Aloe Vera is one
of the oldest known herbal medicines that can be traced back 6,000 years to
early Egypt. Aloe Vera plant was depicted on stone carvings known as the “plant
of immortality” and was presented as a funeral gift to pharaohs. Historically,
aloe Vera has been used for a variety of purposes, including treatment of
wounds, hair loss, and hemorrhoids; it has also been used as a laxative. Nowadays,
aloe extract is still popularly used as a home remedy for skin problems such as
psoriasis, burns, sunburns, insect bites and others. Aloe Vera can be found in
many skin products such as lotions, gels and sun blocks. Other folkloric uses
include treatment of arthritis, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and osteoarthritis.
Two substances from aloe vera, the clear gel and the yellow
latex, are used in health products today. Aloe latex is taken by mouth mainly
as a laxative for constipation. It is also used for seizures, asthma, colds,
bleeding, lack of a menstrual period, swelling of the colon (colitis),
depression, and diabetes, eye conditions that cause blindness (glaucoma),
multiple sclerosis, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, joint inflammation,
osteoarthritis, and vision problems. Fresh aloe leaves are taken by mouth for
cancer.
People apply aloe gel to the skin for acne, an inflammatory
skin condition called lichen planus, inflammation in the mouth, burning mouth,
radiation-induced skin damage, dental plaque, diaper rash, frostbite, gum
disease, bedsores, scabies, dandruff, wound healing, hemorrhoids and pain after
surgery to remove internal hemorrhoids, osteoarthritis, inflammation, and as an
antiseptic. Aloe extract and aloe gel are also applied to the skin for genital
herpes, scaly and itchy skin, burns, sunburns, and dry skin. Aloe extract is
applied to the skin as an insect repellant. Aloe leaf juice is applied to the
skin for anal fissures. A chemical in aloe called acemannan is applied to the
skin for dry sockets in the mouth and canker sores.
Aloe Vera is a herb that grows in warm climates and is
widely distributed in Philippines, India, and Africa. Aloe Vera is widely used
as traditional herbal medicine in China, Japan, Russia, South Africa, the
United States, Jamaica, Latin America and India. Aloe Vera is frequently cited
as being used in herbal medicine for its anti-inflammatory, regenerative,
anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and healing properties. Aloe Vera is a herb that
grows up to 35 cm in height with green leaves. Aloe Vera leaves are about 6 cm
wide that grows up tapering with spiny margins. Aloe Vera flower grows erect
from the herb to as much as twice the height of the plant. Aloe Vera flowers
are yellow to red yellow in color that grows to about 2cm.
Aloe Vera Traditional
Medicinal Uses and Health benefits. Aloe Vera in Traditional and Folkloric
Medicine for Skin Problems. Aloe
Vera is traditionally used to treat the following skin conditions: skin burns,
scalds, scrapes, sunburn wounds, psoriasis and others. Aloe Vera juice or the
fleshy leaf is applied directly to the affected skin, providing relief and
believed to improve healing.
Aloe Vera is used for
treatment of hair related problems: Dandruff, Thinning and falling hair, Baldness.
Fresh Aloe Vera juice or sap are massaged to the affected scalp and let it stay
for a few minutes before washing. Aloe Vera, Herbal Medicine For
Conjunctivitis, Stomachic, Hemorrhoids and Diabetes. Aloe Vera is used in
conjunctivitis, Aloe leaf juice is applied to the outer eyelid. In small doses,
Aloe Vera is considered stomachic tonic; in large doses, as purgative. For
hemorrhoids, Aloe Vera cuticle from its leaves is used as suppository for
hemorrhoids. In some Arabian regions, Aloe Vera is used to treat diabetes.
How to Get and How to
Use. Aloe vera are widely cultivated and generally grown in pots. It can be
bought it from your local horticulturist and at time at home depot shops as
ornamental plant. Aloe vera is also widely used as ingredient in cosmetic and
herbal preparations. Aloe vera leaves contain a clear gel that is often used as
a topical ointment. The green part of the Aloe leaf that surrounds the gel can
be used to produce a juice or a dried substance (called latex) that is taken by
mouth.
Dosage, Warnings and
Side Effects. Use of topical aloe vera is not associated with significant
side effects. A 2-year National
Toxicology Program (NTP) study on oral consumption of non-decolorized whole
leaf extract of aloe vera found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity in male
and female rats, based on tumors of the large intestine. According to the NTP,
from what is known right now there is nothing that would lead them to believe
that these findings are not relevant to humans. However, more information,
including how individuals use different types of aloe vera products, is needed
to determine the potential risks to humans.
Science Based Studies
and Research. Aloe Vera Mechanism of action in disease prevention. Aloe vera has several active
constituents and most of them have therapeutic implications for disease
prevention and treatment through the modulation of various biological and
genetic activities. The possible mechanisms of actions of Aloe vera are
described as follows: Aloe vera has
aloe emodin (AE), aloin (barbaloin), anthracene, and emodin found to be
relevant to cancer prevention owing to the activation and inactivation of
molecular pathways associated with them.
Aloe vera function as
an antioxidant through free radical and superoxide radical-scavenging
activities and anti-inflammatory activities via inhibition of prostaglandin E2
production from arachidonic acid and also inhibition of various transcription
factors and the activities of enzymes including lypoxygenase and
cyclooxygenase. Aloe vera shows antimicrobial activity by rupturing bacterial
cell walls. Earlier studies have reported the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial
properties of Aloe vera gel.
Aloe Vera has Anti
Leukemic Function through its Anti-Mutagenic Activity. A study that
isolated di(2)-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) from Aloe vera found that Aloe Vera
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. Extracts of Aloe vera Linne have been found to exhibit
cytotoxicity against human tumor cell lines.
Aloe vera has Wound
Healing, Anti-cancer and Immune stimulation Activities. Study isolated a
major carbohydrate fraction from the gell 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 an extract found from Aloe vera
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.
Aloe Vera, Promotes
Bone Regeration and Formation (osteoformation). Studies suggest that
acemannan, a polysaccharide extracted from Aloe vera gel, could affect bone
formation. Acemannan could function as a
bioactive molecule inducing bone formation by stimulating BMSCs proliferation,
differentiation into osteoblasts, and extracellular matrix synthesis. Acemannan
extracted from Aloe vera could be a candidate for natural biomaterial for bone
regeneration.
Aloe Vera for
Biochemotherapy: An effective suport for Chemotheraphy. 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 tumore regression and
survival time.
Aloe Vera as
Antigenotoxic : Study showed antigenotoxic potentials of aloe and suggests
a potential use in prevention of DNA damage caused by chemical agents. 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. Aloeride /
Immunostimulatory Activity : Study characterized a new immunostimulatory
polysaccharide, Aloeride, from commercial aloe vera juice