Aloe Vera: A Microscopic Review

Aloe Vera: A Microscopic Review
By Dr Leow Chee Seng
Senior Consultant of Yale Consultancy Sdn Bhd
Fellow of British Institute of Homeopathy
Homeopathy Consultant

The short thorny green plants attracted my attention! This is my first experience to visit an
Aloe Vera field which was located at Johor Bahru. Sincerely appreciate my brother Kar
Leong for exposing me to a wonderful experience in the field. This experience inspires me to
further research on the little plants: Aloe Vera.

Most botanists agree, and historical evidence suggests, that the Aloe Vera plant originated in
the warm, dry climates of Africa. The very first record of the Aloe Vera plant in history was
written by Dioscorides, a famous Greek physician from the first century AD. He wrote that
Aloe Vera had the power of “inducing sleep and of thickening the body…it 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 indispensible to Roman physicians - the most notable of
which was Galen, the personal physician of the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Galen
was said to have drawn his knowledge from the writings of Aristotle and Hippocrates, who
had gotten their knowledge of Aloe Vera from the Indian and Egyptian “medical writers”. in
the East, Chinese physicians were already writing about how Aloe Vera helped treat sinusitis,
skin disorders, and internal problems such as convulsions in children and worm fever.
The aloe vera plants is characterized by long, hard, sword-shaped, fleshy, green leaves, with
sharp point and an array of barbed spikes on each leaf edge. Each plant can have between
twenty and thirty leaves and these leaves grow a rosette pattern straight out the ground. When
the plant blooms, its bright flowers appear on a central leafless stem high above the gelbearing.
In fact, the fresh leaf gel and latex are used for many purposes. Aloe latex is the
sticky residue left over after the liquid from cut aloe leaves has evaporated.
According to Ms Jessie Ng, of director of the aloe vera field, “Aloe vera is a veritable
treasure chest of nutritional ingredients.” I read a review by Smith and Stenhaus (1851), aloin
or anthraquinone glycosides was the principle ingredient responsible for aloe’s laxative
effects, an ever increasing number of biologically active compounds have been identified. To
date, research has proved aloe vera contain a unique spectrum of micronutrients and the
natural chemical constituents of aloe vera can be catagorised in the following main area:
• Amino acids
• Anthraquinones
• Enzymes
• Lignin
• Mono and polysaccharides
• Salicylic acdis
• Saponins
• Sterols
• Vitamins

Modern research has proven aloe vera to be beneficial for many conditions. It has been used
effectively for treatment radiation burns, skin disorders, wounds, sunburn and dermatitis.
Besides, clinical trial has proven aloe vera also help with inflammation and ulcers. Test tube
studies suggested polysaccharides, such as acemannon, help promote skin healing by anti
inflammatory, antimicrobial, and immune-stimulating actions. Aloe’s effects on the skin may
also be enhanced by its high concentration of amino acids, as well as vitamin E, vitamin C,
zinc and essential fatty acids.

Modern research found that, when applied externally, aloe vera can help to speed healing and
restore skin tissue. It also aids in healing when used externally in cases of wounds, frostbite
and burns. The healing of burns may be due to the moisturizing effect of aloe. It is easily
absorbed into the skin preventing the air from drying the damaged skin. Older case studies
reported that aloe gel applied topically could help heal radiation burns, and a small clinical
trial found it more effective than a topical petroleum jelly in treating burns. However, a large,
modern, placebo-controlled trial did not find aloe effective for treating minor burns.
In clinical, stabilized aloe gel is applied to the affected area of skin three to five times per day.
Besides, treatment of more serious burns should only be done under the supervision of a
healthcare professional. For intestine use of aloe gel, two tablespoons (30ml should be taken
three times per day) for patient with inflammatory bowel condition such as Crohn’s disease
and ulcerative colitis. Remember, the latex form of aloe should not be used by anyone with
inflammatory intestinal disease including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or appendicitis.
It is known to help increase movement in the intestine, relieve constipation, promote
menstruation and aid in digestion. Anthraquinone glycosides are split by the normal bacteria
in the large intestines to form other molecules (aglycones), which exert the laxative action.
Since aloe is such a powerful laxative, other plant laxatives such as senna or cascara are often
recommended. For constipation, a single 50 – 200 mg capsule of aloe latex can be taken each
day for a maximum of ten days. However, for people with constipation, aloe latex should not
be used for more than ten consecutive days as it may lead to dependency and fluid loss.
Extensive fluid loss may lead to depletion of important electrolytes in the body such as
potassium.

On top of that, aloe vera has been found to help in preventing the formation of kidney stones
and to help reduce the size of the stones. It can help clean, soothe and relieve pain on contact.
It rapidly penetrates through all three layers of the skin to promote healing. It contains
salicylic acid and magnesium which work together to produce as aspirin-like analgesic effect.
Two small controlled human trials have found that aloe, either alone or in combination with
the oral hypoglycemic drug, glibenclamide, effectively lowers blood sugar in people with
type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes. In clinical trials, it is proven that the used of one tea
tablespoon (15ml) of aloe juice, twice daily. Treatment of diabetes with aloe should only be
done under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional. Okyar A, et. al. (2001)
reported in Journal of Phytother Res, A. vera leaf pulp and gel extracts were ineffective on
lowering the blood sugar level of ND rats. A. vera leaf pulp extract showed hypoglycaemic
activity on IDDM and NIDDM rats, the effectiveness being enhanced for type II diabetes in
comparison with glibenclamide. On the contrary, A. vera leaf gel extract showed
hyperglycaemic activity on NIDDM rats. It may therefore be concluded that the pulps of
Aloe vera leaves devoid of the gel could be useful in the treatment of non-insulin dependent
diabetes mellitus.

Aloe vera also been used as a treatment for vital diseases such as AIDS and may help prevent
the virus from moving from one cell to the other. According to Dr. Pulse's published report in
the Journal of Advancement in Medicine: "No adverse effects attributable to the essential
fatty acid capsules where observed nor any side effects of the nutritional supplementation
powder nor of the aloe vera juice. Most patients who were symptomatic reported that within
three to five days their energy levels improved, fever disappeared, night sweats stopped,
cough decreased or stopped altogether, shortness of breath decreased, lymph nodes decreased
in size, diarrhea stopped, strength improved, and the only measurable side effect of this
particular study was weight gain, which is a desirable effect.”

Aloe Vera therefore has a complimentary role to play in the management of various
conditions. It is very important however that people should always seek the advice of their
medical professional when the diagnosis is in doubt or where a condition does not
improve. Self diagnosis can be extremely dangerous as many serious conditions can mimic
more simple ones.