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Research on Aloe Vera

Leading Journals Praise Aloe Vera for Healing 

How Aloe can Help

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Research on Aloe Vera
The last several years have witnessed a boom in research on Aloe Vera and its applications for humans and animals. The following are just a couple:
Professor of Physiology (University of Texas) and chief of the Research Laboratory of North Texas, Ivan Danhof, showed (1984) that the application of Aloe gel to the skin accelerates fibroblasts. Fibroblasts aid in the manufacture of collagen, which is the protein that controls the aging process of the skin and wrinkling. (As one ages, collagen starts to disappear from the skin, causing slackening and wrinkling.) Aloe gel helps to protect the outer layers of the skin by helping it to reorganize skin cells. He further showed the moisturizing properties of Aloe by demonstrating that the skin absorbs moisture from Aloe gel three to four times faster than water.
One report ("Clinical Review" 1987) shows that a compound - acemannon - found in Aloe Vera seems to have some remarkable anti-viral properties. Even where HIV (the virus that often leads to AIDS) is concerned, Dr. Reg McDanial stated, "It appears that carrisyn [editor's note: Carrisyn is the commercial name of acemannon patented by Carrington Laboratories] neutralizes the [AIDS] virus by transforming it's protein envelope thus preventing it from attaching itself to the T4 cells."
Around the same time researchers in Canada isolated acemannon for their own studies. Since then, clinical trials on people living with AIDS ("PLWA") have shown that acemannon re-enforces the body's natural defense (immune) system of thus may stop the progression of HIV. Such studies have been corroborated by others, showing not only the nutrition value of ingesting Aloe Vera (in drink form), but also it's potential for providing significant benefits to boost the immune system. Of course, how the Aloe drink is processed is a determining factor in the degree of potential benefit.
Please keep in mind, there is no known method of curing AIDS - so PLWA should not view this as a cure, but rather as another option in possibly arresting or slowing down HIV. Aloe has not been scientifically proven to completely remove HIV from the body. Anybody who says that it - or anything else, has been shown to cure AIDS (cancer, etc.) is either misinformed or intentionally deceiving for their own purposes (usually financial). Aloe is; however, a bright hope in the battle of many illnesses - and certainly in strengthening the immune system.
Dr. Lee Cowden (Dallas, Texas) observed that several conditions benefit when treated by oral consumption of Aloe Vera. They include: irritable bowl syndrome, ulcerative colitis, esophagitis, peptic ulcer, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, mouth lesions, sore throat, and lupus.
Dr. Robert H. Davis (Physiologist at the University of Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine) conducted Aloe research since the early 1970's.
In laboratory tests on animals his findings included the results that Aloe 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."
Aloe is also known to help unblock and keep clean the receptors inside the lining of the intestines - facilitating the absorption into the bloodstream of vitamins and other nutrients.
Dr. B. Frielander, (San Diego, CA) a Nutritionist, noted that patients with chronic colon problems including constipation, hemorrhoids, colitis and Crohn's disease, benefit from drinking aloe vera juice as a part of a nutritional program. He noted that even their complexions looked better!
Not all doctors will agree with the use of Aloe Vera (indeed, some don't accept it as of any benefit at all), its growing acceptance and increased use in the medical profession (or at least a nod in its direction) has given more optimism to those who seek non-toxic alternatives to drugs. And, where modern drugs may not be helping the individual, Aloe Vera and other options (chiropractic, herbs, meditation, etc.) are growing in popularity.
Certainly the use of Aloe Vera for so many centuries and so many scattered and varied cultures and locations of the world must give occasion to at least further look into its potential for the benefit of humankind.
But, as with all things, wisdom must be followed. Aloe Vera can be used externally (on the skin), and internally (drinks)
While Aloe is shown in studies to benefit in many ways, no reputable study nor scientist has claimed that Aloe will work the same for everybody - nor are results universally applied.

