Aloe Vera

Pokhara University
School of Health and Allied Sciences
Contents
 Introduction
 Source
 Nomenclature
 Identification
 Commercial production
 Chemical constituents
 Qualitative standards
 Preparations
 Therapeutics
 Safety measures
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Introduction
• Aloe vera is a wonder plant with
health benefits so myriad and
astounding that hardly any part
of human body remains
uninfluenced by its healing
touch.
• It has been used for its medicinal
value for several thousand years.
Its applications have been
recorded in ancient cultures of
India, Egypt, Greece, Rome and
China. 06/04/18 3

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Contd..
• The Chinese called it their “elixir of youth”.
• It has many common names and often
referred to as burn plant, first aid plant or
medicine plant. Its name is most likely
derived from the Arabic word “Alloeh”
meaning shining bitter substance.
• It is known by a number of names in the
literature i.e. Aloe barbadensis Mill, Aloe
chinensis Bak, Aloe elongate Murray, Aloe
indica Royale, Aloe officinalis Forsk.
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Source
• The virtues of Aloe vera have been recorded
for thousands of years by many ancient
civilization including Egypt, Persia, Greek, India
and Africa.
• The genus is indigenous to African continent
and Mediterranean countries, such as Greece
and Southern Italy.
• It is reported that it grows wild on the
islands of Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, the Canary
Cape, Cape Veroe and have spread over
arid tracts of India.
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Contd…
• Out of the 275 species, 42 of them belong to
Madagascar region (Africa),12-15 to Arabian
Peninsula and rest are distributed over tropical
South Africa.
• The species is widely naturalized elsewhere,
occurring in temperate and tropical regions of
Australia, Barbados, Belize, Nigeria, Paraguay
and the US.
• It has been suggested that the actual species
distribution is the result of human cultivation
and that the taxonomy could be doubtful too.
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Nomenclature
• Kingdom: Plantae
• Order: Asparagales
• Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae
• Sub-family: Asphodeloideae
• Genus: Aloe
• Species: A.vera
• Botanical name: Aloe Vera
• Synonyms: Aloe Barbadensis, Aloe indica, Aloe
arborescens, Aloe ferox, Aloe spicata
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Contd..
• Selected Vernacular names:
Ghyukumari(Nepali), Ghritakumari(Sanskrit),
Chhigue(Gurung), lu wei(Chinese),
musabar(Hindi), haang takhe, hlaba, Indian
aloe, jadam, korphad(Marathi), kumari,
kumaro, kunvar pata, kunwar(Gujrati), laloi,
laluwe, luchuy, manjikattali, Mediterranean
aloe, murrsbarr,, rokai, sabbara, saber, sabila,
yadam, zambila etc.
• English name: Aloe
• Trade name: Aloe
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Botanical Identification
• Aloe vera is a hardy, perennial, tropical, drought-
resistant plant belonging to the Liliaceae family
which, historically has been used for a variety of
medicinal purposes.
• It is a stem less or very short-stemmed succulent
plant growing to 60–100 cm(24–39 in) tall,
spreading by offsets.
• In the remote districts of South Western Africa
and Natal, these have been discovered 30 to 60
feet in height, with stems as much as 10 feet in
circumference.
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Aloe Vera

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Macroscopic
IdentificationI. Leaves: It has thick leaves
that grow in a rosette shape.
The parenchyma of leaves
contain large quantities of
pulp. The fleshy leaves with
serrated edges that arise
from a central base and grow
to nearly 30-50 cm long have
10 cm width at the base. The
majority of aloes have spines
of various rigidity along the
edges of their succulent
leaves. 06/04/18 11

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II. Flowers: The flowers are
produced in summer on a spike up
to 90 cm (35 in) tall, each flower
being pendulous, with a yellow
tubular corolla 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in)
long. These are tubular shaped,
and come in colors ranging from
near white to yellow to orange to
near-red. These are held high on
single or branched stalks, and the
resulting seeds are held in dry
capsules.
There is no calyx. 06/04/18 12

