Aloe Vera

by Gudrun Maybaum
Spring 2002

Common name: Aloe vera
Biological name: Aloe barbadensis L.
Family: Aloaceae

History

Aloe vera is one of the oldest known therapeutic herbs and is renowned worldwide as a healing plant. It originated in the Cape Verde islands off the West African Coast. First mentioned in the Egyptian "Papyrus Ebers" in 1550 B.C. for its medical and embalming value, aloe vera was supposedly used to embalm the body of Christ.

Both the Greek historian Dioscorides and the Roman naturalist Pliny recommended aloe vera about 2,000 years ago as an effective remedy for constipation, burns, wounds, bruises, skin irritations, kidney problems and more.

It is referred to in many scriptures all over the world and down through the ages. Hindus call it the "silent healer," Chinese the "harmony remedy" and even Christopher Columbus mentioned its importance.

Description

Aloe vera leaves have a bitter yellow latex right below the outer skin. This latex contains an anthraquinone called barbaloin, which is activated by the intestinal flora and acts as a laxative. In its raw form, it can cause uncontrollable bowel spasms. Aloe vera juice is usually extracted from the whole plant and is used for chronic constipation. The juice should not be used regularly because it depletes electrolytes from the body and can cause muscle weakness.

In the '70s, American scientists found a way to separate the gel from the leaf and stabilize it. This inner mucilaginous part of the plant, the gel, is sterile, contains most of the plant's nutrients and is the part most used in treatment of various ills. So far, 200 nutrients have been found in the gel of the leaf, just a few of which are: 8 essential amino acids, 12 non-essential amino acids, 12 anthraquinones, 10 enzymes and many minerals and vitamins.

Medicinal Value

The list of ailments aloe vera is used for in holistic medicine is even longer than the list of nutrients. It has been successfully used in the healing process of burns, wounds, gastric ulcers, and as a treatment for diabetes and diabetic wounds. A polysaccharide in aloe vera, called glucomannan, works as an anti-inflammatory. Another one, Aloctin A, has immune system stimulating and antitumor properties. Other parts have shown antiviral properties.

Among its other healing ingredients, aloe vera contains salicyclic acid, which is the main content of aspirin. The salicyclic acid and magnesium in aloe are thought to work together for an analgesic effect on burns. It was used in 1935 to treat third-degree x-ray burns, and more modern medicine uses it to treat atomic radiation burns. Applied to wounds, the gel not only reduces pain and infection, it stimulates cell regeneration and therefore the growth of new tissue and skin. Scarring can be reduced significantly by using aloe vera.

Because of its ability to balance the pH of the blood and increase digestion and absorption, aloe vera strengthens the immune system. Taken regularly over a period of several months, it helps to regulate the function of the liver.

Not only holistic medicine practitioners use aloe vera. In treating HIV-infected patients, Dr. Reg McDanial stated, "It appears that acemannon neutralizes the [AIDS] virus by transforming its protein envelope, thus preventing it from attaching itself to the T4 cells."

Dr. Robert H. Davis, a physiologist at the University of Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine, has conducted research on aloe vera since the early '70s. Results of laboratory tests on animals indicate that aloe vera can prevent and arrest arthritis, improve wound healing, inhibit pain, block inflammation, restore bone growth, and act as a vehicle for the delivery of nutrients to the body. Dr. Davis stated, "Aloe vera contains the greatest number of active substances of any plant I've looked at."

Plants grown outside in the bright sun contain higher amounts of nutrients than aloe vera grown indoors. But it grows very easily indoors and, though it has less nutritional power, can be of invaluable help in many cases.

Case Study

Jeremy is a 19-year-old female blue and gold macaw. The story begins when we realized that she was eating and drinking ferociously, had an absolutely liquid stool and was losing weight at a very rapid pace.

The first veterinarian I went to told me she was hypothyroid. She appeared everything but hypo to me. Her glucose was 1080 and her weight down to 820 grams. But the vet said a high glucose level is normal when a bird is stressed by such things as a trip to the vet. After a five-month odyssey in which I stabilized her a little, we got her to Dr. Barno at Rock Creek Veterinary Hospital. By then Jeremy's glucose was down 200 points and her weight up 100 grams, but she was very weak. Dr. Barno suggested two insulin shots per day. Because of the trauma for Jeremy of getting a shot twice a day and knowing about the damage insulin does to the body, I refused.

During all this time, I was reading whatever I could find about diabetes. One of the most important things was a diet high in fiber and I kept running into aloe vera over and over again.

Slowly but surely I developed the following recipe for her:

2 oz of fresh organic finely chopped vegetables
1 teaspoon of psyllium husk powder
½ teaspoon of slippery elm bark powder
1 teaspoon of organic peanut butter
1 teaspoon of aloe vera gel

Her glucose level dropped, she gained weight and, as long as she gets this food, she is relatively stable. She is still diabetic (glucose level 350/400) and her feathers are becoming greener, but her old spirit and strength are back.

References:

http://www.aloe-vera.org/research.htm
Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James F. Balch, M.D. & Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C
Little Herb Encyclopedia by Jack Ritchardson, N.D.
Health Handbook & Today's Herbal Health both by Louise Tenney, M.H.
Herbal Medicine by Sharol Tilgner, N.D.
Holistic Bird Care by David McCluggage, D.V.M. and Pamela Leis Higdon
The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra, L.Ac., O.M.D.