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Leading Journals Praise Aloe Vera for Healing
The health benefits of Aloe Vera are well established with many relevant scientific studies. Drinking Aloe Vera juice "helps to seal the intestinal wall much in the same way aloe gel seals a wound or sooths a burn when applied to the skin," as reported by Jeffery Bland in Country Living Magazine. Even the Journal of the America Podiatric Medical Association in 1987 and 1994 cited Aloe Vera as helpful on wound healing and anti inflammation.
The most well known health benefit of Aloe Vera is its usefulness in healing burns and other wounds. One scientific study termed Aloe Vera "The most powerful, nontoxic, plant-derived treatment of both inflammation and would healing." Aloe Vera has produced confirmed results in healing surface injuries, including radiation-induced skin reactions, burn wounds, and frostbite. Its wound-healing capabilities have been traced to its ability to dilate the capillaries, thereby increasing blood flow to injured areas.
Just as Aloe Vera aids healing of external injuries by just rubbing it on the affected area, taking Aloe Vera by mouth has been shown to reduce inflammation in the intestines, improve protein digestion and strengthen the body's immune system. Its anti-inflammatory effect is attributable, at least in part, to three fatty acids: lupeol, camperesterol, and B-sitoserol. This effect may also lead to the reduction of swelling and arthritic-like pain.
Studies show that oral ingestion of Aloe Vera can have many other medical benefits. Aloe Vera has exhibited significant calming effects on the gastric process by cleansing the system, normalizing bowel habits, relieving colitis and diverticulitis (inflammation of the walls of the colon), promoting the favorable balance of digestive bacteria, and otherwise reducing indigestion.
Aloe Vera has been reported to assist in kidney problems, and studies have confirmed its anti-bacterial and antiviral effects. Other reported benefits include its pain-killing attributes, traced to aspirin-like compounds contained in aloe extract, like salicylic acid.
Aloe Vera counteracts inflammatory agents such as bradykinin, which produces pain in inflamed tissue. Such pain-killing capabilities explain Aloe Vera's benefits for sufferers of migraine headaches and joint pain.
Karen Barr, reporting in Natural Health magazine in 1995, credits Walter Crinnion, M.D., with saying "Aloe is very soothing and effective at promoting healing in the intestines. I've also used it successfully in patients with chronic kidney problems - people with kidney damage who consistently show protein in their urine." Excessive protein in the urine is a sign that the kidneys are not functioning properly. "I've had patents drink a cup or two of aloe vera juice once a day, and the protein secretion stops," Crinnion says.
Yes, Aloe Vera confers a number of scientifically confirmed or reported benefits. It assists in healing wounds and strengthening the immune system. It operates as an anti-inflammatory, reducing the symptoms associated with diseases such as arthritis. It stabilizes gastrointestinal functions and aids in digestion, thereby cleansing the body and relieving indigestion, colitis, and diverticulitis. The list may not end there, as scientific research continues to uncover additional health benefits.

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How Aloe Can Help
The following article is published in the magazine: Alternative Medicine, The Voice of Alternative Medicine® (issue 28, March 1999).
While this website does not necessarily endorse everything in the article (such as the use of "dried" or "powdered" aloe over aloe in it's more natural, more bio-available, liquid state), it is felt that the article contains valuable information for you.
The Potted Physician
Known to herbalists and medical folklorists for centuries as the "medical plant" or "the potted physician", this cactus-like plant with green dagger-shaped leaves filled with a clear, viscous gel was brought from Africa to North America in the sixteenth century.
But long before this, aloe, whose name means, "shining bitter substance," was widely regarded as a master healing plant. The ancient Egyptians referred to aloe as the "plant of immortality" and included it among the funerary gifts buried with the pharaohs. In recent decades, medical research has confirmed and extended many of the health claims for the shining bitter substance (used topically or consumed as a liquid) that is the heart of aloe. Here is a brief review of its merits.
Helps Heal Wounds
The bulk of the aloe leaf is filled with gel, 96% water with the other 4% containing 75 known substances. Applied to wounds, aloe gel is a mild anesthetic, relieving itching, swelling, and pain: it also is antibacterial and antifungal, increases blood flow to wounded areas, and stimulates fibroblasts, the skin cells responsible for wound healing.
An animal-based study in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association found that both oral and topical aloe preparations speed wound healing. Animals were given either aloe (100mg/kg body weight) in their drinking water for two months or 25% aloe vera cream applied directly to wounds for six days.
Aloe had positive effects in both cases. The size of wounds decreased 62% in the animals taking oral aloe compared to a 51% in the control group. Topical aloe produced a 51% decrease in wound size compared to a 33% in the control group.
Supports Surgical Recovery
Aloe decreases surgical recovery time, according to a report in the Journal of Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology. Eighteen acne patients underwent facial dermabrasion surgery, in which lesions are scraped away. Dressings were applied to their faces, with half of each person's face receiving the standard dressing coated with surgical gel, and the other half with aloe added to this dressing. The half of the face treated with aloe healed approximately 72 hours faster than the other side.
Dermatologist James Fulton, M.D., of Newport Beach, California, principal author of the report, uses topical aloe in his practice to speed wound healing. "Any wound we treat, whether it's suturing a cut or removing a skin cancer, heals better with aloe vera on it," he states.

