Croton is a small tree or shrub that may reach 5 m in height, originally from the Bahamas and West Indies, as well as
from Peru, Paraguay and Haiti. It has alternate leaves, dark green leaves, inconspicuous flower racemes and a brown seed capsule
with three hard, black seeds. The part used is the bark of the thin branches. Cascarilla has a bitter, tonic flavor with a spicy odor
mixture of clove, cardamom, eucalyptus and nutmeg.
Cascara sagrada is the dried bark collected from the small- to medium-sized wild deciduous trees. The plant has loosely
pinnate-veined leaves and greenish dioecious flowers in axillary clusters. The commercial bark is flattened or transversely curved,
longitudinally ridged with a brownish to red-brown color. It has gray or white lichen patches and occasional moss attachments. The
plant grows along the Pacific coast of the United States (Washington, California, Oregon) and also in Idaho, Arizona, Colorado and
other states. It is also cultivated in Kenya. The part used is the bark from the branches and trunk. Cascara sagrada has a bitter, tonic flavor.
The essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of the bark, with yields of 2%.
Yellow-green or amber liquid. It is soluble in most fixed oils and in mineral oil, but it is practically
insoluble in glycerin and propylene glycol.
cascara sagrada extract (Rhamnus purshiana)(buckthorn; sacred bark) is used to add a skin-soothing factor in lotions and creams. It can also be incorporated into a skin care product to protect the skin from harsh external conditions, as well as to improve the skin’s overall condition. It may also be used as a perfuming component. The extract is prepared from this shrub’s bark, which includes glucosides among its constituents.
Flavoring agent; as an addition to smoking tobacco for flavoring.
Extractives and their physically modified derivatives. Croton eluteria, Euphorbiaceae
Essential oil composition
The main constituents of the oil are l-limonene, p-cymene, d-penene, eugenol and cascarillic acid. The
bark contains cascarillin and vanillin.
Essential oil composition
Main constituents (an active laxative principle) include at least 6 to 9% anthracene derivatives which
exist as normal O-glycosides and C-glycosides. The four primary glycosides or cascarosides A, B, C and D contain both O- and
C-glycosidic linkages.
When heated to
decomposition it emits acrid smoke and
irritating fumes.
