Essential of aloe Vera

8/14/2019 Essential of aloe Vera

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he very irst record o the aloe vera plant in

history was written by Dioscorides, a amous

Greek physician rom the frst century AD. He wrotethat aloe vera had the power o inducing sleep and

o thickening the bodyit helps loosen the belly

and cleanses the stomach when drunk with warm

milk or cold water.

By the 2nd century AD, aloe vera had become

indispensable to Roman physicians the most

notable o which was Galen, the personal physician

o the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Galen

was said to have drawn his knowledge rom the

writings o Aristotle and Hippocrates, who got theirknowledge o aloe vera rom Indian and Egyptian

medical writers.

FEATURE

Aloe aloeBy Dr Leow Chee Seng, Fellow of British Institute of Homeopathy

Recognised for its medicinal values for centuries, aloe vera is still inspiring newdiscoveries into its curative effects.

T

Most botanists agree and historical evidence

suggests that the aloe vera plant originated in

the warm, dry climates o Arica. But, in the East,Chinese physicians were already writing about how

aloe vera helps treat sinusitis, skin disorders and

internal problems such as convulsions in children

and worm ever.

In a Smith and Stenhaus (1851) review, it was said that

aloin or anthraquinone glycosides was the principal

ingredient responsible or aloes laxative eects and

an ever-increasing number o biologically active

compounds have been identifed.

To date, research has proven that aloe vera contains

a unique spectrum o micronutrients and the

natural chemical constituents o aloe vera can be

categorised in the ollowing main areas:

Amino acids;

Anthraquinones;

Enzymes;

Lignin;

Mono and polysaccharides;

Salicylic acids;Saponins;

Sterols; and

Vitamins.

Multiple applications

The aloe vera plant is characterised by long, hard,

sword-shaped, eshy, green leaves with sharp

points and an array o barbed spikes on each lea

edge. Each plant can have between 20 and 30

leaves and these leaves grow in a rosette pattern

straight out the ground.

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FEATURE

When the plant blooms, its bright owers appear on

a central leaess stem high above the gel-bearing

parts. In act, the resh lea gel and latex are used

or many purposes. Aloe latex is the sticky residue

let over ater the liquid rom cut aloe leaves has

evaporated.

Modern research has proven aloe vera to be

benefcial or many conditions. It has been used

eectively or treating radiation burns, skin

disorders, wounds, sunburn and dermatitis.

Clinical trials have proven aloe vera also helps

with inammation and ulcers. Test tube studies

suggested polysaccharides such as acemannon,

help promote skin healing by anti-inammatory,

antimicrobial, and immune-stimulating actions.

Aloes eects on the skin may also be enhanced

by its high concentration o amino acids, as well

as vitamin E, vitamin C, zinc and essential atty

acids. Modern research ound that, when applied

externally, aloe vera helps speed up healing in the

case o wounds, rostbite and burns; and restore

skin tissue.

The healing o burns may be due to the moisturising

eect o aloe. It is easily absorbed into the skin,

preventing the air rom drying the damaged skin.

Older case studies report that aloe gel applied

topically can help heal radiation burns; and a small

clinical trial ound it more eective than a topicalpetroleum jelly in treating burns.

However, a large, modern, placebo-controlled trial

did not fnd aloe eective or treating minor burns

when stabilised aloe gel was applied thinly to the

aected area o skin three to fve times per day.

Hence, treatment o more serious burns should

only be done under the supervision o a healthcare

proessional.

For intestinal use o aloe gel, two tablespoons(30ml) should be taken three times per day or

patients with inammatory bowel conditions such

as Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis.

But. it is very important to remember that the latex

orm o aloe should not be used by anyone with

inammatory intestinal disease including Crohns

disease, ulcerative colitis or appendicitis.

Aloe is known to help increase movement in

the intestines, relieve constipation, promotemenstruation and aid digestion. Anthraquinone

glycosides are split by the normal bacteria in the

large intestines to orm other molecules (aglycones),

which exert the laxative action.

Since aloe is such a powerul laxative, other

plant laxatives such as senna or cascara are oten

recommended. For constipation, a single 50 200

mg capsule o aloe latex can be taken each day or a

maximum o 10 days.

Beyond that, aloe latex intake may lead to

dependency and uid loss. Extensive uid loss may

then lead to depletion o important electrolytes in

the body such as potassium.

Preventive powers

Aloe vera has also been ound to help prevent the

ormation o kidney stones and to help reduce

the size o the stones. It can help clean, soothe

and relieve pain on contact. It rapidly penetrates

through all three layers o the skin to promote

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healing. It contains salicylic acid and magnesium,

which work together to produce an aspirin-like

analgesic eect.

Two small controlled human trials have ound

that aloe, either alone or in combination with the

oral hypoglycemic drug glibenclamide, eectively

lowers blood sugars in people with type 2 (non-

insulin-dependent) diabetes.

In these clinical trials, one tea tablespoon o aloe

juice (15ml) is taken orally twice daily. Note that

treatment o diabetes with aloe should only be

done under the supervision o a qualifed healthcare

proessional.

Okyar A, et. al. (2001) reported in Journal o

Phytother Res, aloe vera lea pulp and gel extracts

were ineective in lowering the blood sugar level

o ND rats. Aloe vera lea pulp extract showed

hypoglycaemic activity on IDDM and NIDDM

rats, the eectiveness being enhanced or type II

diabetes in comparison with glibenclamide.

On the contrary, aloe vera lea gel extract showed

hyperglycaemic activity on NIDDM rats. It may beconcluded thereore that the pulps o aloe vera

leaves devoid o the gel could be useul in the

treatment o non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Aloe vera also been used as a treatment or viral

diseases such as AIDS and may help prevent the

virus rom moving rom one cell to the other.

According to Dr. Pulses published report in the

Journal o Advancement in Medicine: No adverse

eects attributable to the essential atty acid

capsules were observed nor any side eects o the

nutritional supplementation powder nor o the aloe

vera juice.

Most patients who were symptomatic reported

that within three to fve days, their energy levels

improved, ever disappeared, night sweats stopped,

cough decreased or stopped altogether, shortnesso breath decreased, lymph nodes decreased in

size, diarrhoea stopped, strength improved, and the

only measurable side eect o this particular study

was weight gain, which is a desirable eect.

Aloe vera thereore has a complementary role to

play in the management o various conditions. It is

very important however that people should always

seek the advice o their medical proessional when

the diagnosis is in doubt or where a condition does

not improve.

Sel-diagnosis can be extremely dangerous as many

serious conditions can mimic more simple ones. OH!

FEATURE

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Essential of aloe Vera