Directory Search
Aloe Vera
Description:
Aloe vera is a perennial plant which grows wild in eastern and southern Africa. It is cultivated in the West Indies and has been found in the Zapata area of Texas. The plant has a thick fibrous root which produces large basal leaves. The leaves are one to two feet long, two to three feet wide, gradually tapering to a point. They are whitish green on both sides and bear spiny teeth on the margins. Red, yellow, purple, or pale striped flowers are present most of the year, growing in a long raceme at the top of the flower stalk which originates from the center of the basal leaves. The flower stalk can grow up to four and a half feet in height. The fruit is a triangular capsule containing numerous seeds. The medicinal part is the leaves.
Method of Action:
Active constituents
The constituents of aloe latex responsible for its laxative effects are known as anthraquinone glycosides. These molecules are split by the normal bacteria in the large intestines to form other molecules (aglycones), which exert the laxative action. Since aloe is such a powerful laxative, other plant laxatives such as senna or cascara are often recommended first.
Topically, it is not yet clear which constituents are responsible for the wound healing properties of aloe.1 Test tube studies suggest polysaccharides, such as acemannon, help promote skin healing by anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and immune-stimulating actions. Aloe’s effects on the skin may also be enhanced by its high concentration of amino acids, as well as vitamin E, vitamin C, zinc, and essential fatty acids.
Aloe has been used to treat minor burns.2 Stabilized aloe gel is applied to the affected area of skin three to five times per day. Older case studies reported that aloe gel applied topically could help heal radiation burns,3 and a small clinical trial found it more effective than a topical petroleum jelly in treating burns.4 However, a large, modern, placebo-controlled trial did not find aloe effective for treating minor burns.
Two small controlled human trials have found that aloe, either alone or in combination with the oral hypoglycemic drug, glibenclamide, effectively lowers blood sugar in people with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes.
An aloe extract in a cream has been shown effective in a double-blind, controlled trial in people with psoriasis.
Properties & Uses:
Aloe vera is thought to have "biogenic stimulators" and wound healing hormone activity. Externally, the juice has been used to treat skin diseases, burns, and bruises, having both soothing and healing properties. When the soft, pulpy leaves are cut or broken, the clear juice flows freely and should be applied to the affected area as quickly as possible. Liquid aloe vera also helps prevent scar tissue from occurring inside the body at the site of an incision. If the gel is applied frequently just after surgery, the incision will heal more rapidly and leave less scar tissue.
Partially disintegrated aloe vera, in which the pulp had lost some of its gumminess and turned a pink color instead of the usual clear, was applied to rats with third degree X-ray burns. The recovery was 23.7% higher than in rats treated with fresh pulp. This led to the hypothesis that aloe vera cells next to the rind seed into the pulp and further improve the healing process. To test this theory, another group of rats was tested with ground mesh aloe vera rinds as an X-ray burn poultice. Their 100% healing suggested that the healing agents are concentrated in the fresh rind, not in the seeds. Recently, Soviet medical personnel have suggested that liquid aloe vera can be given intravenously. Modern physicians have even prescribed this for nuclear and other radiation burns. Further, it has been discovered that, taken internally, liquid aloe vera helps mend tissue damaged by cobalt radiation, a typical result of radiation cancer treatments provided by nuclear medicine. The cut leaves of aloe contain anthraquinone glycosides which are collectively termed "aloin." Aloin consists of the pentosides barbaloin and isobarbaloin, resins, saponins, and other substances. Barbaloin, on hydrolysis, yields a mixture in which aloe emodin has been identified. Aloe emodin content is highest in Curacao aloe.
Aloe vera's mucilaginous pulp has been researched by a number of clinical investigators in an attempt to establish its active principles. It is 96% water, and among its polysaccharides, scientists have isolated glucose, mannose, traces of arabinose, galactose and xylose.
Toxicity Levels:
Some reports indicate that aloes should not be used during pregnancy. Aloes may have purgative affects; it is a common, but unsubstantiated belief that overdoses of strong purgatives will cause abortions as they tend to cause everything in the body to be expelled.
Aloes are widely considered, but are not confirmed to be emmenagogues. Emmenagogues are agents that will promote menstruation. Such agents would tend to promote the aborting of the fetus from the uterus. It is believed to contribute to abnormalities of the fetus if taken orally during the first forty days of pregnancy. Although the emmenagogic activity of aloes have been documented, further research in this area is needed to substantiate this assumption.
Some reports indicate that aloes should not be used in the treatment of hermorrhoids. Aloe products can be purchased in many forms; the most common forms are aloe vera gel and drug aloe. The drug aloe can be taken internally in small amounts for its laxative effects.
Recommended Dietary Allowances:
For constipation, a single 50–200 mg capsule of aloe latex can be taken each day for a maximum of ten days.
For minor burns, the stabilized aloe gel is applied topically to the affected area of skin three to five times per day. Treatment of more serious burns should only be done under the supervision of a healthcare professional. For internal use of aloe gel, two tablespoons (30 ml) three times per day is used by some people with conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (see precautions below). For type 2 diabetes, clinical trials have used one tablespoon (15 ml) of aloe juice, twice daily. Treatment of diabetes with aloe should only be done under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional.