Croton tiglium, Tiglium officinale    Purging croton seeds       
PART USED: Oil expressed from seeds- The oil is toxic and should be handled with extreme care.
ACTIONS- Highly toxic. Very small doses of the seeds are used by Chinese medicine.
1. Irritant.[1]
2. Rubifacient.[1]
3. Cathartic.[1]
INDICATIONS
Rarely used medicinally as modern research has shown it to be dangerous- poisonous and tumor promoting.[1]
SIDE EFFECTS
Severe irritation, lacrimation, edema, and blistering of skin and mucous membranes. Internally is is strongly purgative, causing hypotension, abdominal pain, rapid and weak pulse and even shock.[1]
PREPARATIONS
SUSMP6 S10: CROTON TIGLIUM for therapeutic use- Australian Chinese Medicine board.


ORIGIN: Asia and China.
DESCRIPTION: Seeds; brown, mottled color. The outer layer is easily removed, leavbing a hard, black coat.
The oil is yellowish or reddish brown, and fairly viscous, with an unpleasant odor.
References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Constituents.
Research.

Detoxification of Croton tiglium L. seeds by Ayurvedic process of Sodhana
Prince Kumar Pal, Manmath Kumar Nandi, and Narendra Kumar Singh
Abstract
Objective:
Croton tiglium seeds, known as Jamalgo?a in Hindi, Marathi, and Urdu is well-known for its toxicity (severe purgative action). In Ayurvedic texts, the plant is known as Kumbhini and is used for the treatment of constipation after Sodhana (detoxification process) of the seeds with Godugdha (cow milk).
Material and Methods:
In the present study, C. tiglium seeds were purified with cow milk as reported in Ayurvedic classics. Phorbol esters equivalent to phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and crotonic acid contents were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography method in the seeds of C. tiglium before and after the purification process.
Results:
The content of the phorbol ester equivalent to PMA in unpurified and purified sample was found to be 5.2 mg/100 g and 1.8 mg/100 g of dried seeds of C. tiglium, respectively. The quantity of crotonic acid in unpurified seeds of C. tiglium was found to be 0.102 mg/100 g of dried seeds while it was absent in the purified seed extract of C. tiglium.
Conclusion:
The toxicity of C. tiglium seeds may be due to the presence of phorbol esters and crotonic acid along with other constituents. These constituents are oil soluble and may be removed by cow milk during the process of Sodhana. Reduction in the level of these constituents after the purification decreases the toxicity of C. tiglium seeds. Reduction in the oily content from the seeds of C. tiglium during the purification process is also supported by the results obtained from the physiochemical parameters.
Anc Sci Life. 2014 Jan-Mar; 33(3): 157–161.
doi: [10.4103/0257-7941.144619]
PMCID: PMC4264303
PMID: 25538350 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Gastro intestinal effects of Croton tiglium in experimental animals
N.R. Pillai
Abstract
Croton tiglium used as a cathartic in Ayurvedic system of indigenous medicine, was investigated for its effects in experimental animals. 50% EtOH extract of the dried nuts of the plant was used of the study. The extract exhibited a dose dependent cathartic effect in albino rats, the extract also showed an increase to gut movement with an increased contractile movement on rabbit jejunum, partially blocked by atropine these preliminary findings suggest tat the ethanol extract of the croton dried nuts elicit a purgative effect by increasing the gut motility, partially via muscarnic receptor activation.
Anc Sci Life. 1999 Jan-Jun; 18(3-4): 205–209.
