| Historical info
Aloe vera has been used by many cultures since ancient times. Early records of use appear in the 16th century BC Eber Papyrus. It was a component of the cosmetic beautifying regimes of Egyptian queens Nefertii and Cleopatra. It has been used in ancient wars for treatment of wounds. It held folkloric status as a herbal cure-all until the mid-1930s, when it found application in the treatment of chronic and severe radiation dermatitis. Today it is a component of countless beauty, health, and skin care products.
Botany
Sabila is an herb plant growing 30 to 40 centimeters high. Leaves arising
from the ground are smooth, thick, fleshy, mucilaginous, succulent, 20 to 50 centimeters long, 5 to 8 centimeters wide, light green with white blotches, narrow-lanceolate,
tapering, spiny-toothed margins. Flowering stalk is erect, usually twice the height
of the plant. Flowers are 2 to 3 centimeters long, yellow, with segments that about equals the oblong tube.
Distribution
- Cultivated for ornamental and medicinal purposes.
- Introduced; a native of Africa.
- Occurs in subtemperate and tropical regions.
Production
- Commonly raised in clay pots or perforated containers.
- Sporadic
in the yard; ordinary garden soil with compost is best.
- Regenerates
its growth as lower leaves are cut, perpetuating availability
of the material.
Properties
• Aromatic, astringent, aperient,
purgative, emmenagogue, emollient, cholagogue, laxative, stomachic,
tonic, vulnerary.
• Considered antitoxic, anticancer, antimutagenic.
Constituents
- Contains more than 75 active constituents: vitamins, enzymes, minerals, sugars, lignin, saponins, salicylic acids and amino acids.
-
Aloin; barbaloin, 25%; isobarbaloin resin, 12.5%; (sicaloin;
emodin; cinnamic acid; b-arabinose; oxidase); cinnamic acid;
resin up to 20% (aloesin, aloesone, aloeresin A and C); coumarins,
traces of volatile oil.
- Freeze-dried leaves of Aloe vera yielded aloe-emodin, feralolide, a mixture of aloins A and B, elgonica dimers A and B.
Parts
utilized
Leaves, pulp, and sap.
Dried juice from leaves.
Harvest mature leaves and rinse with water; remove spines prior
to use.
 Uses
Edibility
Jelly from matured leaves can be cut in small cubes, boiled with rock sugar for a sweetened cooling drink.
Folkloric
- Use for dandruff.
- Juice of fleshy leaves is usually mixed with gogo by Filipino women and used to prevent falling of fair or as a cure for baldness.
- Juice from leaves mixed with wine used to preserve the hair
- In the Philippines, leaves used to poultice edema associated with beriberi.
- Juice from leaves mixed with milk used for dysentery and pains of the kidney.
- Fresh juice expressed from the leaves is spread on skin burns, scalds,
scrapes, sunburn and wounds.
- Burns and scalds: Use ointment made by mixing equal amounts of powdered
aloe and coconut oil.
- Used for wound healing.
- For conjunctivitis, leaf juice is applied to the outer eyelid.
- Used for sprains, sore throat.
- In small doses, used as a tonic; in larger doses, as aperient; and in still larger doses, drastically so; it is also used as emmenagogue and cholagogue.
- In small doses, considered stomachic tonic; in large doses, as purgative.
- In Costa Rica, the mucilaginous pulp of leaves is used as purgative.
- For contusions or local edema, bruised fresh leaves are applied as poultice
over affected areas.
- For alopecia and falling hair, remove the spines, cut leaves and rub directly
on the scalp. The juice of fresh leave may be mixed with gogo and used
as a shampoo.
- Juice mixed with coconut milk used for dysentery and kidney pains.
- For bruises, equal parts of juice and alcohol are applied to affected
areas.
- For hemorrhoids, cuticle from leaves used as suppository for hemorrhoids.
- In India and the Antilles the alcoholic tincture of inspissated juice is used for bruises, contusions and ecchymoses.
- In the Arabian peninsula, used for diabetes.
- For burns and scalds, an ointment is prepared by mixing 2 drams of powdered aloe with 2 drams.
- Also used for herpes simplex sores, tendinitis, dandruff, menstrual cramps, acne, stomatitis, varicose veins, warts, hemorrhoids.
- Used in combination with licorice roots to treat eczema and psoriasis.
New uses
- Benefits are derived from
a combination of all active components; the aqueous form provides the
most benefits.
- Leaf jelly used for various cosmetic and new-age concoctions for pimples, acne, stomatitis, hemorrhoidal itching, superficial burns. Aloe gel is a common household remedy for minor cuts, burns and sunburns.
- Salicylic acid content can inhibit prostaglandin and thromboxane formation
by blocking the arachidonic acid cascade.
- UV-B protection through cinnamic acid.
Caution !
- Not for internal use.
- Some mineral cytotoxicity of the juice. Should be rinsed off after
30 minutes.
-
Allergies: People with known allergy to other plants in the Liliaceae family (onions, garlic, tulips) may have allergic reactions to aloe.
Delayed allergic reactions - hives and rash - may develop with prolonged use.
