Aloe Vera - Nature's Miracle Plant
Aloe Barbadenisis Miller
Aloe Vera is a perennial succulent belonging to the Lilly (Liliaceae) family. The beneficial properties are contained in the special plant species, Aloe Barbadenisis Miller. Aloe belongs to the larger class of plants known as Xeroids which are distinguished by their ability to close and heal any wound immediately and with miraculous rapidity, thereby preventing any water loss. This allows the plant to survive for long periods in arduous and dry environments. The Aloe plant can be separated into two basic elements: juice and gel. The Aloe gel is the pulp of the leaves, a clear and tasteless jelly-like substance, which according to Barcroft (1996), if taken from a 3-4 year old leaf, is the only effective and nutritionally potent aloe product, used in a stabilized, pure, and undiluted form. Aloe juice is a yellow extract from the leaves.
Aloe Vera’ s history spans many continents and centuries. The virtues of the plant have been recorded by great civilizations from Egypt and Persia, to those of Greece and Italy in Europe, and India in Asia. Aloe is known in Ayurveda as Kumari – or a fountain of youth – mentioned in the Atharva-veda as the silent healer. One of the first known written documentation of Aloe’s properties was found on Sumerian clay tablets dating back to 2200 BC within the city of Nippur, India which described the use of whole leaf Aloe as a laxative agent.
The first written formula for the use of Aloe is probably that which was found in the Papyrus Ebers, an Egyptian document dating back to 1550 BC Referring to Aloe as the “Plant of Immortality," it gives twelve formulas for mixing Aloe with other elements to treat both internal and the external human disorders. Evidence suggests that the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, who was renowned for her beauty, bathed in the juice of the plant as part of her extensive beauty treatments. Among the Yucatan Mayan civilization, women used Aloe to moisturize their skin.
In Europe, one of the earliest western proponents of Aloe was the Greek physician Dioscorides who, around the period of 41-68 AD, gave the first detailed description of the Aloe plant and attributed to its juices “ the power of binding, of inducing sleep…loosens the belly, cleansing the stomach.” He also noted the bitter sap of the Aloe as a treatment for boils and hemorrhoids, for soothing dry skin, as an aid in promoting the healing of wounds and bruises, that it was good for tonsils, the gums, and all general mouth irritations, and that it worked as a medicine for the eyes. During his travels with the Roman armies, he observed that the whole Aloe leaf, when dried and pulverized, could stop the bleeding of many wounds.
Mahatma Gandhi, prompted by an American journalist during a three month protest fast in a British prison, attributed his good health and vigor to four things: his faith in God, his simple lifestyle and habits, his daily regulated practice of yoga, and a secret medicine he had learned of in South Africa – Aloe Vera.
Topical Uses of Aloe Vera
The following are uses for the gel from the inner leaf of the Aloe Vera plant as suggested from folklore: for relieving pain and promoting the healing of sunburn, minor burns, scalds, cuts, scrapes, abrasions, various skin disorders, rashes, insect bites, and stings.
Before the advent of modern shampoos, Aloe Vera Juice was used with remarkable results in many traditional cultures for cleansing the hair, as a hair set and hair conditioner. The Mayans captured the benefits of Aloe juice by wetting their hair at night with pure, undiluted juice, allowing it to dry overnight, and rinsing in the morning, reportedly adding luster, richness, and manageability to the hair.
Aloe is approved by the FDA for topical use in treating minor skin burns and as a non-toxic and effective agent for promoting skin rejuvenation. Modern scientific reports (Collins, 1934) prove the potency and success of Aloe in preventing and healing radiation dermatitis, injuries, burns, frostbites, blisters, etc. They also mention Aloe as improving the skin texture, eliminating dryness, itchiness, psoriasis, eczema, neurodermititis, and other skin diseases. Studies have shown that Aloe acquires its wound healing properties from its ability to heal them from the inside out. It does this by replacing fluids without stopping the flow of oxygen, a factor which also promotes the reduction of scarring.
Internal Uses of Aloe Vera
Taken internally, Aloe demonstrates powerful detoxifying effects by flushing out toxins and promoting healthy tissue formation. Traditionally, it has been used in Indian medicine for asthma, jaundice, as a carminative, for various musculoskeletal disorders, for suppression of menstrual disorders, as a tonic, purgative, aphrodisiac, antihelminthic, in various opthalmological disorders, enlargement of the spleen, various forms of hepatitis, vomiting, fever due to bronchitis, and for erysipelas.
