Croton oil

This article is about the plant called "Croton tiglium" in Southeast Asia. For the croton oil from East Africa that is used for biofuels, see Croton megalocarpus.

Croton oil (Crotonis oleum) is an oil prepared from the seeds of Croton tiglium,[1] a tree belonging to the order Euphorbiales and family Euphorbiaceae, and native or cultivated in India and the Malay Archipelago. Small doses taken internally cause diarrhea.[1] Externally, the oil can cause irritation and swelling. Croton oil is used in Phenol-croton oil chemical peels[2] for its caustic exfoliating effects it has on the skin.[3] Used in conjunction with phenol solutions, it results in an intense reaction that leads to initial skin sloughing. Since croton oil is very irritating and painful, it is used in laboratory animals to study how pain works, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunology.[4]

Because croton tiglium oil is cocarcinogenic, it has been used in tumor research.[5] Berenblum and Shubik saw croton oil as a “promoting” agent:[6] a kind of carcinogen that acted through an inflammatory response. Mice painted only with croton oil hadn’t developed tumors. Croton oil is the source of the chemical compound phorbol.[7] Tumor promotion activity was traced to phorbol esters present in croton oil.[8] Pure phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, which is found in croton oil, is widely used in laboratory research to induce tumor development.

  1. ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Croton Oil" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 511.
  2. ^ Wambier, CG; Lee, KC; Soon, SL; Sterling, JB; Rullan, PP; Landau, M; Brody, HJ; International Peeling, Society. (August 2019). "Advanced chemical peels: Phenol-croton oil peel". Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 81 (2): 327–336. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2018.11.060. PMID 30550827. S2CID 54631945.
  3. ^ Orra, S; Waltzman, J. T.; Mlynek, K; Duraes, E. F.; Kundu, N; Zins, J. E. (2015). "Periorbital Phenol-Croton Oil Chemical Peel in Conjunction with Blepharoplasty: An Evolving Technique for Periorbital Facial Rejuvenation". Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 136 (4 Suppl): 99–100. doi:10.1097/01.prs.0000472401.26529.67. PMID 26397611.
  4. ^ Lawrence Kruger, ed. (2001). Methods in Pain Research. CRC Press.
  5. ^ Berenblum, I; Shubik, P (1947). "The Role of Croton Oil Applications, Associated with a Single Painting of a Carcinogen, in Tumour Induction of the Mouse's Skin". British Journal of Cancer. 1 (4): 379–382. doi:10.1038/bjc.1947.35. PMC 2007538. PMID 18906315.
  6. ^ Preston, R. D.; Nicolai, E.; Reed, R.; Millard, A. (October 1948). "An Electron Microscope Study of Cellulose in the Wall of Valonia Ventricosa". Nature. 162 (4121): 665–667. Bibcode:1948Natur.162..665P. doi:10.1038/162665a0. PMID 18888170. S2CID 4007842.
  7. ^ Meyer-Bertenrath, JG (1969). "150 Years of croton oil research". Experientia. 25 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1007/BF01903855. PMID 4885798. S2CID 26826980.
  8. ^ E. Hecker (1967-01-31). "Phorbol esters from croton oil: Chemical nature and biological activities". Naturwissenschaften. 54 (11): 282–4. Bibcode:1967NW.....54..282H. doi:10.1007/BF00620887. PMID 5589922. S2CID 27775957.