Aloe Vera Queen of medicinal plants
Numerous biological activities have been attributed to Aloe Vera over the years, and this is probably due to the combination of several existing assets in its composition. The result of the literature revealed that this species is effective in the treatment of psoriasis, genital herpes, hyperglycemia and burns. Antineoplastic activity, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory were also demonstrated by in Vito and in vivo.
Wound healing results are conflicting, and this may be related to the hydrophobic character of the active components facing difficulty to cross the barriers imposed by the skin (Takahashi, 2009). It can also be due to differences in the extraction of active ingredients or in the storage methods used by researchers.
In the treatment of radiation dermatitis in solar or as sunscreen burns, the gel of the plant did not show efficacy.
Regarding its toxicity have been reported cases of acute hepatitis and were also observed some symptoms such as cramps, nausea and diarrhea with the use of oral preparations containing Aloe Vera.
The standardization of the use of A. Vera is essential, in order to better conserve its chemical characteristics and the definition of the best shape of your application. It is evident the enormous range of activities that this species has, being necessary, however, controlled studies with larger numbers of participants to be defined dose and safe for their use.
History of Aloe Vera
The history of Aloe Vera is old and is present in the literature of diverse cultures. Its name probably comes from the Arabic word alloeh, which means bitter and bright substance. The first recorded use of Aloe Vera was done on a clay tablet in Mesopotamia dated 2100 BC (Atherton, 1997).
Known in ancient Egypt as the “plant of immortality” it would have been used by Cleopatra in skin care and hair. Existing references in the Bible, according to many historians, would actually other plants, Excoecaria agalocha L. or Aquillaria agalocha L. (Teske & Trentini, 1997; Alonso, 2007).
It is mentioned in the Encyclopedia History Pliny's Natural the Elder (23-79 AD) and Material Media of Dioscorides, considered the founder of Pharmacognosy, which made reference to the strong smell and bitter taste of Aloe vera, and their use in the treatment of skin irritations, boils and wound healing (Haller, 1990).
It was brought by traders to the London market in 1693 and in 1843 considerable amounts were imported. It is currently planted on a large scale in many countries, such as Mexico, USA and China. It was recognized by the British Pharmacopoeia as an official drug in 1932 also being accepted in several other pharmacopoeia. It is very common in Brazil which is popularly used in wound healing, treatment of burns, conjunctivitis, rheumatic pain from other ailments (Haller, 1990; Alonso, 2007; Lorenzi & Matos, 2008; Guerra et al., 2008).
Botanical Description
Source: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-05722014000200020
Ostom Damasceno