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III. Roots: The root system of the
Aloe vera tends to grow wide, but
not deep into soil. (Potted Aloe
plants are typically moved to
wider, but not deeper pots as they
grow.) They tend to grow in see
little rainfall. (i.e shallow root
system.) One important feature of
the root system is that it forms
arbuscular mycorrhiza, a fungus
that penetrates inside the roots to
allow the plant "better access to
mineral nutrients in the soil."
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III. Fruits: Most aloes
produce capsules, dry
dehiscent fruits that split
open at maturity to release
the seeds. The seeds are
winged and will hopefully
be taken to other places to
grow using the wind.
The fruits are generally
triangular capsule
containing numerous
seeds.
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Microscopic Identification
• Leaves are composed of three layers:
 An inner clear gel: 99% water and rest is
made of glucomannans, amino acids, lipids,
sterols and vitamins.
 The middle layer of latex: bitter yellow sap
and contains anthraquinones and glycosides.
 The outer thick layer: 15–20 cells called as
rind which has protective function and
synthesizes carbohydrates and proteins.
• Chromosome No: (2n= 14)
• The fluid under microscope shows crystal in
the form of innumerable needles, varying in
size and shape.
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The transverse section of the leaf exhibiting three cells
layers, the protective layer, middle layer and colourless
inner layer.

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Powder analysis:
•Powdered aloes are yellowish brown to dark
reddish brown. Cape Aloe appears as transparent
brown or greenish brown irregular and angular
fragments.
Organoleptic Properties:
•Aloe is marketed as opaque masses that range
from reddish black to brownish black to dark
brown in color.
•Its odor is characteristic and disagreeable; taste
is somewhat sour, nauseating and very bitter.
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Commercial Production
1. Soil: It is grown successfully in marginal to sub
marginal soils having low fertility. The plants
have tendency to tolerate high pH with high Na
and K salts. However, it is observed that its
growth was faster under medium fertile heavier
soil such as black cotton soils of central India.
Though well drained loam to coarse sandy loam
soils with moderate fertility and pH up to 8.5 are
preferred for its commercial cultivation.
2. Varieties: Several species of the genus have
been in use under the common name of Aloe,
viz. Aloe vera Linn. A. barbadensis Miller, A.
ferox Miller. Among these, A. vera Linn. syn. A.
barbadensis Miller is accepted unanimously as
the correct botanical source of Aloe.
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3. Land preparation: The soil should not be disturbed too
deep as the root system of Aloe does not penetrate below
20- 30 cm depending upon the soil type and agro climatic
condition, 1-2 ploughing followed by leveling may be
done. Field may be divided into suitable sized plots (10-15
m × 3 m) considering the slope and source of irrigation
available.
4. Propagation: It is propagated by root suckers or rhizome
cuttings. For this purpose, medium sized root suckers are
identified and carefully dug out without damaging the
parent plant at the base and directly planted in the main
field.
5. Planting time: Suckers should be planted in July – August
during monsoon season to get better field survival and
subsequent growth of the plants. However, under
irrigated condition, planting can be done around the year
except in winter months (November – February).
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6. Manuring: The crop responds well to the application
of farm yard manure and compost. During the first
year of plantation, FYM @20 t/ha is applied at the
time of land preparation and the same is continued in
subsequent years. Besides vermicompost @2.5
tonnes/ha can also be applied.
7. Spacing and planting: Suckers are planted in about
15 cm deep pits made just at the time of planting at
60×60 cm apart. After planting of suckers, the soil
around the root zone must be firmly pressed and
drainage must be made proper to avoid water
stagnation. About 28000 – 34000 suckers are needed
for one hectare planting.
8. Irrigation: Aloe can be successfully cultivated both
under irrigated and rainfed conditions.06/04/18 20

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Chemical constituents
 There are as many as 200 different types of
molecules in Aloe vera. The ten main areas of
chemical constituents of Aloe vera include:
amino acids, anthraquinones, enzymes,
vitamins, minerals, sugars, hormones, salicylic
acid, saponins, and steroids.
 The chemicalcompounds were obtained from
the gel and the latex lining of the Aloe vera.
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Constituents Number and Identification Properties and activity
Amino acids Provides 20 of the 22
required amino acids and 7
of the 8 essential ones.
Basic building blocks of
proteins in the body and
muscle tissues.
Anthraquinones Provides aloe emodin,
aloetic acid, alovin,
Anthracine.
Analgesic, antibacterial
Enzymes Anthranol, barbaloin,
chrysophanic acid, smodin,
ethereal oil, ester of
cinnamonic acid,
isobarbaloin, resistannol
Antifungal & antiviral
activity but toxic at high
concentrations.
Hormones Auxins and gibberellins Wound healing and anti-
inflammatory.
Minerals Calcium, chromium,
copper, iron, manganese,
potassium, sodium and
zinc.
Essential for good health.
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Table:Chemical composition
and properties of Aloe vera

