Aloe Vera: Natural wonder cure. Julia Lawless

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      Mahatma Gandhi drank Aloe vera juice every day. In a letter to his biographer, Romain Rolland, Gandhi wrote:

       You ask me what were the secret forces that sustained me during my long fasts. Well, it was my unshakeable faith in God, my simple and frugal lifestyle, and the Aloe whose benefits I discovered upon my arrival in South Africa at the end of the 19th century.

      In 1995, Lady Elizabeth Anson, cousin to Queen Elizabeth II and an inveterate party-giver, revealed that it was Aloe vera which had given her a new lease of life after suffering from the debilitating effects of ME for many years. She has set up a charity for ME sufferers which recommends Aloe, among other natural treatments, to fellow sufferers.

      Princess Helena Moutafian MBE, Dame of the Order of St John and a well-known humanitarian, uses Aloe vera daily. She uses the juice for eczema on her hands and face and takes Aloe vera capsules internally for bowel irritation and any kind of infection. In her view:

       …Aloe is one of the best things that God created.

      Dr David Smallbone, MB, CHB, LRCP, MRCS, MFHOM, FCOH, is a doctor and surgeon who has been in private practice in Britain since the late 1970s. He has not written a prescription for the last 10 to 15 years and now uses virtually no allopathic medicine. He treats his patients with a variety of natural methods such as herbal medicine and homoeopathy. Regarding Aloe vera he says:

       I have used Aloe vera in my practice over the years whenever I feel it to be necessary … it is such a wonderful plant.

      Stephen Turoff, one of the most gifted healers in Britain today, recommends Aloe as a general tonic and says that it is especially valuable in treating digestive disorders. In his view:

       Aloe vera is good for everything…

Botanical, Historical and Cultural Origins

       PART ONE

The Aloe Vera Family Tree

      ALOE VERA

      Most sources place Aloe in the Lily family (Liliaceae). Until recently this was correct, but according to Dr Tom Reynolds of the Jodrell Laboratory, Kew Gardens, London, it has now been designated its own family, known as Aloaceae. Nonetheless, it is related to the lily family and to plants such as garlic, onion and asparagus, all of which are known to have medicinal properties.

      The Royal Horticultural Society Gardeners’ Encylopaedia of Plants and Flowers defines Aloe as:

       [A] Genus of evergreen, rosetted trees, shrubs, perennials and scandent climbers with succulent foliage and tubular to bell-shaped flowers.¹

      There are about 350 varieties of Aloe in the Aloaceae family. In South Africa alone, 132 species were recorded in 1955! They range from miniature aloes like Aloe aristata and Aloe brevifolia to small aloes such as Aloe striata, which is one of the prettiest of the species. Its leaves are pale green edged with light coral red and sometimes flushed with pink. The flowers are orange or pinky-red and roughly resemble a mass of coral. The flowers of different aloes vary in colour from cream or orange to scarlet, rose flame or spectacular autumn tints.

      Among the large aloes are Aloe arborescens and Aloe ferox, both used for healing purposes. In the 19th century, James Backhouse, in A Narrative of a Visit to Mauritius and South Africa, refers to Aloe arborescens as a Tree-Aloe, otherwise known as ‘Kokerboom’ in the Afrikaans language. ‘Kokerboom’ means Quiver Tree, as it was used by the Bushmen to make quivers from its branches. Members of the Aloaceae family known for their medicinal properties include:

      

Aloe arborescens, which is used in Japan and has been cultivated mainly in Russia and the Far East. It has long slender blue-green leaves with toothed edges, and cream stripes. It produces numerous spikes of red flowers in late winter and spring, and grows to a height of 1.8 m (6 ft) high.

      

Aloe ferox or Aloe ferox ‘Miller’ has a red or reddish pink flower and has been identified as being the same plant as Aloe african ‘Miller’. Its flowers are described as orange-scarlet according to the Royal Horticultural Society. This Aloe originated in South Africa and is also referred to as the Cape Aloe. This only adds to the confusion, as in southern Africa Aloe barbadensis ‘Miller’ is known as the Cape Aloe. Nor is Aloe african ‘Miller’ the same plant as Aloe africana. Aloe africana has a yellow flower. It is not the same species and is not officially recognized as being a medicinal source.

      

Aloe perryi ‘Baker’ is otherwise known as the Socotrine or Curaçaon Aloe, after the islands of Socotra and Curaçao where it is found. Other names include Zanzibar Aloes, Uganda Aloes, Natal Aloes and Musambra Aloes. The flowers of Aloe perryi ‘Baker’ are bright red with a greenish tip.

      

Aloe saponaria, found all over South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, is one of the spotted Aloes, with dull white oblong spots on its leaves. The flowers are orangey-yellow in colour.

      

Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f is the correct name for Aloe vera, which was formerly known as Aloe barbadensis ‘Miller’. According to Dr Tom Reynolds of Kew Gardens, ‘Burman had priority over Miller’s later use of the name A. barbadensis, but perhaps only be a period of 10 days … the correct name is thus Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f.’² It is considered very effective in healing and is characterized by its very sticky mucilage.

      The origins of Aloe vera is not clearly known. Some writers claim it comes from southern Africa, others from northern Africa. One of the most authoritative botanical sources, Mr Nigel Hepper, retired senior botanist at Kew Gardens, has suggested that it may come from the Yemen. This has not been proven, but the Aloe vera plant has been found in the Yemen in remote places where it was clearly not transplanted from another region. It has also been found in Tenerife in mountainous areas. In the light of early Egyptian and Mesopotamian records, it most likely comes from either the Yemen or North Africa.

      Aloe vera is a clump-forming, perennial succulent with basal rosettes of tapering, thick leaves, mottled green, later turning grey-green. It is a cactus-like plant with distinctive spiky leaves whose flower stems carry bell-shaped yellow flowers in summer. From the centre of the dark green leaves of the Aloe vera plant, the flower stems, which are leafless, can reach 1.5 m (3 ft) in length and have attractive tubular-shaped bells.

      The Aloe vera plant is characterized by its long tapering sharp leaves with ribbed thorny ridges along the spine. The fleshy leaves grow in a spiral shape to form a rosette pattern. This rosette pattern is a distinctive feature of Aloe vera. The soft fleshy leaves of the Aloe vera exude a watery gel or juice when cut, and contain the plant’s two main medicinal products:

      1 the sap from the rind, known as the exudate

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