Scientific researchers

Family Health News.
Scientific researchers have determined that Aloe vera is an amazing mixture of more than 200 constituents, including polysaccharides (a complex carbohydrate), enzymes (complex proteins), glycoproteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Empirical proof now exists to validate Aloe's ability to reduce inflammation, speed the healing of wounds, ameliorate pain, improve vascular flow, and reduce scarring.

It appears that, after centuries of use by "folks" - much of it based on the simple act of cutting off a leaf from the plant, and applying the gel to skinned knees, minor burns, scrapes and small hurts - Aloe has finally earned acceptance by many doctors. It took quite a while, but it was worth the wait. Now, as in years past, mothers and grandmothers are keeping an Aloe vera plant in their kitchens, and are continuing the tradition of home health care. Neither Aloe nor TLC has gone out of style over the years, and the "magic" still works.

Even considering recent dramatic increases in Aloe vera sales in the United States and in several of the Pacific Rim countries, much of the international market is still seen as a "sleeping giant" by Aloe marketers.

But most growers and manufacturers believe it is about to be awakened. While industry leaders are confident that continued education and the dissemination of scientific information on the proven benefits of Aloe and aloe-based products will open international borders. There are still cultural differences and misconceptions about the uses and properties of Aloe that must be addressed and overcome.

For example, in France - so far a disappointing area for Aloe beverages - the word "Aloe" is often confused with "Aloin," the French name for a popular purgative laxative.

Further confusion results because raw Aloe does contain aloin, a substance that has purgative properties. In fact, however, the aloin is processed out of Aloe before it is used in cosmetic, beverage and health care products in the United States.

Korea is currently the largest international marketplace for Aloe, with Japan running a close second. Both of these countries have a long and respected tradition of herbal medicine, a determining factor in their acceptance of Aloe. Koreans consider liquid Aloe to have soothing properties, and drink beverages with Aloe concentrations as high as 99%.

This trend is spreading throughout much of the Pacific Rim area, particularly in Singapore and Malaysia. Sales are up in Australia, as well. Australians accept the fact that Aloe is an effective remedy for sunburn, and this translates into an increasing market for skin and hair products.

\Since there is a substantial and growing Japanese population in Australia, the market for Aloe beverages and other products should increase.

Many industry experts believe that the key to European sales expansion is the U.S., since it is, in may respects, a trend-setter for Europe. What becomes popular in the U.S. is very quickly acclaimed in Europe - an excellent indicator for Aloe sales. The growing popularity of "natural" ingredients in American cosmetics also benefits Aloe.
According to Allan Mottus, a cosmetics industry consultant, "natural" cosmetics now account for 4% of the $16 billion U. S. cosmetics market, and this product segment is growing at a yearly rate of from 12% to 15% - about three times as fast as the industry as a whole.

Aloe vera gets high marks in the U.S. as an all-round natural treatment. Scientific research has been a major factor in Aloe's growth as a skin moisturizer and as a desirable additive in sunscreens and tanning lotions.

As a beverage, Aloe drinks have long been a staple in American health food stores and with direct marketing companies. Now it's going mass market. With thickeners and a variety of flavors (both natural and otherwise) added, it is now sold in drug stores, health food outlets, grocery markets and by discount food chains. This growing popularity in the U. S. is expected to spur sales in Europe.

Although Aloe beverages are seeing limited success in Germany and the United Kingdom, the people of both countries have shown a remarkable acceptance of Aloe in a wide range of natural cosmetics such as skin moisturizers and cleansers, hair care products, depilatories and deodorants.

The use of Aloe in cosmetics products is growing at a somewhat more modest rate in the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Italy and Spain, but there is a surprising new market for Aloe health care products in several African nations.

The potential for Aloe vera international markets would appear virtually unlimited. Even the Eastern Bloc countries should offer new potential, when their economies stabilize. In short, the international market for Aloe and Aloe-based products is alive and well, and the future for this sometimes maligned plant has never looked better than it does today.

THE MEDICAL EVIDENCE

Detractors claim "How Can It (aloe internal gel beverage) Do anything? It's too dilute - It Doesn't Have Anything In It!"

"It's All Psychological - In the Head" "If It Does Contain 200 Different Substances, No One Component Is In Sufficient Quantity To Produce A Beneficial Effect" There's No Way That The Juice From One Plant Can Have Anywhere Near The Multiple Actions and Effects Attributed To It" "It's Just Modern Day Snake Oil!!"

