What is Aloe Vera?

Aloe vera gel.



My post is on Aloe vera. When I was little, my grandpa would go to the back of the house, cut off a piece of an aloe plant and put the aloe juice on my cuts. Once, I got bitten by a spider and my grandpa put aloe on it. Another time I got burned and my grandpa put aloe on it too. It amazingly worked and I was up and playing again in seconds. I always wondered why he did that. So my question is what is aloe? What can aloe be used for?


Aloe vera is a plant decending from the lily plat. An orange-yellow sap can be seen when a leaf of aloe vera is cut from the top. There are more than 200 speices of aloe but the aloe plant found most beneficial is the Aloe Vera Barbadensis. It has many uses for example, for beauty, health, skin care, and medicines.



The Scientific classification of Aloe Vera Plant

Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Lilliopsida
Order:Asparagales
Family:Asphodelaceae
Genus:Aloe
Species:A. vera
Binomial name
Aloe vera


The main uses of the Aloe vera plants are as a food preservative and as medicine.

Aloe vera as a food preservative:

There has been a preservative gel based on Aloe Vera founded by the researchers at the Univeristy of Miguel Hernandez in Alicante, Spain. This Aloe gel is said to prolong the conservation of fresh produce. It is tasteless, colorless, and odorless. This gel is natural, safe, and environmentally friendly. It is a good alternative to sulfur dioxide, which is a synthetic preservative.

Aloe Vera as Medicine:·Aloe vera is used in creams, lotions, gel, liquid, spray and capsule.
·It is helpful in the treatment of acne, scalp care, burns, stings, sprains, sunburns, eczema, sore muscles, arthritis, scrapes, cold sores, scalds, abrasions, psoriasis, bruises etc.
·It provides relief from itching and also helps in healing blisters.
·It is very beneficial for skin disorders.
·The juice from aloe vera plant is used in the treatment of ulcers, heartburn and other digestive disorders.
·The juice of aloe vera acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and reduces the amount of stomach juices.
·It lightens the dark spots on the face and reduces the intensity of pigmentation.
·It is used as a moisturizer and helpful in removing dead cells.
·It is also helpful in the penetration of healthy substances.
·Aloe vera is beneficial in stimulating the production of elastin and collagen which are necessary for preventing the aging of the skin.
·Pain in the joints and muscle pain occurred due to arthritis is reduced by the application of aloe vera sprays or gels.
·The gel of aloe vera provides benefit in reducing triglycerides, total cholesterol and blood fat lipid levels.
·The extract of aloe vera reduces blood sugar levels.
·Aloe vera drink is used as a tonic by some patients.
·It is helpful in healing such as anti-oxidant, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.
·It is beneficial in reducing obesity and breaks down the fat globules.








The components of Aloe Vera can be divided into the following groups:

1. Vitamins
It is rich in all vitamins including Vitamin D, especially the antioxidant Vitamins A (beta-carotene), C and E and even contains a trace of Vit. B12, one of the very few plant sources of this vitamin. This is important for vegetarians and vegans.

2. Enzymes
Several different types of these biochemical catalysts when taken orally aid digestion by breaking down fat and sugars.
One in particular, Bradykinase, helps to reduce excessive inflammation when applied to the skin topically and therefore reduces pain, whereas others help digest any dead tissues in wounds. Lipases and proteases which break down foods and aid digestion are present.

3. Minerals
Calcium, Sodium Potassium, Manganese, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc, Chromium and the anti-oxidant Selenium. Although minerals and trace elements are only needed in very small quantities, they are essential for the proper functioning of various enzyme systems in different metabolic pathways.

4. Sugars
These are derived from the mucilage layer of the plant which surrounds the inner gel. and are known as mucopolysaccharides, which enhance the immune system and help to detoxify. Aloe Vera contains both mono and polysaccharides, but the most important are the long chain sugars involving glucose and mannose or the gluco-mannans which I have already referred to. These sugars are ingested whole from the gut, not broken down like other sugars, and appear in the bloodstream in exactly the same form. This process is known as pinocytosis. Once in the blood stream they are able to exert their immuno-regulating effect. Some of these polysaccharides are not absorbed but stick to certain cells lining the gut and form a barrier preventing absorption of unwanted material so helping to prevent a "leaking" gut syndrome. In topical preparations the sugars are also the main moisturisers.

5. Anthraquinones
There are twelve of these Phenolic compounds which are found exclusively in the plant sap. In small quantities, when they do not exert their purgative effect, they aid absorption from the gastro-intestinal tract and have anti-microbial and pain killing effects. In some commercial health drinks, the anthraquinones are removed because of the fear of producing abdominal pain or diarrhoea, but I feel that they are actually beneficial in small amounts. The important ones, Aloin and Emodin, act as painkillers. They also function as anti-bacterials and anti-virals.

6. Lignin
This in itself is an inert substance but when included in topical preparations it endows Aloe Vera with a singular penetrative effect so the other ingredients are absorbed into the skin.

7. Saponins
These soapy substances form about 3% of the Aloe Vera gel and are capable of cleansing, having antiseptic properties. These act powerfully as anti-microbials against bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeasts.

8. Fatty Acids
Cholesterol, Campesterol, b. Sisosterol and Lupeol.
These four plant steroids are important anti-inflammatory agents.

9. Salicylic acid
An aspirin-like compound possessing anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

10. Amino Acids
The body needs 22 amino acids – the gel provides 20 of these. More importantly, it provides 7 out of the 8 essential amino acids which the body cannot synthesise.

Aloe vera sounds like an amazing plant. Maybe even more amazing than Noni. . .My grandpa trusted this plant so much as to use it to heal my injuries. I plan on growing my own aloe plant when I have my own house and using it with my children.



Here are links to my sources:
Mauritius Aloevera.com
Wikipedia on Aloe vera
Aloe Vera Myth of Medicine