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There are nearly five hundred species of aloe, a type of plant that originated in southern Africa, near the Cape of Good Hope.
The use of aloe goes back in history. There are pictures of aloe plants on some Egyptian temples. The Greek physician Dioscorides wrote of its benefits to heal wounds and treat hemorrhoids.
Aloes now grow throughout Africa, around the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and in many countries in South America.
The thick, juicy leaves contain two distinct products that are used medicinally and that need to be distinguished to avoid confusion.
One is the thin clear gel or mucilage that oozes from the middle of a broken leaf.
The other is a bitter latex, referred to as aloe vera juice, derived from the cells just under the surface of the leaf. Their compositions and uses differ.
Active Ingredients
Gel: mucopolysaccharides.
Latex: anthraquinone derivatives, mostly in the form of aloins, with smaller amounts of hydroxyaloins, aloe-emodin, and aloeresins.
Uses
Gel: The mucilage is used topically on wounds and burns to help them heal more rapidly.
Taken internally, it is considered a general tonic. Unfortunately, separation of the gel from the latex for commercial preparations is often incomplete, and the gel may end up with some laxative action due to inadvertent inclusion of latex.
It has been recommended for burns due to radiation, but like most of its uses this one is considered incompletely proved and controversial.
There is no harm in applying fresh gel from a broken leaf to a minor cut or burn, and many people find it soothing. But studies using commercial preparations have not consistently established benefit in speeding wound healing, and there are questions about their chemical stability.
In the test tube, gels from some species of aloe have antibacterial activity. A. vera, however, does not appear to kill many microbes.
In animal studies, injected aloe gel improved circulation and sped wound healing. Both injection and topical application were shown independently to reduce inflammation in animals. Aloe gel blocks bradykinin, which may be how it alleviates pain.
Latex: Aloe latex is a powerful laxative that irritates the intestine. We do not recommend using this product.
Dose
Gel: For external application, a little dab from a broken leaf will do you.
Special Precautions
Latex:
- Pregnant women must avoid aloe latex; use has been known to trigger abortion or premature birth.
- Nursing mothers should take this laxative only under medical supervision.
- Children must not take aloe latex.
- Women who are menstruating should not use aloe latex, as it may increase blood flow.
- Aloe latex may be very dangerous when there is an intestinal blockage and must be avoided in such cases.
- Aloe latex is not appropriate for people with intestinal inflammation such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, and it should not be taken by people with inflamed hemorrhoids.
- People with kidney problems should avoid aloe latex.
Adverse Effects
Latex: The most serious difficulties encountered with aloe latex occur at higher than recommended doses or when used for more than a few days.
This laxative herb causes the loss of potassium and other minerals, which over time can result in a loss of muscle tone of the intestine and diminished effectiveness. Frequent use may cause irreversible damage.
Large doses of aloe have caused bloody diarrhea, kidney damage, and even death.
The urine may take on a reddish color after taking aloe latex. This color is harmless; however, with the possibility of kidney damage from large doses or prolonged use, any persistent color in the urine may call for medical diagnosis. Possible Interactions
Low potassium levels can be dangerous in a person taking a heart drug like Lanoxin.
Aloe latex might also be dangerous for anyone taking a diuretic that depletes the body of potassium (Lasix, HCTZ, etc.) because of the additive effect. It should be avoided in such situations.
Aloe latex could reduce the absorption of any pill taken around the same time because it cuts intestinal transit time so drastically.
My husband had ulcers. He cut off fresh aloe leaf and ate it right away. Within a couple of weeks his ulcers were healed. However the taste was not a big hit. He found later on that the fresher the aloe is when eating it the greater the benefits.
The URL above is PubMed, a part of the most comprehensive data base in the world if you are doing research -- when I had laryngeal cancer -- call it 20-25years ago there were 7 articles - on 'aloe vera' and 'cancer' - doing the same search today give me 189 hits, which is odd, it's been in the thousands -- probably them just refining it a bit Aloe Vera is one of those truly amazing drugs we don't even begin to understand -- like Aspirin and Green Tea.
Here is why someone growing a small plant who says --"Oh i have some Aloe Vera, it's Great! Let me get you some." only have good intentions.
1) you need it by the ounce (generally)
2) you need it in brown glass bottles (light and oxygen break down the active chemicals)
3) the dose to result is dose dependent. that means the more you take the more it will do. I have not yet seen an upper limit.
I Have always had high cholesterol problems. Generally over 300 is normal for me. my long story short is when my doc wanted to put me on a statin, I asked for 6 weeks. I went from over 300 -- (320? 330?) to 101 in six weeks by building to a dose of 5 ounces BID. DOWN went my bad, up came my good, and my good-bad ratio is around 0.8.
cold coming on - hit the aloe vera and while symptoms are generally too late to treat a viral infection, in two -3 days I was find an most faculty were still out sick.
as always talk to your real doc about taking it - most will say it can't do much harm to a hearty endorsement. But remember -- BROWN GLASS JARS - and it takes time -- herbs are very powerful -- VERY powerful - but they take time to build up.
and just as a little can be good, too much can kill you, or using longer than a week or two can kill you-- so be sure you do your research. I'm only writing because I'm often known as the Aloe Vera Kid -- and have pushed it as an immune system booster ever since I had a total larynjectomy - surgery in August, back to work teaching at a college and university in September and it took that long because I had good reason to stay away from faculty meetings and do-nothing political fight for power department meeting.
You want MY idea of a get on dosing schedule?
1 ounce AM 1 ounce PM for a week
1 ounce AM 2 ounces PM for a week
2 ounces AM 2 ounces PM for a week
2 Ounces AM 1 noon 2 ounces PM for a week
Use whole leaf juice, brown glass bottles, but it will soften your stool so move up as you are comfortable.
When I had my radiation, when I ran out my throat would get swollen and scratchy -- this calmed it down - helped cool it too.
When I had my surgery -- it helped me heal so fast that my doc who thought maybe I'd tak in a year and maybe, but probably not teach in another year was amazed t see me teaching just a few days over a month from the surgery.
Studies say it doesn't help much with radiation - and maybe it doesn't -- there is a lot to be said for placebo studies, but I'd swear I could tell when I was doing it and when I wasn't -- and healing wounds -- some show it speeds them up, others show that it slows it down -- and some show it goes slow at first then fast at the end. Don't know what to believe, except very few people who have had their vocal cords removed are teaching and lecturing within about a month of surgery.
-- paul --