PMCID: PMC3336487
PMID: 22556892 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Toxic proteins from Croton tiglium L. exert a proinflammatory effect by inducing release of proinflammatory cytokines and activating the p38-MAPK signaling pathway
Liping Liu, Hongli Yu,* Hao Wu,* Xiaolin Yang, Yaozong Pan, Yeqing Chen, Kuilong Wang, Wei Wang, Wenying Zhang, Yangping Jin, Chengchao Zhang, Ai Jiang, and Chunyan Xia
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine the toxic targets of proteins from Croton tiglium L. and to investigate the potential mechanism of their toxicity. The toxic targets were determined by oral medication and intraperitoneal injection. The median lethal dose of oral medication in mice was calculated using Bliss software (2,752.8–3,407.5 mg/kg), and that of intraperitoneal injection was 195.8–272.69 mg/kg. The results of histopathological examination demonstrated that the kidney was primarily impaired by intraperitoneal injection, with slight degeneration of renal tubular epithelial cells. As to oral medication, the digestive tract was primarily injured, which manifested as congestion, bleeding, serious edema and other symptoms. Oral administration of the proteins caused gastrointestinal edema by increasing the intestinal permeability. Severe edema was associated with the inflammatory response, therefore the association between the toxicity of the proteins and inflammation was investigated. The proinflammatory effects of the crude proteins on the release of inflammatory mediator prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were evaluated through intraperitoneal injection and the production of proinflammatory cytokines in RAW264.7 macrophages. Maximum PGE2 was released in the mice in vivo following intraperitoneal injection with 400 mg crude protein/kg body weight. Proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages, including tumor necrosis factor-a and interleukin-1ß, were produced in dose- and time-dependent manners in vitro. furthermore, the expressions of cell signaling molecules were detected by western blotting. The inflammatory response induced by crude protein in macrophages was associated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway mainly including p38-MAPK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2/3 and the activated p38-MAPK signaling pathway. However, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and c-Jun N-terminal kinases 1–3 exhibited no significant response.
Mol Med Rep. 2017 Jul; 16(1): 631–638.
Published online 2017 May 24. doi: [10.3892/mmr.2017.6617]
PMCID: PMC5482117
PMID: 28560398 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Toxic effects of crotocaudin extracted from the medicinal plant Croton tiglium.
Yadav RP, Singh A.
Abstract
The compound crotocaudin extracted from the stem bark of the medicinal plant Croton tiglium Linn. was administered for 24 h or 96 h to the freshwater vector snail Lymnaea (Radix) acuminata Lamarck in order to test its toxicity. L. acuminata is the intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica which cause immense harm to man and his domestic animals. It was observed that the molluscicidal activity of crotocaudin against L. acuminata is time- as well as dose-dependent. There was a significant negative correlation among LC50 values and exposure periods, i.e. increasing the exposure time, the LC50 value of crotocaudin decreased from 5.37 microM (24 h) > 2.08 microM (48 h) > 1.36 microM (72 h) to 1.01 microM (96 h), respectively, against L. acuminata. The toxicological experiments to proof for environmental toxicity, if any, have also been carried out on the non-target freshwater fish Channa punctatus (Bloch) [Channidae (Ophicephalidae)], which shares the habitat with L. acuminata. The sublethal doses of crotocaudin (40% and 80% of LC50) administered over 24 h caused significant changes in the carbohydrate and nitrogenous metabolisms in nervous, hepatopancreas, and ovotestis tissues of Lymnaea acuminata. Channa punctatus was also exposed to sublethal doses of crotocaudin (40% and 80% of 24-h LC50 of L. acuminata) for 96 h which showed significant alterations in the metabolism in muscle, liver, and gonad tissues. After withdrawal of crotocaudin the snail tissues recovered in part after 7 days and the fish tissues completely.
PMID: 20653234 Z Naturforsch C. 2010 May-Jun;65(5-6):327-36. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Gastro intestinal effects of Croton tiglium in experimental animals
N.R. Pillai
Abstract
Croton tiglium used as a cathartic in Ayurvedic system of indigenous medicine, was investigated for its effects in experimental animals. 50% EtOH extract of the dried nuts of the plant was used of the study. The extract exhibited a dose dependent cathartic effect in albino rats, the extract also showed an increase to gut movement with an increased contractile movement on rabbit jejunum, partially blocked by atropine these preliminary findings suggest tat the ethanol extract of the croton dried nuts elicit a purgative effect by increasing the gut motility, partially via muscarnic receptor activation.
Anc Sci Life. 1999 Jan-Jun; 18(3-4): 205–209.
PMCID: PMC3336487
PMID: 22556892 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov