| 34th | Top garden plants |
| Aloe. | |
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| Aloe succotrina | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Genus: | Aloe L. |
| Species | |
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See Species |
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Aloe, also written Aloë, is a genus containing about four hundred species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe".
The genus is native to Africa, and is common in South Africa's Cape Province, the mountains of tropical Africa, and neighboring areas such as Madagascar, the Arabian peninsula, and the islands of Africa.
The APG II system (2003) placed the genus in the family Asphodelaceae. In the past it has also been assigned to families Aloaceae and Liliaceae or lilly family. Members of the closely allied genera Gasteria, Haworthia and Kniphofia, which have a similar mode of growth, are also popularly known as aloes. Note that the plant sometimes called American aloe (Agave americana) belongs to Agavaceae, a different family.
Most Aloe species have a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves. The leaves are often lance-shaped with a sharp apex and a spiny margin. Aloe flowers are tubular, frequently yellow, pink or red and are borne on densely clustered, simple or branched leafless stems.
Many species of Aloe appear to be stemless, with the rosette growing directly at ground level; other varieties may have a branched or unbranched stem from which the fleshy leaves spring. They vary in colour from grey to bright-green and are sometimes striped or mottled. Some Aloes native to South Africa are arborescent. [1]
Contents |
Aloe species are frequently cultivated as ornamental plants both in gardens and in pots. Many Aloe species are highly decorative and are valued by collectors of succulents. Aloe vera is used both internally and externally on humans, and is claimed to have some medicinal effects, which have been supported by scientific and medical research. The gel in the leaves can be made into a smooth type of cream that can heal burns such as sunburn. They can also be made into types of special soaps.
Historical use of various Aloe species by humans is well documented. Documentation of the clinical effectiveness is available, although relatively limited.[2]
Of the 300 species of Aloe, only a few were used traditionally as a herbal medicine, aloe vera again being the most commonly used version of aloe in herbal medicine. Also included are Aloe perryi (found in northeastern Africa) and Aloe ferox (found in South Africa). The Greeks and Romans used aloe vera to treat wounds. In the Middle Ages, the yellowish liquid found inside the leaves was favored as a purgative.[citation needed] It should be noted that processed aloe that contains aloin is generally used as a laxative, whereas processed aloe vera juice does not usually contain significant aloin.
Some species, particularly Aloe vera are used in alternative medicine and in the home first aids. Both the translucent inner pulp and the resinous yellow aloin from wounding the Aloe plant are used externally to relieve skin discomforts. As an herbal medicine, aloe vera juice is commonly used internally to relieve digestive discomfort "aloe for heartburn". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FKA/is_4_69/ai_n18791510. "aloe alt med". http://altmedicine.about.com/od/therapiesfrometol/a/heartburn.htm. "Aloe IBS study". http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/546327.. Some modern research suggests Aloe vera can significantly slow wound healing compared to normal protocols of treatment.[3] Other reviews of randomised and controlled clinical trials have provided no evidence that Aloe vera has a strong medicinal effect.[4][5]
Today, aloe vera is used both internally and externally on humans. The gel found in the leaves is used for soothing minor burns, wounds, and various skin conditions like eczema and ringworm. The extracted aloe vera juice aloe vera plant is used internally to treat a variety of digestive conditions. The use of this herbal medicine was popularized in the 1950s in many Western countries. The gel's effect is nearly immediate; it also applies a layer over wounds that is said to reduce the chance of any infection.[3]
There have been relatively few studies about possible benefits of Aloe gel taken internally. Components of Aloe may inhibit tumor growth.[6] There have been some studies in animal models which indicate that extracts of Aloe have a significant anti-hyperglycemic effect, and may be useful in treating Type II diabetes. These studies have not been confirmed in humans.[7]
On May 9, 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule banning the use of aloin, the yellow sap of the aloe plant for use as laxative ingredient in over-the-counter drug products.[8] Most aloe juices today do not contain significant aloin.
