Aloe - Further Research, History
Aloe Vera - About The Plant
Aloe Vera is a succulent plant of the lily family native to the Cape of Good Hope and growing wild in much of Africa and Madagascar.
Commercial growers cultivate it in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Japan and the USA.
It produces a ring of dagger shaped fleshy leaves that grow up from the base of the plant.
Each leaf can grow up to nearly 2kg in weight. It is from the leaf that the soothing Aloe Vera juice is extracted.
The Aloe Vera plant is drought resistant and grows mainly in subtropical desert-like savannas.
When the leaves are cut the plant can close off its cells to retain fluid. The plant suffers no damage and simply reseals itself.
Aloe Vera can grow to 20 metres in height but usually grows only to about 1.5 metres. Each plant has about 15 leaves and blooms intermittently. It produces erect spikes of drooping yellow, orange or red tubular flowers on a woody stem.
Aloe Vera - Further Research
Russian research has shown benefits to conditions other than those for which Aloe Vera is most well known. These include improvements in bone tuberculosis and broken bones, inflammatory gynecological conditions, paralysis caused by polio; ear, nose and throat conditions, and bronchial asthma. They have also found that Aloe Vera can help slow the aging process.Both Russia and the United States have carried out extensive research into the use of Aloe Vera for all types of burns. They found that compounds within Aloe Vera can help the burn heal, and can also have a cleansing and antibacterial effect.
The United States have developed a cream containing 70% Aloe Vera juice extract that prevents partially damaged tissue from dying and allows new skin cells to close off the area thereby promoting healthy new skin beneath the scab, rather than scar tissue.
Research has also been carried out into whether Aloe Vera can play a role in the treatment of cancer. Aloe Vera appears to cause the release of tumor necrosis factor Alpha that blocks the blood supply to cancerous growths.
A study in Japan showed that drinking Aloe Vera juice regularly may be effective in preventing the onset of lung cancer in smokers.
Aloe Vera, 5,000 Years of Healing
Aloe Vera has been used medicinally for 5,000 years. It has been called the "miracle plant", the "medicine plant" and the "wand of heaven". Aloe Vera is a natural detoxifier, it boosts the immune system, increases beneficial intestinal flora, soothes and repairs damaged and inflamed tissue both internally and externally. It has often been seen as a "cure-all" because it has so many uses.The first recorded evidence of the healing properties of Aloe Vera are found on ancient Egyptian texts dating from around 1500 BC. The Egyptians referred to aloe vera as "the Plant of Immortality".
Arab traders were probably responsible for the spread of Aloe Vera into Persia, India and the Far East.
Aristotle was reputed to have persuaded his student Alexander the Great to seize the island if Socorra for the Aloe Vera that grew there. The Aloe could survive unplanted for many years so could be carried as an emergency treatment for wounds suffered by Alexander's troops.
In the first century AD the Greek physician Dioscorides wrote in his Materia Medica that Aloe Vera extract could be used to treat wounds, stomach complaints, constipation, hemorrhoids, headaches, all mouth problems, hair loss, insect bites, kidney ailments and skin irritations.
In Africa Aloe Vera was used for stomach aches and to prevent infection from insect bites.
The Chinese used Aloe Vera for treating eczema during the Sung dynasty.
In India during the fourth century BC people believed that Aloe Vera grew in the Garden of Eden. They called it "the silent healer" and used it to heal skin conditions and inflammation.
In the early Christian era Aloe Vera could be found in all advanced medical texts.
Eventually Aloe Vera was introduced into the Americas. In Mexico the juice was used to treat skin complaints and wounds. In Central and South America people used the juice as an insect repellant. Aloe Vera was sold in the street markets of Latin America as an aphrodisiac.
Jesuit priests were encouraged to take Aloe Vera with them when going to the New World to spread the bible. Settlers in North America were using Aloe Vera to heal wounds and burns. The indigenous Seminole people believed that the plant had powerful rejuvenating properties and that a "Fountain of Youth" sprang from a pool within a cluster of Aloes. As the popularity of Aloe Vera increased during the 18th century so trade wars occurred between the British, Spanish and Dutch to establish Aloe plantations in the New World.
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries many wealthy collectors of exotic plants added Aloe Vera to their collections and many discoveries about its properties were made during this period. At one time Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, housed the finest collection of Aloes in England.
By the late 19th century synthetic laboratory drugs were taking precedence over botanical compounds. There was a naive optimism that scientific advance would lead to ever more effective drugs that would eventually "conquer" all disease and herbal remedies such as Aloe Vera fell from favour.
Although research was carried out by the United States into the burn-healing properties of Aloe Vera during the 1930s to find a cure for radiation burns it was only in the 1960s that improved techniques allowed proper stabilization of the Aloe Vera. Stabilization of the Aloe Vera juice allowed it to be stored for long periods and therefore commercial production became viable. Public interest was rekindled.
Previous methods of extraction concentrated only on the Aloe Vera gel found in the middle of the leaf. They did not use the whole leaf because it was difficult to prevent contamination with Aloe Latex. Aloe Latex is a yellow extract from the inner leaf of the plant that acts as a laxative and can cause severe cramps and diarrhoea. The very latest processing methods now allow the whole Aloe Vera leaf to be processed without Aloe Latex contamination. This is a hugely important step forward as the juice can now contain the healing power of all parts of the plant rather than just the inner gel. The polysaccharide count in whole leaf juice can reach much higher values using these latest processing methods.
Purchase Your Aloe Vera Juice
Buying online is secure and the quickest way to obtain your Aloe Vera Juice. However if you prefer to order your aloe vera by phone or by cheque please refer to the relevant information boxes at the top right hand side.Buying other juices as well as your Aloe Vera ?
Then go to our our multi-juice order page.
Save time and save on shipping costs.
You can remove items from your basket at any time. Click on the basket in the button bar at the top of the page at any time to review the contents of your shopping basket.
If your country is not listed as a valid delivery location then I'm afraid we do not yet deliver to your country.
Delivery Time
For orders placed online your Aloe Vera Juice will be passed to our courier within 48 hours of your order, often within 24 hours. Orders received late on Friday or over the weekend will be passed to our courier on the following Monday.
