Jatropha curcas is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to the American tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America.[2] It is originally native to the tropical areas of the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, and has been spread throughout the world in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, becoming naturalized or invasive in many areas.[3] The specific epithet, "curcas", was first used by Portuguese doc Garcia de Orta more than 400 years ago.[4] Common names in English include physic nut, Barbados nut, poison nut, bubble bush or purging nut.[3] In parts of Africa and areas in Asia such as India it is often known as "castor oil plant" or "hedge castor oil plant",[3] but it is not the same as the usual castor oil plant, Ricinus communis (they are in the same family but different subfamilies).
J. curcas is a semi-evergreenshrub or small tree, reaching a height of 6 metres (20 feet) or more.[2] It is resistant to a high degree of aridity, allowing it to grow in deserts.[5][6] It contains phorbol esters, which are considered toxic.[7] However, edible (non-toxic) varieties native to Mexico also exist, known by the local population as piñón manso, xuta, chuta, aishte, among others.[8][9]J. curcas also contains compounds such as trypsin inhibitors, phytate, saponins and a type of lectin[10][11] known as curcin.[12]
The seeds contain 27–40% oil[13] (average: 34.4%[14]) that can be processed to produce a high-quality biodiesel fuel, usable in a standard diesel engine.[15] This oil may be also used for thermal energy storage or as heat transfer fluid at medium and high-temperature.[16][17][18] The oil has a very purgative property.[19] Edible (non-toxic) varieties, as those developed by selection by ethnic Mexican natives in Veracruz, can be used for animal feed and food.[20][8]
^ abMartínez-Herrera, J., Martínez Ayala, A., Makkar, H.P.S., Francis, G., Becker, K. 2010. Agroclimatic conditions, chemical and nutritional characterization of different provenances of Jatropha curcas L. from Mexico. Journal of Food Quality 35:152-158.
^Valdes-Rodríguez, O.A., Sánchez-Sánchez, O., Pérez-Vazquez, A., Caplan, J. 2013. The Mexican non-toxic Jatropha curcas L., food resource or biofuel? Ethnobotany Research and Applications 11: 001-007
^Makkar, H.P.S., Francis, G., Becker, K. 2008. Protein concentrate from Jatropha curcas screw-pressed seed cake and toxic and antinutritional factors in protein concentrate. Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture 88: 1542-1548.
^Martínez-Herrera, J., Jiménez-Martínez, C., Martínez Ayala, A., Garduño-Siciliano, L., Mora-Escobedo, R., Dávila-Ortiz, G., Chamorro-Cevallos, G., Makkar, H.P.S., Francis, G., Becker, K. 2012. Evaluation of the nutritional quality of non-toxic kernel flour from Jatropha curcas L. in rats. Journal of Food Quality 35:152-158.
^Lin, J., Zhou, X., Wang, J., Jiang, P., Tang, K. 2010. Purification and characterization of curcin, a toxic lectin from the seed of Jatropha curcas. Preparative Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 40 (2): 107-118. DOI: 10.1080/10826060903558588
^Achten WMJ, Mathijs E, Verchot L, Singh VP, Aerts R, Muys B 2007. Jatropha biodiesel fueling sustainability?. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 1(4), 283-291.[1]doi:10.1002/bbb.39The Jatropha Archives
^Achten WMJ, Verchot L, Franken YJ, Mathijs E, Singh VP, Aerts R, Muys B 2008. Jatropha bio-diesel production and use. (a literature review) Biomass and Bioenergy 32(12), 1063–1084.[2]doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2008.03.003The Jatropha Archives