According to W. A. Shenstone, two classes of aloins are to be recognized: (1) nataloins, which yield picric and oxalic acids with nitric acid, and do not give a red coloration with nitric acid; and (2) barbaloins, which yield aloetic acid (C7H2N3O5), chrysammic acid (C7H2N2O6), picric and oxalic acids with nitric acid, being reddened by the acid. This second group may be divided into a-barbaloins, obtained from Barbados Aloe, and reddened in the cold, and b-barbaloins, obtained from Socotrine and Zanzibar Aloe, reddened by ordinary nitric acid only when warmed or by fuming acid in the cold. Nataloin (2C17H13O7·H2O) forms bright yellow scales. Barbaloin (C17H18O7) prismatic crystals. Aloe species also contain a trace of volatile oil, to which its odour is due.[citation needed]
Aloe rubrolutea occurs as a charge in heraldry, such as in the Civic Heraldry of Namibia.[9]
There are around 400 species in the genus Aloe. For a full list, see List of species of genus Aloe. Species include:
An Aloe tree appeared on stamps issued in 1919 by Batum, a semi-autonomous region of Georgia in the South Caucasus region.
 Aloe parvula |
 Aloe maculata (A. saponaria) |
 Aloe maculata flower |
|
 Aloe sophie |
 Aloe speciosa |
 Aloe striatula |
 Aloe rauhii |
| Aloe. | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Genus: | Aloe L. |
| Species | |
|
See Species | |
Aloe, also written Aloë, is a genus containing about four hundred species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe".
The genus is native to Africa, and is common in South Africa's Cape Province, the mountains of tropical Africa, and neighboring areas such as Madagascar, the Arabian peninsula, and the islands of Africa.
The APG II system (2003) placed the genus in the family Asphodelaceae. In the past it has also been assigned to families Aloaceae and Liliaceae or lily family. Members of the closely allied genera Gasteria, Haworthia and Kniphofia, which have a similar mode of growth, are also popularly known as aloes. Note that the plant sometimes called American aloe (Agave americana) belongs to Agavaceae, a different family.
Most Aloe species have a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves. The leaves are often lance-shaped with a sharp apex and a spiny margin. Aloe flowers are tubular, frequently yellow, pink or red and are borne on densely clustered, simple or branched leafless stems.
Many species of Aloe appear to be stemless, with the rosette growing directly at ground level; other varieties may have a branched or unbranched stem from which the fleshy leaves spring. They vary in color from grey to bright-green and are sometimes striped or mottled. Some Aloes native to South Africa are arborescent.[1]
Contents |
Aloe species are frequently cultivated as ornamental plants both in gardens and in pots. Many Aloe species are highly decorative and are valued by collectors of succulents. Aloe vera is used both internally and externally on humans, and is claimed to have some medicinal effects, which have been supported by scientific and medical research. The gel in the leaves can be made into a smooth type of cream that can heal burns such as sunburn. They can also be made into types of special soaps.
Historical use of various Aloe species by humans is well documented. Documentation of the clinical effectiveness is available, although relatively limited.[2]
Of the 299 species of Aloe, only a few were used traditionally as a herbal medicine, aloe vera again being the most commonly used version of aloe in herbal medicine. Also included are Aloe perryi (found in northeastern Africa) and Aloe ferox (found in South Africa). The Greeks and Romans used aloe vera to treat wounds. In the Middle Ages, the yellowish liquid found inside the leaves was favored as a purgative.[citation needed] Processed aloe that contains aloin is generally used as a laxative, whereas processed aloe vera juice does not usually contain significant aloin.