There are preliminary studies indicate that topically applied Aloe vera may speed wound healing time by as much as 35% and reduce the pain on burn and wound sites. Many people have experienced this first hand when they applied the gel right from the leaf of a plant in their home to sunburn, or a burn from the kitchen stove.
Certain long-chain Aloe vera derived sugars (galactomannans) have been shown to possess a wide variety of immune-system stimulative and protective effects within the human body. Injectable acemannan, a substance derived from Aloe vera gel, was recently granted FDA approval to test on humans with HIV in the battle to save AIDS patients.

Another recent study indicates that topically applied Aloe vera gel may also not only speed healing from sunburn, but will help restore the immune system to normal functioning when it has been compromised by sunburn.

Two studies recently published in scientific journals reported that when Aloe vera juice was drunk by diabetic patients it helped reduce their blood glucose to the fasting level. Another study indicated that drinking the juice has similar effects on hypoglycemic patients.

A four year study currently underway at the University of Texas Health Science Center is attempting to determine whether dietary Aloe vera in juice form can slow down the aging process in humans.

Other studies recently completed or in progress, suggest that Aloe vera: has antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties; can control itching by inhibiting histamine reactions produced by insect bites and stings as well as the body's reaction to poison oak and poison ivy; and is beneficial in the treatment of various gastrointestinal disorders including diverticulitis, gastric, peptic and duodenal ulcers and colo-rectal colitis.

Many more studies are waiting to begin that may prove scientifically that the Aloe vera plant may provide the world with still other treatments and even cures for additional ills that confront humans worldwide. The "simple" medicine plant may well prove to be the "Wonder Drug of this century!"

In a recent national survey conducted by PREVENTION magazine among 5,000 of its readers. 97% of the responders found Aloe vera to be the "most used" and "most popular" herbal remedy, getting top marks for its ability to soothe and heal minor burns. Readers were asked to rate their personal experiences with home remedies, using such natural products as cranberry juice, garlic, comfrey, chamomile and Aloe.
Aloe won conclusively. 98% of those responding reported regular Aloe use, with 87% rating results "good" and 12% "fair."

The results were not surprising to Varro Tyler, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology at Purdue University, and an advisor to PREVENTION. According to Dr. Tyler, "Evidence seems to indicate that something in Aloe vera inhibits the action of brandykinine, a peptide that produces pain in injuries like burns. It also inhibits the body's production of thromboxanes, chemicals detrimental to wound healing."

Many of those responding to the survey were quite specific in their reports. A Staten Islander said that he used Aloe directly from the plant on a leg that had been burned on a hot pipe, "It was the only way to keep the pain away," he said, "It healed beautifully, and left no scar." Many readers reported that they kept an Aloe plant in the kitchen, to be used on minor burns, or cuts and scrapes.

Others said that they took their plants or a few leaves with them when they went on vacation trips in case something happened. And a Home Economics teacher in Bangor, Maine, keeps several plants in her classroom. "Burns are common in my class," she wrote, "And fresh Aloe is the best answer I've found.

In the PREVENTION issue that preceded the questionnaire, Dr. Tyler wrote an article entitled, "The Top 7 Herbs for Health" in which he listed Aloe as one of the herbs most used. He wrote, "In a remarkable new study, Aloe aided 18 people who had facial dermabrasion (sanding away scars). Researchers applied the usual wound dressing on one side of each face, the same dressing soaked in Aloe gel on the other.

Aloe's advantages: less swelling after two days, less crusting by day four and 90% skin regrowth by day six, compared to only 40% to 50% on the Aloe-free side. And Aloe appeared to reduce throbbing although it stung when applied. The researchers calculate that Aloe speeded up overall wound healing time by three days."

In a recent study by Dr. Faith Strickland at the University of Texas, Anderson Cancer Center it was reported that in years past it was popularly supposed that a deep suntan made us look better than the pale look we wore during the winter months...as though a mahogany tan meant that we could afford to go south for the winter, or to some sun-drenched island, instead of having to work for a living like our contemporaries. It set us apart from the drudges who worked all winter, unable to afford the sunny climates.

Well, we may have looked better, although some would dispute the fact, but it turns out that what we were really doing was bringing about potentially serious damage to our skin and immune systems. Recent studies have shown that a bad sunburn, even one that we might have suffered many years ago, can turn into cancer in later life.

Not all of these cancers turn out to be melanoma, the really serious form of skin cancer, and may be surgically removed. But melanoma can metastasize, or spread through the body, and that becomes a serious problem, indeed.

Now we have information that sunburn can and often does wreak havoc with the body's immune system, leaving us vulnerable to other diseases. The immune system helps keep us well by providing the body's primary defense against those germs and viruses that it recognizes as "foreign bodies."