In 1984, Dr. Om Prakash Agarwal surprised his colleagues at the annual conference of the International College of Heart Diseases in San Antonio, Texas, with the positive results he obtained by administering Aloe Vera to his patients. He conducted a five-year study of 5000 patients suffering from various forms of heart disease. In his study, patients were given a bread containing wheat mixed with 100 grams of Aloe Vera gel and 20 grams of psyllium husk (which increases the bulk of feces) as a total daily dose consumed at lunch and at dinner. His study obtained an 85% cure of these patients with a conclusion that noted a “marked reduction in total serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, ... and total lipids…” He found that his Aloe treatment is highly effective in clearing blocked veins by reducing the bad cholesterol and increasing the good cholesterol (HDL - high-density lipoproteins) of his patients. He also found this treatment had a 95% curative effect with his patients suffering from diabetes indicating that Aloe Vera drastically reduces blood sugar. He found that after three months of this treatment, he was able to discharge 4652 patients of the 5000 tested with their ECG (Electrocardiogram) normalized.
Further research supports the beneficial hypoglycemic effects and liver gluconeogenesis (formation of glucose by the liver) properties of Aloe, concluding that Aloe causes decreasing levels of blood glucose in mice and rats.
Aloe has earned a reputation, not for curing any diseases, but for providing the body with the necessary components to heal itself. Its healing powers extend to soothing internal wounds and burns such as the damage done to the internal organs by high-potency drugs of AIDS and HIV patients.
Due to its high content of magnesium lactate, Aloe has been documented as helping to improve digestion without causing diarrhea, in balancing the pH level of the stomach thus relieving acid stomach disorders such as ulcers and colitis, in reducing yeast content, in normalizing irritable bowel syndrome, and in promoting a favorable balance of gastro-intestinal symbiotic bacteria.
Nutritional Properties of Aloe
An analysis of Aloe Vera’ s properties reveals some of the magic behind its miraculous healing powers. The plant contains a multitude of essential vitamins and minerals such as: Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B3, B6, B12, C, E, vitamin B-complex, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, iron, Sodium, Choline, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Chromium, Zinc. Aloe also contains a wealth of amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, valine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, arginine, cystine, glycine, histidine, hydroxiprolline, proline, serine, and tyrosine. It produces at least 6 antiseptic agents which kill or control mold, bacteria, funguses, and viruses: Lupeol, salicylic acid, urea nitrogen, cinnamonic acid, phenols, and sulfur. Lupeol and salicylic acid are known as effective painkillers. Aloe also contains three anti-inflammatory fatty acids: cholesterol, campersterol, and B-sitosterol (plant sterols). These agents are the source for Aloe’s effectiveness in treating all kinds of internal and external inflammations including burns, cuts, scrapes, acid indigestion, ulcers, and other inflammations of the liver, kidney, colon and pancreas, among others. Additionally, B-sitosterol is a powerful agent in helping to lower bad cholesterol levels. Finally, Aloe contains at least 23 polypeptides (immune stimulators), which can help to explain Aloe’s potency in helping to control a broad spectrum of immune system diseases.
Directions for extracting Aloe gel from the leaf: For maximum nutritional potency, use only leaves from plants that are at least four years old. Cut off ½ an inch off the base of the leaf and discard. We recommend cutting a two-inch strip at one time and processing it in the following way: First, trim the thorny edges on each side of the Aloe strip. Then, carefully cut away the green skin from the gel (on both sides). Once the gel is extracted, rinse it with cool water to remove any hint of bitterness. The colorless gel can be eaten directly or blended into a liquid.
References:- Skousen, Max B. The Ancient Egyptian Medicine Plant – Aloe Vera. Aloe Vera Research Institute. 1992
- Agarwal, O.P. M.D., FICA. Prevention of atheromatous heart disease. Angiology, Vol 36:485-492 August 1995.
- Ajabnoor MA. Effect of Aloes on blood glucose levels in normal and alloxan diabetic mice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Volume 28:215-220, 1990.
- Al-Awadi F, Fatania H, Shamte U. The effect of plants mixture extract on liver gluconeogenesis in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Diabetes Research. Volume 18:163-168.1991
- Barcroft, A. Aloe Vera: nature’s legendary healer. Souvenir Press. London. 1996