Some species, particularly Aloe vera are used in alternative medicine and in the home first aids. Both the translucent inner pulp and the resinous yellow aloin from wounding the Aloe plant are used externally to relieve skin discomforts. As an herbal medicine, aloe vera juice is commonly used internally to relieve digestive discomfort "aloe for heartburn". Better Nutrition. 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FKA/is_4_69/ai_n18791510. "aloe alt med". http://altmedicine.about.com/od/therapiesfrometol/a/heartburn.htm. "Aloe IBS study". http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/546327.. Some modern research suggests Aloe vera can significantly slow wound healing compared to normal protocols of treatment.[3] Other reviews of randomised and controlled clinical trials have provided no evidence that Aloe vera has a strong medicinal effect.[4][5]
Today, aloe vera is used both internally and externally on humans. The gel found in the leaves is used for soothing minor burns, wounds, and various skin conditions like eczema and ringworm. The extracted aloe vera juice aloe vera plant is used internally to treat a variety of digestive conditions. The use of this herbal medicine was popularized in the 1950s in many Western countries. The gel's effect is nearly immediate; it also applies a layer over wounds that is said to reduce the chance of any infection.
There have been relatively few studies about possible benefits of Aloe gel taken internally. Components of Aloe may inhibit tumor growth.[6] There have been some studies in animal models which indicate that extracts of Aloe have a significant anti-hyperglycemic effect, and may be useful in treating Type II diabetes. These studies have not been confirmed in humans.[7]
On May 9, 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule banning the use of aloin, the yellow sap of the aloe plant for use as laxative ingredient in over-the-counter drug products.[8] Most aloe juices today do not contain significant aloin.
According to W. A. Shenstone, two classes of aloins are to be recognized: (1) nataloins, which yield picric and oxalic acids with nitric acid, and do not give a red coloration with nitric acid; and (2) barbaloins, which yield aloetic acid (C7H2N3O5), chrysammic acid (C7H2N2O6), picric and oxalic acids with nitric acid, being reddened by the acid. This second group may be divided into a-barbaloins, obtained from Barbados Aloe, and reddened in the cold, and b-barbaloins, obtained from Socotrine and Zanzibar Aloe, reddened by ordinary nitric acid only when warmed or by fuming acid in the cold. Nataloin (2C17H13O7·H2O) forms bright yellow scales. Barbaloin (C17H18O7) prismatic crystals. Aloe species also contain a trace of volatile oil, to which its odour is due.[citation needed]
Aloe rubrolutea occurs as a charge in heraldry, such as in the Civic Heraldry of Namibia.[9]
There are around 400 species in the genus Aloe. For a full list, see List of species of genus Aloe. Species include:
An Aloe tree appeared on stamps issued in 1919 by Batum, a semi-autonomous region of Georgia in the South Caucasus region.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aloe |
Aloe
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Köcherbaum Kö
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Aloe
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ALOE, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Liliaceae, with about 90 species growing in the dry parts of Africa, especially Cape Colony, and in the mountains of tropical Africa. Members of the closely allied genera Gasteria and Haworthia, with a similar mode of growth, are also cultivated and popularly known as aloes. The plants are apparently stemless, bearing a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves, or have a shorter or longer (sometimes branched) stem, along which, or towards the end of which and its branches, the generally fleshy leaves are borne. They are much cultivated as ornamental plants, especially in public buildings and gardens, for their stiff, rugged habit. The leaves are generally lance-shaped with a sharp apex and a spiny margin; but vary in colour from grey to bright green, and are sometimes striped or mottled. The rather small tubular yellow or red flowers are borne on simple or branched leafless stems, and are generally densely clustered. The juice of the leaves of certain species yields aloes (see below). In some cases, as in Aloe venenosa, the juice is poisonous. The plant called American aloe, Agave americana, belongs to a different order, viz. Amaryllidaceae.
Aloes is a medicinal substance used as a purgative and produced from various species of aloe, such as A. vera, vulgaris, socotrina, chinensis, and Perryi. Several kinds of aloes are distinguished in commerce - Barbadoes, Socotrine, hepatic, Indian, and Cape aloes. The first two are those commonly used for medicinal purposes. Aloes is the expressed juice of the leaves of the plant. When the leaves are cut the juice flows out, and is collected and evaporated. After the juice has been obtained, the leaves are sometimes boiled, so as to yield an inferior kind of aloes.
