About Aloe Vera

The following is an extract from information by Dr Peter Atherton.
For educational purposes and is not an endorsement of any particular products containing Aloe Vera.

Aloe Vera, often called the Miracle Plant, the Natural Healer, the Burn Plant, goes by many names, which have survived the 4000 or so years during which this amazing medicinal herb had benefited mankind.

George Ebers in 1862 first discovered its antiquity in an ancient Egyptian papyrus, dated 3500 BC, which was in fact a collection of herbal remedies. Other researchers have since found it was used by both the ancient Chinese and Indian cultures. Greek and Roman physicians such as Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder used it to great effect and legend suggests that Aristotle persuaded Alexander the Great to capture the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean to get its rich supply of aloe to heal his wounded soldiers. The Egyptian queen Nefertiti and Cleopatra rated it highly as a beauty therapy.

Although there are over 200 species of aloe, there are probably only four or five with medicinal properties. Of these, Aloe Barbadensis Miller, (also known as Aloe Linne), is the most potent. It is the only one entitled to be known as aloe vera or the true aloe.

Aloe Vera is a succulent, looking rather like a cactus but it is in fact a member of the lily family related to the onions, garlic and asparagus. When mature the contents of its leaves, a mixture of inner gel and outer sap can be harvested, preserved and bottled to produce a product that is as near to the natural plant juice as we can get.

To benefit from Aloe Vera, the gel can be taken internally for its nutritional effect or it can be combined with other ingredients to produce topical creams and lotions to nourish and improve the quality of the skin.

For a product to work properly, Aloe needs to be the principle ingredient.

 Look for a product with a substantial Aloe Vera content.

Further Links:

Inside the Leaf

Why Aloe Works