Aloe origned from arab words allcoh,a traditional herb from ancient Egypt,its effects identified by people of ancient Egypt and called as Secret Plant.

Contents

• Basic Botanical Info of Aloe.
• Aloe Description and Plant Appearance.
• Phytochemicals and Constituents of Aloe.
• Aloe History and Traditional Use.
• Current Status of Aloe.
• Aloe Modern Uses Summary.
• Mechanism and Pharmacology:Aloe.
• Aloe Applications and Combinations.
• Administration and Suggestions:Aloe.
• Reseach update:Aloe vera.

Aloe History and Traditional Use.:

Aloe origned from arab words "allcoh", a traditional herb from ancient Egypt, its effects identified by people of ancient Egypt and called as "Secret Plant".

 Aloe vera has been in use for thousands of years, and is mentioned in records as long ago as 1750 B.C. Use of the plant is thought to have originated in Egypt or the Middle East. It was reputedly used in Egyptian embalming procedures, as drawings of Aloe vera have been found on cave walls in the region. Legend has it that Aloe vera was one of Cleopatra's secrets for keeping her skin soft. Pliny and Dioscorides of ancient Greece wrote of the healing effects of this plant. Additionally, Alexander the Great is said to have acquired Madagascar so that he could utilize the Aloe vera growing there to treat soldiers' wounds. It is also a remedy which has long been used in the Indian practice of Ayurvedic medicine.

 In the United States, Aloe vera was in use by the early 1800s, but primarily as a laxative. A turning point occurred in the mid-1930s, when a woman with chronic and severe dermatitis resulting from x-ray treatments was healed by an application of Aloe vera leaf gel. Success with this patient encouraged trials with others suffering from radiation burns. Evidence of the effectiveness remained anecdotal until 1953, when Lushbaugh and Hale produced a convincing study, using Aloe vera to treat beta radiation lesions in rats. Other experimental protocols have been carried out using animals since that time, but there is little human research data to describe the degree of effectiveness of Aloe vera treatment. Some evidence suggests that it is especially helpful in the elderly and other people with impaired health or failing immune systems.


 Aloe gel has been used to treat inflammation for more than 2,500 years. The fresh gel is widely used as a folk medicine for minor burns and sunburn, as well as minor cuts and scrapes. Aloe gel is also used in beverages commonly sold as "aloe juice". Aloe gel, mixed with water, citric acid, fruit juices, and preservatives is also marketed as "aloe juice", touted as a digestive aid or folk remedy for arthritis, stomach ulcers, diabetes, and other conditions.

 Aloe Vera Leaf is also known by the names Indian Alces, Kumari, Ghirita, Gawarpaltra, and Cape Aloes. Aloe is a perennial succulent native to East and South Africa. It is cultivated in the West Indies and other tropical countries. The tissue in the center of the Aloe Leaf contains a gel which yields aloe gel (or aloe vera gel). The word Aloe is derived from the Arabic word "alloeh", which means shiny and bitter. Aloe is believed to have been used to preserve the body of Jesus Christ. References to its use as a healing agent can be found in early Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, Indian and Christian literature. Legend says that it was the desire for Aloe plants that caused Alexander the Great to conquer the island of Socotra, where Aloe was cultivated in the fourth century B.C. Aloe Vera Leaf is also thought to have been one of Cleopatra's beauty secrets. The Greeks and Romans used the gel for wounds. In Africa, hunters sometimes would rub Aloe juice on their bodies to reduce sweating and to mask human scent. In India, it has been used by herbalists to treat intestinal infections, suppressed menses, and colic. Aloe Vera Leaf has been historically used for many of the same conditions for which it is still used today - particularly constipation and minor cuts and burns. And Aloe is one of the easiest house plants to grow. Aloe Vera Leaf is also taken internally for stomach disorders. Dried Aloe latex, a substance derived from the leaf, is a strong laxative. When applied externally, Aloe Vera Leaf restores skin tissues and may aid the healing of burns and sores. It can also be used on blemishes and dandruff. Used cosmetically, Aloe Vera Leaf softens the skin. Modern doctors have also used Aloe Leaf for x-ray burns, sunburn, chemical burns, first degree burns, traumatized tissue, decibitus ulcers or bedsores, skin inflammation, stomach ulcers, herpes simplex, periodontal surgery, insect bites and stings, irritating plant stings, and other minor skin manifestations. Topical applications have included this herbs inclusion in many over-the-counter lotions, poultices, salves, shampoos, and sprays. Aloe Leaf had shown outstanding results in treating facial edema (swelling). When used as a mouth rinse, it was effective for cold spores and lockjaw. Two small controlled human trials have found that Aloe Vera Leaf, either alone or in combination with the oral hypoglycemic drug, glibenclamide, effectively lowers blood sugar in people with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes. Primary chemical characteristics of this herb include aloins, anthraquinones, barbaloin, polysaccharides, and salicylic acids. Aloin, obtained from the gel in the leaf, are largely responsible for the plant's healing properties. The plant also contains vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C, niacinamide, choline, calcium, iron, lecithin, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium and zinc. The common name Aloe Vera includes the species Aloe ferex and Aloe ferox, which are used interchangeably with Aloe Vera. Aloe barbadensis is the same species as Aloe Vera.