Soothes Burns
In a study in the Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, 27 patients with moderate burn wounds were treated with a gauze coated in either aloe gel or Vaseline™ (petroleum jelly). The burns healed more quickly in the aloe group, with an average healing time of 12 days compared to 18 days for the group using Vaseline.
Minimizes Frostbite Damage
A study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine established that aloe works for frostbite as well. Researchers gave standard treatments for frostbite (antibiotics, ibuprofen, and re-warming) to 154 patients with mild to severe frostbite. Of patients who additionally received aloe vera cream, 67.9% healed without any tissue loss (amputation) compared to 32.7% in the control group. Researchers concluded that aloe prevented a decrease of blood flow to the frozen tissues, a common cause of tissue loss in frostbite.
Screens Out Radiation
Aloe protects against skin damage from X rays, according to researchers at Hoshi University in Japan publishing in the journal Yakugaku Zasshi. They found that aloe was an effective antioxidant, mopping up the free radicals caused by radiation, and that it protected two of the body's healing substances, superoxide dismutase (an antioxidant enzyme) and glutathione (an amino acid which stimulates the immune system).
Heals Psoriasis Lesions
In a double blind, placebo-controlled study published in Tropical Medicine and International Health, 60 patients with chronic psoriasis were given a 0.5% aloe vera extract in a mineral oil creme. The ointment was applied three times daily for five consecutive days (15 applications total per week) for four weeks.
When patients were checked after eight months, far more psoriasis skin lesions had healed in the aloe group (82.8%) than in the placebo group (7.7%). Further, 83.3% of the aloe group was considered cured of their psoriasis compared to only 6.6% of the placebo group.
Eases Intestinal Problems
Aloe vera juice can be effective for treating inflammatory bowel disease, according to a study in the Journal of Alternative Medicine. Ten patients were given two ounces of aloe juice, three times daily, for seven days. After one week, all patients were cured of diarrhea, four had improved bowel regularity, and three reported increased energy.
Researchers concluded that aloe was able to rebalance the intestines by "regulating gastrointestinal pH while improving gastrointestinal motility, increasing stool specific gravity, and reducing populations of certain fecal microorganisms, including yeast." Other studies have shown that aloe vera juice helps to detoxify the bowel, neutralize stomach acidity, and relieve constipation and gastric ulcers.
Reduces Blood Sugar in Diabetes
Aloe reduced the blood sugar levels in diabetics, as reported in Hormone Research. Five patients with adult (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes were given 1/2 teaspoon of aloe extract daily for up to 14 weeks. Blood sugar levels were reduced in all patients by an average of 45%, with no change in their total weight.
Reduces Arthritic Swelling
Aloe can help prevent arthritis and reduce the inflammation in joints already affected by arthritis, according to the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association. Aloe can also inhibit the autoimmune reaction associated with certain forms of arthritis, in which the body attacks its own tissues.
Animals were injected with a bacterium to cause arthritic symptoms, namely inflammation and swelling. To determine if it could prevent arthritis, aloe (150mg/kg body weight) was injected under the skin daily for 13 days. Physical measurements were taken daily to determine the amount of swelling and inflammation.
Several compounds from aloe showed antiarthritic activity, according to the researchers. One organic acid in aloe reduced inflammation by 79.7% and suppressed the autoimmune response by 42.4%. Another aloe compound (anthraquinone) reduced inflammation by 67.3% but had no effect on the autoimmune response.
Curtailing HIV Infection
An extract of mannose, one of the sugars in aloe, can inhibit HIV-1 (the virus associated with AIDS). In a 1991 study in Molecular Biotherapy, HIV-1 cells were treated in vitro (outside the body) with a mannose extract. Aloe slowed virus reproduction by as much as 30%, reduced viral load (total amount of the virus), suppressed the spread of the virus from infected cells, and increased the viability (chance of survival) of infected cells.
Nutritional Support for HIV Patients
Aloe vera juice proved to be an effective part of a nutritional support program for HIV+ patients according to the Journal of Advancement in Medicine. For four months, 29 patients were given 100% pure aloe vera juice (five ounces, four times daily) along with an essential fatty acid supplement and another supplement containing vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Patients were told to continue with their normal diet and not to take other supplements.
After 90 days, all of the patients had fewer occurrences of opportunistic infections, thrush, fatigue, and diarrhea, as well as increased white blood cell counts (meaning their immune systems were responding positively). Their assessment of overall quality of health also improved. In 25% of the patients, aloe apparently knocked out the virus's ability to reproduce. Researchers found that aloe (the mannose extract and perhaps other compounds) stimulates the body's immune system, particularly T4 helper cells, white blood cells that activate the immune response to infection.
Stimulates Immune Response Against Cancer
Aloe may help prolong survival time and stimulate the immune system of cancer patients, according to recent research.
In a 1994 study in the Japanese medical journal Yakhak Hoeji, mice with cancerous tumors were given aloe orally for 14 days. While the aloe did not suppress tumor growth, the average life span of the mice was prolonged by 22% for those given 50mg aloe/kg body weight and by 32% for those given 100mg/kg daily. A simultaneous experiment on human cancer cells (outside the body) found that high doses of aloe significantly suppressed the growth of these cancer cells.
Researchers writing in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy found that a compound (lectin) from aloe, when injected directly into tumors, activated the immune system to attack the cancer. Killer T cells, white blood cells that bind to invading cells and destroy them, began to attack the tumor cells injected with lectin.
Aloe turns on the immune system by activating macrophages (white blood cells which "swallow" antigens), causing the release of immune-activating (and anticancer) substances such as interferons, interleukines, and tumor necrosis factor. In addition, aloe promotes the growth of normal (non-cancerous) cells, researchers said.
Benefits Lung Cancer
Aloe's protective effect was confirmed in a study of 673 lung cancer patients in Okinawa, Japan, published in the Japanese Journal of Cancer Research. This survey looked at the connection between smoking, comparative amounts of 17 plant foods in the diet, and the occurrence of lung cancer over a five-year period.
Aloe was the only one of the plant foods that was protective against cancer. "The results of plant epidemiology suggests that aloe prevents human pulmonary carcinogenesis [lung cancer]," stated the researchers. Further, aloe is "widely preventive or suppressive against various human cancers."

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