Detoxification experiments with the seed oil from Jatropha curcas L.

Wilhelm Haas and Martin Mittelbach,

Abstract
Due to its large number of potential utilizations Jatropha curcas L.
(physic nut, purging nut), a tropical plant cultivated in many Latin
American, Asian and African countries, has become topic of various
research projects. Nutritional as well as technical applications,
however, are restricted due to the plant's toxicity. The seed oil
contains phorbol esters, a family of compounds known to cause a
large number of biological effects such as tumor promotion and
inflammation. Therefore it is necessary to find feasable routes for
detoxification of the oil. J. curcas seed oil was treated by
traditional oil refining processes examining the effect on the
content of phorbol esters. Parameters of several refining steps were
varied to optimize the grade of detoxification. Almost no effect
could be observed with degumming and deodorization, whereas the
steps of deacidification and bleaching could reduce the content of
phorbol esters up to 55%.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T77-
40HV0FH-5&_coverDate=08%2F31%
2F2000&_alid=424263228&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=5051&_so
rt=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=
504ce390aa9f52f5155d0d182deb1683