 Aloe is the source of two products that are completely different in their chemical composition and their therapeutic properties but which have very similar names that are sometimes interchanged. Aloe (aloe vera) gel or mucilage is a thin, clear, jellylike material obtained from the so-called parenchymal tissue making up the inner portion of aloe leaves. It is prepared from the leaf by various procedures, all of which involve its separation not only from the inner cellular debris but, especially, from specialized cells known as pericyclic tubules that occur just beneath the epidermis or rind of these same leaves. Such cells contain a bitter yellow latex or juice that is dried to produce the pharmaceutical product known as aloe, an active cathartic.

 Aloe gel (mucilage) is used both externally and internally for its wound-healing properties and as a general tonic or cure-all. This is the aloe product commonly incorporated in a wide variety of non-laxative medication and cosmetic products. Aloe latex or juice, usually in its dried form, is employed as a potent cathartic. Unfortunately, the mechanical separation processes employed are often not completely effective. As such, aloe gel is sometimes contaminated with aloe latex, thus inducing an unwanted laxative effect following consumption of the so-called gel. In addition, advertisements prepared by copywriters who do not understand the vast difference between aloe gel and aloe juice often use the word juice to describe the thin mucilaginous gel.

 To confuse matters even more thoroughly, there is still another product called aloe that is entirely different from the two just described. That is the aloe of the Bible, the so-called lignaloes or aloe wood, a fragrant wood from an entirely different plant that was once used as an incense. It has nothing to do with the aloe we are discussing except that some persons try to glamorize aloe gel by incorrectly ascribing to it a biblical origin. The names may be the same, but the plants referred to are not. Actually, aloe latex has been used as a laxative for about eighteen centuries, but neither it nor aloe gel is referred to in the Bible.


 Mythological:

 For more than 3,500 years, healers and physicians have touted the benefits of this fragrant desert lily. There are about 200 species of aloe, but aloe vera, meaning (true aloe) in Latin, is considered the most effective healer. The leaf of the aloe contains a special gel or emollient that is used extensively in cosmetics and skin creams. Aloe gel is regarded as one of nature's best natural moisturizers. The juice is bitter and extracted for medicinal use.

 Queen Cleopatra regarded the gel as a fountain off youth and used it to preserve her skin against the ravages of the Egyptian sun. The Egyptians were also believed to have used the aloe plant in their embalming process.

 The Aloe originates from tropical Africa, where related species are used as an antidote to poison arrow wounds. It was known to Greeks and Romans, who also used the gel for wounds; one of Pliny's many recommendations was to rub leaves on "ulcerated male genitals." Aloe was a favorite purgative during the Middle Ages. In China, similar uses developed to those in the West, although only the gel is used; in India, the gel is a highly regarded cooling tonic. Aloe reached the West Indies in the 16th century and is widely cultivated there.

 In the East Indies, aloes are used as a varnish, to preserve wood from worms and other insects; and skins from insect bites, and even living animals are anointed with it for the same reason. The havoc committed by the white ants in India first suggested the trial of aloe juice, to protect wood from them; for which purpose the juice is either used as an extract, or in solution, by some solvent.

 Aloes have been found effectual in preserving ships from the ravages of the worm and the adhesion of barnacles. The resinous part of this juice is not soluble in water so the ship's bottom, for this purpose, is smeared with a composition of hepatic aloes, turpentine, tallow, and white lead, (equal parts). In proof of the efficacy off this method, 2 planks of equal thickness, and cut off the same tree, were placed under water, one in its natural state, and the other smeared with the composition. On taking them up, after being immersed 8 months, the latter was found to be perfect as at first, while the former was entirely penetrated with insects, and in a state of absolute rottenness.

 One blade of aloe can be used for weeks. The severed end of the blade is self healing. The thin film can easily be broken with each use.

 The juice of aloes was formerly used in Eastern countries in embalming and to preserve dead bodies from putrefaction.

 Aloe has been used at least 2,000 years by the Chinese, who call aloe vera "Lu Hui". Today, used against radiation burns, thermal burns, chapped and dry skin, leg ulcers, skin disorders, a laxative, burns in general, and to help heal disorders of the stomach, liver, and spleen and to expel worms

Reference:

• 1.Aloe origned from arab words allcoh,a traditional herb from ancient Egypt,its effects identified by people of ancient Egypt and called as Secret Plant.

This article written and edited via herbalist of MDidea Extracts Professional. They run a range of online descriptions about this herb,including general information related and summarized updating discoveries from findings of professional scientisits this field related.Describe style aimed to form a useful detecting literature space where the intertwined threshold and related questions raise out and visualize themselves.

♣ last edit date:26th,Oct.2010.