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Salicyclic acid Aspirin like compounds Analgesic
Saponins Glycosides Cleansing and antiseptic
properties
Steroids Cholesterol, campesterol,
lupeol, sistosterol
Anti-inflammatory agents,
lupenol has antiseptic
and analgesic properties.
Sugars Monosaccharides:
Glucose and Fructose
Polysaccharides:
Glucomannans/polymann
ose
Anti-viral, immune
modulating activity of
acemannan
Vitamins A, B, C, E, choline, B12,
folic acid
Antioxidant (A,C,E),
neutralises free radicals
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Aloin
Lupeol
Salicyclic acid

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Qualitative standards
Foreign Organic matter
Adulterants:
•Aloe in commerce may sometimes be
adulterated with black catechu, pieces of iron,
and stones.
•These can be detected by examining alcohol-
soluble extracts under ultraviolet light which
gives a deep brown colour with aloe and a black
colour with catechu.
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Specified Test Limits Protocol
Total ash Not more than 2% as per IP-2007
Water soluble extracts Not less than 50% as per IP-2007
Alcohol insoluble extracts Not more than 10% as per IP-2007
Moisture Not more than 10% for Cape
Aloe, and not more than 12%
for Curacao or Barbados Aloe
as per IP-2007
Pesticide residues Aldrin and dieldrin for Aloe is
not more than 0.05 mg/kg
By GC(“ASU”,WHO Guideline)
Heavy metals Lead and cadmium levels are
not more than 10 and
0.3mg/kg,
As per BP-2007 “ASU”
Radioactive residues For analysis of strontium-90,
iodine-131, caesium-134,
caesium-137, and plutonium-
239
as per ASU
Microbiological Aerobic bacteria-not more
than 107
/g; fungi-not more
than 105
/g; Escherichia coli-
not more than 102
/g.(for
decoction)
As per ASU
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Preparations
 Aloe vera juice, Aloe vera
gels, and paste are major
commercial products found
in markets.
 Ayurverdic products:
Kumariasva, Kumaripak,
Rajparvantivati
 Therapeutic products:
Regenecare, aleortin A,
Regenecare HA
 HabbShabyar, HabbSirbra,
Habbantkar, sufuldama 06/04/18 27

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Therapeutics
 Ethnomedicinal notes
• The Egyptians used the Aloe vera to make
papyrus like scrolls as well as for treatment of
tuberculosis.
• Pickle made by small pieces of leaf pad is a
common preparation in western Rajasthan.
• Fresh fleshy leaf pad is a part of green salad
and helpful in treatment of indigestion and
constipation.
• Sharma and Goel (2002) standardized the
recipes of various aloe product viz., vegetable,
pickles, laddo, jam, squash, biscuits and
churna by using sensory evaluation technique.
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 Medicinal Uses
• Aloe vera gel is used as an ingredient in
commercially available lotion, yogurt,
beverages and some desserts.
• It used to heal skin wounds, burn and Helps in
speeding recovery time after surgery.
• It helps to fight frostbite and shingles, reduce
psoriasis, reduce rosacea, reduce warts and
reduce ageing, reduce wrinkles and also it
reduce the eczema.
• It improves joint flexibility and helps in the
regeneration of body cells.
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Contd..
• It encourages the bowels to move and helps
with elimination if a person is constipated.
• These are also helpful in healing insect bites,
rashes, sores, herpes, urticaria, fungal
infection, vaginal infections, conjunctivitis, and
allergic reactions.
• A paste of the plants is given for dropsy and
enlargement of the liver.
• Boiled juice is considered useful in treating
hair loss.
• Its juice stimulate macrophages, the white
blood cells that fight viruses. 06/04/18 30

