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The Aloe Vera Plant
Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) is a desert succulent, a member of the lily family (Liliaceae), which is cultivated in the Rio Grand Valley of far south Texas as a commercial crop. The plant is indigenous to northern Africa, and was transported to the Caribbean area probably in the 17th century. The plant growth was so luxuriant on the island of Barbados that visiting sailors referred to the islands as “bearded.” The name, Barbados, and the aloe species name, barbadensis, are both derived from the Portuguese.
Two "juices" may be extracted from the plant – a bitter yellow sap or "latex," and an opalescent internal gel. The yellow sap contains anthraquinones, chief among which is aloin. These substances are powerful laxatives which have been used for this purpose for several centuries. In the plant, this sap is contained in special tubules which form a portion of the nutrient tubes of the vascular bundles located just beneath the wax-covered, thick green rind of the leaf.
The gel, which constitutes the bulk of the leaf substance, serves a s the water storage organ for the plant. This gel, which may be removed as a semi-solid “fillet” before processing, contains more than 200 different substances. Chief among these are polysaccharides, glycoproteins, vitamins, mineral and enzymes. As the gel is 99.5% water, these solutes are found in very limited amounts. Nevertheless, scientific evidence is accruing which documents several several activities that offer considerable promise when used in cosmetics and consumer pharmaceuticals.
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