When it is functioning well, we may expect to remain reasonably healthy. When it is compromised, illness results, in most cases, since our bodies are constantly being bombarded by things that can make us ill. Exposure to Ultra Violet-B light, from the sun, has been shown to impair the cellular immune response of the skin, which may lead to tumor formation.

But the work of Dr. Faith Strickland, of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, suggests the possibility that Aloe vera can not only stop the damage done to the immune system, but can actually restore the system to full working order.

Obviously this doesn't mean that we can go out and get a worry-free sunburn, then apply some Aloe to our skin and forget about it. Dr. Strickland's work, while conclusive in laboratory tests, has not yet been clinically tested to her satisfaction, or that of the medical community. Nevertheless, if you do happen to get a bit more sun than intended, it makes good sense to get yourself some Aloe vera gel and gently massage it into the affected area.

It won't hurt, and it may well make you feel a good deal better. Obviously, if you get a bad sunburn, it becomes a medical problem that should be treated by a physician without delay. Your doctor can prescribe something to ease the discomfort and help return your angry epidermis to normal in a few days.

The research done by Dr. Strickland and hundreds of other researchers and scientists is mounting up, resulting in a more complete understanding of the therapeutic value of Aloe vera gel and the many ways in which Aloe can contribute to the health and well-being of people throughout the world.

From the 16th through the early 19th centuries the yellow sap in the pericyclic cells was commercially collected, heated, the liquid evaporated, and the material sold world-wide as a potent cathartic agent. Today, aloin, the major anthraquinone laxative, has been replaced by laxative agents having less violent cathartic actions.

In the 1930's interest in the internal gel was enhanced when the material was found to be remarkably effective in treating radiation-induced dermatitis. Since that time a number of external and internal uses for the internal gel of aloe have been reported in the literature, some of which are truly remarkable.

Owing to increasing anecdotal reports purporting to corroborate beneficial effects of drinking the ground, preserved, internal gel of aloe, a number of scientific investigations have been undertaken to evaluate the validity of the anecdotal reports.

As the internal gel is 99+ water, the notion comes to mind that the 1% or so of solids, being divided amongst 200 different constituents, is not sufficient an amount of any one constituent to do anything at all on a rational basis. Thus, if there is subjective benefit, it must be entirely psychological.

Thus, one must rely on scientifically sound investigations to give any credence to the validity of the anecdotal reports. A few of the scientifically documented beneficial uses of drinking aloe beverages will be delineated in contradistinction to untold numbers of anecdotal reports which represent subjective impressions or appraisals.
Gastrointestinal Disorders For over 300 years the curanderos and curanderas in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and the northern states of Mexico have recommended internal aloe gel for "las enferemedades del estomago y los intestinos," intestines, but especially for ulcers.

As a result of these anecdotal reports scientific investigations have been undertaken in animal models which have shown that if aloe gel is administered prior to the ulcer-inducing stress (immobilization), there is an 80% decrease in the number of ulcers formed compared with the control animals given saline instead of the aloe gel. Similarly, if the aloe gel was given after the ulcers were formed, healing was three times as fast compared to the healing in the control animals.

In a second laboratory investigation, aloe gel pretreatment was 85% effective in preventing stomach lesions, and 50% better than the controls in healing the gastric ulcerations.

Additional studies showed that a common group of plant constituents, the triterpenes, including lupeol, possess ulcero-protective activity against the formation of gastric ulcerations in albino rats induced by immobilization restraint. Other investigations have shown that aloe gel preparations contain lupeol as well as other triterpenoids.

Aloe gel mixed with heavy liquid petrolatum (2:1) was given to 12 patients, 7 males and 5 females, ages 24 to 84 years, with definitive x-ray evidence of duodenal ulcers. All 12 patients showed complete recovery with no recurrence for at least a year after ulcer healing.

This study suffers, however, from the fact that (1) duodenal ulcers are often self-healing without any treatment, and (2) there was no control group of patients treated in a similar manner without the administration of aloe. Nonetheless, the physicians who conducted the study represent trained, clinically-experienced observers, and thus even these uncontrolled observations have some scientific merit.

Atherosclerosis and Coronary Heart Disease Coronary heart disease associated with the accumulation of blood fats (Lipids) in the lining of the arteries is still one of the major causes of death in the Western world.

Several studies in animal models as well as in human subjects have suggested that the ingestion of aloe gel may have a beneficial effect by lowering serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, and serum phospholipids, which, when elevated, seem to accelerate the deposition of fatty materials in the large and medium-sized arteries, including the coronary arteries of the heart.