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 Pharmacological actions
• It stimulates colonic motility, augmenting propulsion and
accelerating colonic transit, which reduces fluid absorption
from the faecal mass.
• It also increases paracellular permeability across the colonic
mucosa probably owing to an inhibition of Na+, K+-
adenosine triphosphatase or to an inhibition of chloride
channels which results in an increase in the water content in
the large intestine.
• The laxative effects of Aloe are due primarily to the 1, 8-
dihydroxyanthracene glycosides, aloin A and B.
• After oral administration aloin A and B, which are not
absorbed in the upper intestine, are hydrolysed in the colon
by intestinal bacteria and then reduced to the active
metabolites (the main active metabolite is aloe-emodin-9-
anthrone) which acts as a stimulant and irritant to the
gastrointestinal tract.
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Contraindications
• As with other stimulant laxatives, products containing
Aloe should not be used in patients with intestinal
obstruction or stenosis, atony, severe dehydration with
electrolyte depletion, or chronic constipation.
• Aloe should not be administered to patients with
inflammatory intestinal diseases, such as appendicitis,
Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel
syndrome, or to children under 10 years of age.
• Aloe should not be used during pregnancy or lactation
except under medical supervision after evaluating
benefits and risks.
• Aloe is also contraindicated in patients with cramps, colic,
haemorrhoids, nephritis, or any undiagnosed abdominal
symptoms such as pain, nausea, or vomiting.
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Safety Measures
• Aloe-containing products should be used only
if no effect can be obtained through a change
of diet or use of bulk-forming products.
• Stimulant laxative products should not be used
when abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting are
present.
• Rectal bleeding or failure to have a bowel
movement within 24 hours after use of a
laxative may indicate a serious condition.
• Chronic use may cause dependence and need
for increased dosages, disturbances of water
and electrolyte balance (e.g. hypokalaemia),
and an atonic colon with impaired function.
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 Side Effects
• It can cause cramping, discomfort of GI tract,
metabolic acidosis, weight loss, hematuria,
malabsorption, chronic abuse may lead to
hepatitis etc.
 Dosage
• Leaf pulp juice- 10-20ml
• Dried leaf pulp juice-125-500 mg powder
 Commercial value
• The major markets for Aloe vera and its extracts
are Australia, US and the entire Europe.
• The price rate of Aloe vera per tone in market is
Rs 2400. 06/04/18 34

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 Interactions
• Application of aloe to skin may increase the
absorption of steroid creams such as
hydrocortisone.
• It reduces the effectiveness and may increases
the adverse effects of digoxin and digitoxin,
due to its potassium lowering effect.
• Combined use of Aloe vera and furosemide
may increase the risk ofpotassium depletion. It
decreases the blood sugar levels and thus may
interact with oral hypoglycemic drugs and
insulin.
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Conclusion
 Aloe vera is a medicinal plant and due to its
extensive medicinal, neutraceutical and other
uses its enjoy a great demand in the market
across the globe.
 Given the exponentially growing demand for it
in the international market, Aloe vera presents
the finest commercial opportunity among the
various medicinal plants.
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References
1. Bradley PR (1992) British herbal compendium. British Herbal
Medicine Association.
2. Reynolds T., Dweck A.C. Aloe vera gel leaf: a review update. J
Ethnopharmacol.1999; 68:3–37.
3. Foster M., Hunter D., Samman S. Evaluation of the nutritional
and metabolic effects of Aloe vera. In: Benzie I.F.F., Wachtel-
Galor S., editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical
Aspects. 2nd ed. CRC; Boca Raton: 2011.
4. Nandal U, Bhardwaj R.L (2012), Aloe vera: A valuable wonder
plant for food, medicine and cosmetic use- a review,
International journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences review and
research, 13(1), pp- 59-67.
5. Grindlay D, Reynolds T (1986) the Aloe vera phenomenon: a
review of the properties and modern uses of the leaf
parenchyma gel. J.Ethnopharmacol 16:117–15.
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6. Wynn RL. Aloe vera gel: update for dentistry. Gen. Dent.
53:2005, 6-9.
7. Chandegara VK, Varshney AK (2013), Aloe vera L processing
and products: A review, International journal of MAPs, 3(4),
pp- 492-506.
8. Davis RH (1997) Aloe vera- A scientific approach. Vantage
Press Inc, New York, pp 290–306.
9. Farooqi and Sreeramu. Cultivation of Medicinal and Aromatic
Crops (Revised Edition). Orient Longman, India 2001, pp. 25-
27.
10. The Indian pharmaceutical codex. Vol. I. Indigenous drugs.
New Delhi, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, 1953.
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Aloe Vera

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