From these plants active principles termed aloins are extracted by water. According to W. A. Shenstone, two classes are to be recognized: (I) Nataloins, which yield picric and oxalic acids with nitric acid, and do not give a red coloration with nitric acid; and (2) Barbaloins, which yield aloetic acid, C7H2N205, chrysammic acid, C 7 H 2 N 2 0 6, picric and oxalic acids with nitric acid, being reddened by this reagent. This second group may be divided into a-Barbaloins, obtained from Barbadoes aloes, and reddened in the cold, and Barbaloins, obtained from Socotrine and Zanzibar aloes, reddened by ordinary nitric acid only when warmed, or by fuming acid in the cold. Nataloin, 2C17H1807�H20, forms bright yellow scales, melting at 212°-222°; barbaloin, C 17 H 18 0 7, forms yellow prismatic crystals. Aloes also contain a trace of volatile oil, to which its odour is due.
The dose is 2 to 5 grains, that of aloin being z to 2 grains. Aloes can be absorbed from a broken surface and will then cause purging. When given internally it increases the actual amount as well as the rate of flow of the bile. It hardly affects the small intestine, but markedly stimulates the muscular coat of the large intestine, causing purging in about fifteen hours. There is hardly any increase in the intestinal secretion, the drug being emphatically not a hydragogue cathartic. There is no doubt that its habitual use may be a factor in the formation of haemorrhoids; as in the case of all drugs that act powerfully on the lower part of the intestine, without simultaneously lowering the venous pressure by causing increase of secretion from the bowel. Aloes also tends to increase the menstrual flow and therefore belongs to the group of emmenagogues. Aloin is preferable to aloes for therapeutic purposes, as it causes less, if any, pain. It is a valuable drug in many forms of constipation, as its continual use does not, as a rule, lead to the necessity of enlarging the dose. Its combined action on the bowel and the uterus is of especial value in chlorosis, of which amenorrhoea is an almost constant symptom. The drug is obviously contraindicated in pregnancy and when haemorrhoids are already present. Many well-known patent medicines consist essentially of aloes.
The lign-aloes is quite different from the medicinal aloes. The word is used in the Bible (Numb. xxiv. 6), but as the trees usually supposed to be meant by this word are not native in Syria, it has been suggested that the LXX. reading in which the word does not occur is to be preferred. Lign-aloe is a corruption of the Lat. lignum-aloe, a wood, not a resin. Dioscorides refers to it as agallochon, a wood brought from Arabia or India, which was odoriferous but with an astringent and bitter taste. This may be Aquilaria agallochum, a native of East India and China, which supplies the so-called eagle-wood or aloes-wood, which contains much resin and oil.
Aloidae, or Aloadae, i.e. Otus and Ephialtes, in ancient Greek legend, the twin-sons of Poseidon by Iphimedeia, wife of Aloeus. They were celebrated for their extraordinary stature and strength. According to Homer (Od. xi. 305), they made war upon the Olympian gods and endeavoured to pile Pelion upon Ossa in order to storm heaven itself; had they reached the age of manhood, their attempt would have been successful, but Apollo destroyed them before their beards began to grow. In the Iliad (v. 365) Ares is imprisoned by them, but delivered by Hermes. Apollodorus says that they succeeded in piling Pelion upon Ossa. Another story is that they were presumptuous enough to seek Artemis and Hera in marriage, and that Artemis caused them to slay each other unintentionally on the island of Naxos, where they were afterwards worshipped as heroes. In punishment for their offences they were bound back to back with snakes to a pillar in the lower world (Hyginus, Fab. 28). The Aloidae (here connected with 6.Xon), threshing-floor) represent the spirits of the fertile earth and agriculture, conceived of by the Greeks as engaged in combat with the Olympian gods. In contrast to these legends, Pausanias tells us that they were regarded as the first to worship the Muses on Mt. Helicon, while Diodorus represents them as historical personages, princes of Thessaly, who defeated the Thracians in Strongyle, i.e. Naxos, where they made themselves rulers, and subsequently slew one another in a quarrel.
