It may come from the traditional name given by pharmacists to the seeds of the croton plant.

According to another, it may refer to one of the Maluku islands in Indonesia, ostensibly the home habitat of the species.

[3] Croton tiglium is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it has the name bā dòu (Chinese: 巴豆)[citation needed].

The seeds are called jamālgoṭa in Hindi, Marathi, and Urdu, and are well known for their toxicity (severe purgative effect).

They are used to treat constipation after the seeds have undergone a traditional Ayurvedic detoxification process with cow's milk (godugdha).