Due to its widespread human exposure and concerns that some components may cause cancer, in 1998 the National Cancer Institute nominated Aloe vera as a high-priority candidate for a carcinogenicity study under the National Toxicology Program (NTP). Recently, the reported adverse effects in humans and toxicity, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity in both in vitro and in vivo studies raise questions as to whether the components in Aloe vera may have tumor-promoting activities in humans. However, only about 8% of these articles investigated Aloe-related toxicity in vitro and in vivo ( Table 1).Īlthough Aloe vera has long been considered as a safe functional food material that can be used orally and topically, on many occasions it has not been as safe as commonly thought. More than half (51%−60%) of these studies were conducted in the top 10 countries ( Table 1), and about one third of them are from five Asian countries, including China, India, Japan, Korea, and Iran. A total of 1895 and 975 publications were identified when using “Aloe” as key word in All Fields Not Author and MeSH term databases, respectively. In order to show current pharmacological and/or toxicological research status on Aloe, we performed a literature search in PubMed using “Aloe” and specific country names as key words ( Table 1). Due to the numerous purported beneficial effects, Aloe vera production has been an emerging industry for making laxative drugs, cosmetics, and functional food, such as face and hand creams, foundations, cleansers, lipsticks, suntan lotions, shampoos and hair tonics, shaving preparations, bath aids, makeup and fragrance preparations, baby lotions and wipes, yogurt, drinks, capsules, and tablets.
MEDICINE NCPLOT 2.34 SKIN
Aloe vera, known as the “plant of immortality” in early Egypt, has been used as a traditional medicine in Arab, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Roman cultures for more than 2000 years to empirically treat a broad list of disorders and ailments, such as skin problems (wounds, x-ray and radium burns, and psoriasis), constipation, external and internal ulcers, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and lupus erythematosus. The inner leaf pulp makes up the majority of the plant by volume, and is composed of large thin-walled parenchymal cells containing Aloe vera gel, a synonym to inner leaf, inner leaf fillet, or fillet.Īloe contains pharmacologically active ingredients associated with diverse biological activities including fungicidal, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, laxative, immunomodulating, and anticancer effects. The number of these bundles varies based on the size of leaves. Three types of tubular structures compose the vascular bundles: xylem, which moves water and minerals from the roots to the leaves phloem, which takes synthesized minerals to the roots and the pericyclic tubule, which stores and transports bitter yellow latex (often referred to as Aloe sap) along the margin of the leaf. The outer leaf pulp, a thin, mucilaginous layer just beneath and adjacent to the thick rind, contains vascular bundles acting as the transport system for the plants. It consists of upto 18 layers of cells interspersed with chloroplasts where carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are synthesized. The outer layer is a thick cuticle or rind accounting for about 20%−30% by weight of the whole plant leaf. The green fleshy leaves range in height from a few centimeters to 2-3 meters or more and have three identifiable layers. Īloe vera, a genus within the Liliaceae family, is a stemless or very short-stemmed perennial succulent or xerophyte with elongated and peaked leaves in which large amounts of water are stored in the tissue. Aloe is derived from the Arabic word alloeh meaning “bitter and shiny substance,” and vera from the Latin word for “truth.” Other species used in health and medicine include but are not limited to Aloe arborescens Miller (a member of the asphodelacea family), Aloeperryi Baker, Aloe andongensis, and Aloe ferox. There are more than 400 species of Aloe, but the most popular and widely used species is Aloe barbadensis Miller (also called Aloe vera Linne, commonly referred to Aloe vera). Aloe has enjoyed a long history of providing a myriad of health benefits, and is one of the most frequently used herbal remedies employed throughout the world. About US $14.8 billion was spent on the purchase of nonvitamin, nonmineral natural products, which accounted for 44% of all out-of-pocket costs for complementary and alternative medicine. In 2007, the National Health Interview Survey reported that approximately 40% of Americans, including adults and children, used complementary and alternative medicine as alternative therapy in the past 12 months. The use of herbal products has been growing rapidly in the general population.
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