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Ricin: Edit Source Edit Ricin Allergenic

Ricin is a toxic protein found in castor seeds. While the oil extraction process deactivates the ricin, harvesting castor beans poses health risks. Workers harvesting castor beans in major producing countries like India, Brazil and China are exposed to allergenic compounds on the plants that can cause permanent nerve damage. In addition to risks from direct exposure to ricin during oil production, this has encouraged searching for alternative sources of hydroxy fatty acids and research into genetically modifying castor plants to prevent ricin synthesis.

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44 views

Ricin: Edit Source Edit Ricin Allergenic

Ricin is a toxic protein found in castor seeds. While the oil extraction process deactivates the ricin, harvesting castor beans poses health risks. Workers harvesting castor beans in major producing countries like India, Brazil and China are exposed to allergenic compounds on the plants that can cause permanent nerve damage. In addition to risks from direct exposure to ricin during oil production, this has encouraged searching for alternative sources of hydroxy fatty acids and research into genetically modifying castor plants to prevent ricin synthesis.

Uploaded by

slyothers
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ricin[edit source | editbeta]

The castor seed contains ricin, a toxic protein. Heating during the oil extraction process denatures and inactivates the protein. However, harvesting castor beans may not be without risk.[7] Allergenic compounds found on the plant surface can cause permanent nerve damage, making the harvest of castor beans a human health risk. India, Brazil, and China are the major crop producers, and the workers suffer harmful side effects from working with these plants.[8] These health issues, in addition to concerns about the toxic byproduct (ricin) from castor oil production, have encouraged the quest for alternative sources for hydroxy fatty acids.[9][10] Alternatively, some researchers are trying to genetically modify the castor plant to prevent the synthesis of ricin.[11]

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