Aloe My Friend

The two main components of the aloe plant used is the aloe latex and aloe gel.  There are many active constituents in aloe, including carboxypeptidase that inactivates bradykinin and reduces pain, salicylate that is an anti-inflammatory, and magnesium lactate that has anti-itching properties (Reynolds & Dweck, 1999).  The more widely researched components are anthraquinones and acemannan.  Anthraquinones are active phenolic compounds found in aloe latex with strong laxative properties, an example being aloin (Vogler & Ernst, 1999).  Acemannan is a long chain β-(1,4)-linked galactomananan polymer found in the aloe gel (Zhang & Tizard, 1996).  It has been found to enhance phagocytic activity in macrophages, thus having an effect on the immune system (Yates et al., 1992).  

Aloe vera is administered as ointments, medicated creams, lotions, capsules or even as a tonic depending on its desired effects.  Aloe gel preparation must now be FDA approved.  Aloe is harvested manually, cleaned by hand or with a mild chlorine solution and filleted to remove the central gel.  The gel is then filtered and put through a stabilization process to denature browning enzymes and preservatives may be added.  After this process, the gel is often modified in different ways to serve different purposes (Grindlay & Reynolds, 1986).