 Studies
• Laxative:
(1) Aloin is the presumed laxative component of aloe. Further studies are
needed to establish the dose and safety. (2) Anthraquinones in the latex considered to have potent laxative property, increasing intestinal water content, and stimulates mucus secretion and peristalsis.
• Radioprotective / Gamma and UV Exposure: Studies have reported a protective effect against radiation damage to the skin. It decreases the production and release of skin keratinocyte-derived immunosuppressive cytokines (IL-10), preventing UV-suppression of delayed type hypersensitivity.
• Genital Herpes:
Limited evidence for extract of aloe vera in a hydrophilic cream preparation
for use in treatment for genital herpes.
• Psoriasis vulgaris:
(1) Evidence suggests aloe extract in hydrophilic creams to be of benefit
in psoriasis vulgaris. (2) Randomized trial study showed patients with plaque psoriasis had a greater reduction in disease activity with topical aloe vera treatment compared to topical steroid
• Dandruff: Studies
suggest effectiveness for treatment of seborrheic dermatitis.
• Other promising with positive results for use in canker sores
(aphthous stomatitis), lichen planus, ulcerative colitis, wound healing,
skin burns.
• Antigenotoxic:
Study showed antigenotoxic potentials of aloe and suggests a potential
use in prevention of DNA damage caused by chemical agents.
• Psoriasis vulgaris:
A double-blind placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and
tolerability of topical Aloe vera in a hydrophilic creams showed it
to be more effective than placebo without toxic or objective side effects
and can be considered a safe alternative treatment for psoriasis.
• Anti-leukemic / Anti-Mutagenic:
Study isolated di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) from Aloe vera. It exhibited growth inhibition against three leukemic cell lines and reduced AF-2-induced mutagenicity. DEHP was considered the active principle responsible for the anti-leukemic and anti-mutagenic effects in vitro.
• Acemannan / Macrophage Activation: Study isolated a major carbohydrate fraction from the gel of Aloe vera leaf. It has been claimed to accelerate wound healing, immune stimulation and have anti-cancer and anti-viral effects. Study showed acemannan stimulate cytokine production, nitric oxide release. The production of cytokines IL-6 and TNF-alpha were acemannan dose-dependent. The results suggest acemannan may function, in part, through macrophage activation.
• Aloeride / Immunostimulatory Activity: Study characterized a new immunostimulatory polysaccharide, Aloeride, from commercial aloe vera juice.
• Aloe-emodin / Anticancer / Antiproliferative: Study showed aloe-emodin inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in two human liver cancer cell lines, but with different antiproliferative mechanisms. Results suggest aloe-emodin may be useful in liver cancer prevention.
• Biochemotherapy: Study showed percentage of both objective tumor regressions and disease control was significantly higher in patients concomitantly treated with Aloe than with chemotherapy alone. Study suggest Aloe may be beneficial to use with chemotherapy to increase efficacy in terms of both tumor regression and survival time.
• Antidiabetic: (1) In a study of patients with non-insulin diabetes and Swiss albino mice with alloxan-induced diabetes, lowering of blood sugars was noted by as yet unknown mechanisms. (2) In a study of 5 plants used by Kuwaiti diabetics, only extracts with myrrh and Aloe gums effectively increase glucose tolerance in both normal and diabetic rats.
• Burn Wound Healing: Based on meta-analysis using duration of wound healing as the outcome measure, the healing time of the aloe vera group was 8.79 days shorted than the control group. Cumulative evidence supports aloe vera as beneficial intervention for burn wound healing in first to second degree burns. (Some studies have shown contrary results, with one showing delayed healing. Also, the use of aloe on surgical wounds has been reported to slow healing)
• Antimicrobial / Skin Infections: Study evaluated the antibacterial activity of leaf and gel extracts against gram positive and gram negative skin infections isolates. The gel extracts showed antibacterial activity against both gram positive and gram negative isolates. Leaf extracts showed no activity.
• Photocarcinogenesis: Aloe vera is incorporated in many skin care/cosmetic products. Studies have suggested it may enhance the induction of skin cancer by ultraviolet radiation. This study found a weak enhancing effect of aloe vera leaf or decolorized whole leaf on the photocarcinogenic activity of SSL (simulated solar light) in both male and female mice.
• Scabies: In a study of 16 patients treated with Aloe vera and 14 patients with benzyl benzoate lotion, the Aloe vera gel showed to be as effective as benzyl benzoate in the treatment of scabies.
• Gastrointestinal Benefits: Study showed oral supplementation with Aloe vera reduced postprandial bloating, reduced flatulence, and improved colonic bacterial function.
• Antiseptic: Aloe vera yields six antiseptic constituents -- lupeol, salicylic acid, urea nitrogen, cinnamonic acid, phenols, and sulfur -- with inhibitory effect on fungi, bacteria and viruses.
• Antibacterial: Study showed the possibility of presence of bioactive components in crude extracts. Tested against E. coli, B. subtilis, S. typhi, Pseudomonas, K. pneumonia, S. epidermis, a methanol extract showed maximum antibacterial activity as compared to other solvent extracts.
Availability
- Wild-crafted.
- Cultivated for ornamental and medicinal use.
- Ingredients to many commercial hair/cosmetic products.
- Gels, capsules, extracts in the cybermarket.
|