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Classification System: APG II (down to family level)
Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiospermae
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Asparagales
Familia: Asphodelaceae
Genus: Aloe
Species: A. aageodonta - A. abyssicola - A. affinis - A. africana - A. albida - A. albiflora - A. alfredii - A. andringitrensis -
A. antandroi - A. arborescens - A. aristata - A. bakeri - A. ballyi - A. barbertoniae -
A. bellatula - A. brevifolia - A. broomii - A. buettneri - A. calcairophila -
A. camperi - A. capitata - A. ciliaris - A. claviflora - A. comosa - A. compressa - A. cryptopoda - A. delphinensis -
A. deltoideodonta -
A. descoingsii - A. dichotoma - A. elegans - A. ferox -
A. fragilis - A. globuligemma -
A. grandidentata -
A. greatheadii - A. haworthioides -
A. helenae - A. hereroensis - A. heteracantha -
A. isaloensis - A. juvenna - A. khamiesensis -
A. krapohliana - A. laeta -
A. lateritia - A. lineata - A. littoralis - A. longibracteata -
A. longistyla - A. macrocarpa - A. maculata - A. marlothii - A. microstigma - A. myriacantha - A. parallelifolia -
A. parvula - A. percrassa - A. perryi - A. petricola - A. pillansii - A. polyphylla - A. pretoriensis -
A. x
principis - A. rauhii - A. rubroviolacea -
A. x
runcinata - A. schimperi - A. speciosa - A. spicata - A. striata - A. striatula - A. succotrina - A. suzannae - A. tenuior - A. thorncroftii -
A. thraskii - A. transvaalensis -
A. vaombe - A. variegata - A. vera -
A. versicolor - A. vogtsii - A. volkensii - A. vossii - A. wickensii - A. zanzibarica - A. zebrina
Aloe L., also spelt Aloë
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For more multimedia, look at Aloe on Wikimedia Commons. |
   | Flora of North America: ''Aloe'' - Aloe in Flora of North America @ efloras.org |
 | Notes on Aloe Vera - Some Notes on Aloe Vera |
| | this paper - Acute hepatitis induced by an Aloe vera preparatio...[World J Gastroenterol. 2005] - PubMed Result |
| | Aloe - ALOE - A Primer of Materia Medica for practitioners of Homoeopathy by Timothy Field Allen |
| | Aloe (aloe) - Aloe - LECTURES ON HOMOEOPATHIC MATERIA MEDICA by JAMES TYLER KENT, A.M., M.D. |
| | Aloe - botanical.com - A Modern Herbal | Aloes |
| | Aloe Vera Plant Uses and Growing Guide - How to Take Care of Your Aloe Vera Plants! |
| | Aloe vera - Henriette's herbal site has moved |
| | Aloe vera - Sloan-Kettering - Aloe Vera |
| | Alonium (Aloin) - Henriette's herbal site has moved |
| | Aloe Herb - Uses And Side Effects - Aloe Herb - Uses And Side Effects |
| | Aloe FLP - "World of Aloe" - www - Barbadensis Miller, Pflege, Parfüm, Selbständigkeit und Einkommen |
| | Forever Living Products(FLP) - Forever Living Products |
| | Aloe Vera Guide - Aloe Vera Herb - Health Benefits & Uses of Aloe Vera Plants |
| | Benefits of Aloe Vera Juice - Benefits of Aloe Vera Juice |
| | Fleur Aloe '''Information and Products Aloe''' Manufacturing Majoca (Mallorca) - FLEUR ALOE - TDVI, S.L. ALOE VERA PROPIEDADES CURATIVAS |
| | available online - The antidiabetic activity of aloes: preliminary cl...[Horm Res. 1986] - PubMed Result |
| | available online - Effect of aloes on blood glucose levels in normal ...[J Ethnopharmacol. 1990] - PubMed Result |
| | available online - Experimental study of the hypoglycemic effect of s...[Arch Invest Med (Mex). 1991 Jan-Mar] - PubMed Result |
| | available online - The effect of a plants mixture extract on liver gl...[Diabetes Res. 1991] - PubMed Result |
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