In one study albino laboratory rats were fed high cholesterol diets with the experimental group fed the polysaccharide (glucomannan) from aloe.
Compared with the control animals, the group fed the aloe fraction showed: a) Decreased total cholesterol levels b) Decreased triglyceride levels c) Decreased phospholipid levels d) Decreased nonesterified fatty acid levels e) Increased HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) levels f) Markedly increased HDL/Total Cholesterol ratios.

The evidence suggests that the ingestion of aloe gel may have a salubrious effect on fat (lipid) metabolism, which, if active in human subjects, would tend to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease in people.

Monkeys given Triton, which causes marked increases in blood lipids, were divided into two groups. the first group was given aloe, while the second group received the drug, clofibrate, which is used clinically to lower serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The following data show the reduction in the various parameters compared with the control animals.

Aloe-Treated Monkeys Parameter
Clofibrate-Treated Monkeys

61.7%
Total Cholesterol
47.6%

37.8%
Triglycerides
50.0%

51.2%
Phospholipids
41.7%

45.5%
Non-esterified Fatty Acids
23.9%


A third investigation was performed studying 5,000 patients who were fed the husks of a local Indian plant, isabgal, which provided fiber and aloe gel as a beverage. There were some remarkable effects in three important areas:
1. Lipid Metabolism
a. Decreased total cholesterol
b. Decreased triglycerides
c. Increased HDL cholesterol
2. Carbohydrate Metabolism
a. Decreased fasting blood sugar levels in diabetic patients
b. Decreased post-prandial (after a meal) elevation in blood sugar levels in diabetic patients
3. Angina pectoris (chest pain from insufficient delivery of oxygen to the heart)
a. Decreased frequency of anginal attacks
These data in the human study suggest that the benefit from the regimen, at least in part attributable to the ingested aloe beverage, may have salubrious effects on several systems in the body.

Anti-Cancer Actions One of the common experimental cancer models is sarcoma-180. When inhibited. (Soeda, 1969, Suzuki, 1979). Similarly, Alexin B, a specific molecule species derived from aloe, was shown to possess anti-cancer activity against lymphocytic leukemia. (Suzuki, 1979a). Additional investigations revealed that another molecular species derived from aloe, Aloetin-A, had anti-tumor activity, but the action was to bolster the immune system rather than a direct anti-tumor activity (Imanishi et al, 1981).

Immunity There are several mechanisms which contribute to the immunological protection enjoyed by normal persons. Among these mechanisms the ingestion of bacteria and other potentially harmful agents by certain white blood cells (a process termed phagocytosis) and the formation of antibodies (formed by another group of white cells, the beta-lymphocytes) are probably the most important. Scientific evidence suggest that aloe gel contain substances which are active both in stimulating phagocytosis as well as stimulating the formation of antibodies.
In one study the aloe fractions were shown to increase phagocytosis when injected into guinea pigs. In another study mice were injected intraperitoneally with Escherichia coli, which caused a serious infection to develop in the abdominal cavity, namely, peritonitis.

Injects of materials from two species of aloe (aloe barteri and aloe ferox) both stimulated phagocytic activity in the animals. It was demonstrated that phagocytic activity was depressed in adult patients with bronchial asthma. A mixture of amino acids derived from aloe enhanced the depressed phagocytic function of the white blood cells in these asthma patients.

In an additional study when certain materials (lactina...cannot read) purified from aloe were added to human lymphocytes raised in tissue cultures, the human white cells were stimulated to produce antibodies.

Perhaps the most remarkable studies concern the effect of aloe fractions on the status of patients with HIV which causes AIDS. The polysaccharide fraction of aloe was shown to exhibit antiviral activity and enhance immune cell function. The polysaccharide was given orally, 250 milligrams four times a day, to 8 patients with ARC (AIDS Related Complex), with Walter Reed staging from 3 to 6. Eight of eight patients showed improvement within 90 days of therapy with an average reduction of 2 Walter Reed stages.

Fever and night sweats were eliminated in all patients; diarrhea was alleviated in two of three patients, and opportunistic infections (which are usually responsible for the death of the AIDS patient) were controlled or eliminated in six of eight patients. Two patients, unemployable because of the intensity of their symptoms, returned to full employment.

