certain cell receptors when they have achieved success with ricinoleic acid. Knowing extensive use of castor oil in traditional and alternative medicine, the team decided to take a closer look at the compound. The use of a large library of molecules that block the cell receptors they studied, they were able to home in two as ricinoleic acid connects to: EP 3 and EP 4 . Both are prostaglandin receptors, which have different roles in the body, to change the structure of neurons to control how the blood clots. In experiments on mice, the researchers showed that ricinoleic acid induces its laxative effects and inducing labor by interacting with EP 3 . When someone swallows castor oil, ricinoleic acid on locks EP 3 molecules in the smooth muscle cells in the walls of the small intestine and causes contractions, which explains the efficiency of castor oil as a laxative. Similarly, researchers have shown that ricinoleic acid binds to EP 3 and in the uterus causes contractions. The team published its results today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
"There were many theories as to how castor oil worked, including broad toxicity to intestine cells and the effects on water and electrolytes," says Offermanns. But ricinoleic acid is much more accurate than those theories suggest, acting through a single receiver. How the receiver causes contractions, however, is still not known. But the new link between EP 3 and bowel and muscle cells of the uterus could inspire the work to find out.
"They made these experiences quite elegant and complete," says biologist Phillip Bennett from Imperial College London. "And at one level, this finding is somehow a little quaint curiosity but there is more than that. "
the knowledge that ricinoleic acid binds to EP 3 could be used to design drugs that target the receptor, said Bennett. These drugs could be used as laxatives or working without inducing side effects such as nausea, castor oil.
a daily dose of castor oil will not keep the doctor and modern medicine n ' has not yet backed claims that he also treats skin conditions, relieves pain and heals infections. So take castor oil with a grain of salt, or a spoonful of sugar.
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