The castor bean is the natural source of castor oil. Unfortunately, it also
contains ricin, a highly toxic protein. As a result, the castor plant is
being genetically manipulated to eliminate the production of ricin and
increase the oil yield. To provide a measurement of oil quantity and
quality for this research, a high-performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC)-charged aerosol detection method was developed that can
be used to accurately determine the amount of triglycerides that are
present in a castor oil sample, and to fully characterize individual lipid
components. Presented here is a simple, reliable, and direct method
for the characterization of castor oil from different commercial sources.
Results are obtained with only sample dilution and analysis.