Three of three patients showed a decline in HIV core antigen (P-24). Initially positive HIV cultures became negative in three patients. clinical toxicity and side-effects were entirely absent. Acute toxicity studies in animals showed no toxicity whatever at dosages 100 times those used in the pilot human experiments. (McDaniel and McAnalley, 1988) These experiments, however, were uncontrolled, and additional studies, utilizing appropriate scientific study design would need to be done before the data would be acceptable to the scientific community.

In plasma there are four interacting systems which serve vital protective functions. These include the following:

(1) Intrinsic coagulation (blood clotting)
(2) Plasminogen (prevention and dissolving of intravascular clots)
(3) Kininogen (inflammation)
(4) Complement (destruction of intravascular bacteria)

The latter system, the complement system, consists of a series of proteins which require activation. When activated these proteins interact sequentially - cascade phenomenon - and form circular, doughnut-shaped proteins, which are inserted into the surface membranes of bacteria, literally causing "holes" which permit the interior of the bacterium to become exposed to the environment, causing the death of the organism.

Normally this complement system is stimulated by the presence of polysaccharides on the surface of the invading organism. Studies have shown that the polysaccharides (glucomannans) of aloe can perform this function.

There are several additional beneficial actions of ingested aloe presented in the literature. True, many of the anecdotal reports have been studied in animal models, giving credence to the anecdotal information. Other reported benefits in human subjects have yet to be documented by scientific investigations. A number of studies are currently underway in various laboratories across the country and in other countries as well.

Three salient points are of vital significance in providing credibility to scientific studies: (1) How are the polysaccharides handled in the digestive tract? (2) As the juice is so "dilute" is there really sufficient material absorbed to account for the reported benefits?; (3) What amount of juice would be required orally, on the average, to provide a beneficial effect?

The answers are: *The polysaccharides are not digested by the enzyme systems in missing line? are absorbed by endocytosis, i.e. they are taken into the cell intact
* Apparently, from the animal experiments, very small amounts of aloe constituents are required to produce a beneficial effect.
* In human subjects, beneficial actions are readily apparent with the ingestion of 2 ounces twice daily.

HOW MUCH ALOE IS REALLY IN THE PRODUCTS YOU BUY?

Sometimes it's hard to tell. As a rule of thumb, you can get some idea of the amount of Aloe in a given product by reading the ingredient list, which usually appears on the back of the package.

If Aloe is listed prominently on the front of the label but without an exact amount shown on the ingredient list, or if Aloe appears at, or near the bottom of the list, chances are that the product contains little more than a trace amount of Aloe.
So, if the product you purchase has a big "contains Aloe vera" on the front of the label, but shows Aloe at the bottom of the list, on the back, you might be justified in thinking that the manufacturer is being less than totally straightforward with you.

In today's market, particularly in the case of cosmetic products, manufacturers are aware that their potential customers regard Aloe vera highly for its ability to moisturize skin, so they add it, sometimes putting in enough to justify their claim that the product does indeed contain Aloe. Is that enough to do the job for which Aloe is reputed. In general, the answer is no.

Some preliminary research has been done which suggests that in order for Aloe to be therapeutically effective in a cosmetic formula, it must be present in a strength of 20% or more, and in some cases, considerably more.

Of course, there are any number of reputable manufacturers who properly represent the Aloe content in their products. Often these companies are IASC certified, understand and respect their customers' needs, and know what Aloe vera will do to meet those needs.

There are, to be sure, manufacturers who take advantage of any fad that comes along. Case in point: One manufacturer of nail care products prominently displays the fact that one of its products contains a well-known gelatin because there is a popular supposition that the ingestion of gelatin will strengthen nails.

Of course it does no good whatever if you rub it on the nails and, in fact, research has shown that even eating or drinking gelatin won't strengthen nails.

This is not to say that , in years past, "contains Aloe vera" has not been used in much the same manner, and for the same ends. Fortunately consumers can now rely on the International Aloe Science Council Certification Seal in making product purchase decisions. This seal certifies that the particular product upon which it appears has been independently analyzed and certified as containing the percentage of Aloe listed and the quality of the gel.

It should be noted the FDA has ruled that in any product that has been reconstituted with either Aloe powder or concentrate, water must be listed as the primary ingredient. So, what should you do? Read the ingredient list before you buy, then check to make sure that the aloe-based products you purchase display the IASC Seal on the label.

If Aloe vera is contained in the product in amounts sufficient to be effective, it will appear near the top of the list, and may even indicate the percentage of Aloe in the formula. As in buying any product, be a smart consumer: read the label and check to be sure the industry certification seal is displayed prominently. Those manufacturers displaying the seal do so because they're proud of the products they offer.

This article published in Family Health News.
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