Jatropha - origins and history

Jatropha is believed to have originated in South America, where from ancient times extracts from its leaves and seeds were used as medicine. Jatropha's medical qualities derive from curcin, a chemical present in the plant's shoots and leaves, which is effective as an antiseptic but can be anti-nutritional if ingested in large quantities.

It is said that Portuguese sailors learned of jatropha's medicinal qualities when they came to South America in the 16th century. They took jatropha to Africa and India, where its fast growth and inedible leaves made it ideal as a stock fence to prevent animals grazing crops. It is also widely grown as a shade tree for dwellings. Jatropha now grows from the forests of Brazil to the tropical islands of Fiji. Jatropha is still used as a traditional medicine in India and Africa.

Jatropha vegetable oil can be extracted from the seeds by crushing. It is inedible and was used for centuries to make basic oil lamps. Industrial production was undertaken in the nineteenth century in the Cape Verde Islands to produce lamp oil for the Portuguese market, but this was abandoned with the advent of cheap paraffin oil. Until recently there has been no concentrated attempt to pioneer jatropha as a commercial source of vegetable oil to make fuel.