Many of the health benefits associated with Aloe vera have been attributed to the polysaccharides contained in the gel of the leaves. These biological activities include promotion of wound healing, antifungal activity, hypoglycemic or antidiabetic effects antiinflammatory, anticancer, immunomodulatory and gastroprotective properties. While the known biological activities of A. vera will be briefly discussed, it is the aim of this review to further highlight recently discovered effects and applications of the leaf gel. These effects include the potential of whole leaf or inner fillet gel liquid preparations of A. vera to enhance the intestinal absorption and bioavailability of co-administered compounds as well as enhancement of skin permeation. In addition, important pharmaceutical applications such as the use of the dried A. vera gel powder as an excipient in sustained release pharmaceutical dosage forms will be outlined.

/pdf/composition-and-applications-of-aloe-vera-leaf-gel-31isofxjat.pdf

Composition and Applications of Aloe vera Leaf Gel

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/1017220.pdf

Evaluation of biological properties and clinical effectiveness of Aloe vera: A systematic review.

The war on multidrug resistance (MDR) has resulted in the greatest loss to the world’s economy. Antibiotics, the bedrock, and wonder drug of the 20th century have played a central role in treating infectious diseases. However, the inappropriate, irregular, and irrational uses of antibiotics have resulted in the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. This has resulted in an increased interest in medicinal plants since 30–50% of current pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals are plant-derived. The question we address in this review is whether plants, which produce a rich diversity of secondary metabolites, may provide novel antibiotics to tackle MDR microbes and novel chemosensitizers to reclaim currently used antibiotics that have been rendered ineffective by the MDR microbes. Plants synthesize secondary metabolites and phytochemicals and have great potential to act as therapeutics. The main focus of this mini-review is to highlight the potential benefits of plant derived multiple compounds and the importance of phytochemicals for the development of biocompatible therapeutics. In addition, this review focuses on the diverse effects and efficacy of herbal compounds in controlling the development of MDR in microbes and hopes to inspire research into unexplored plants with a view to identify novel antibiotics for global health benefits.

https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/9/11/258/pdf

A Comprehensive Review on Medicinal Plants as Antimicrobial Therapeutics: Potential Avenues of Biocompatible Drug Discovery.

Burn injury is associated with a high incidence of death and disability; yet its management remains problematic and costly. We conducted this clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of aloe vera cream for partial thickness burn wounds and compare its results with those of silver sulfadiazine (SSD). Thirty patients with similar types of second-degree burns at two sites on different parts of the body were included in this study. Each patient had one burn treated with topical SSD and one treated with aloe cream, randomly. The rate of re-epithelialization and healing of the partial thickness burns was significantly faster in the site treated with aloe than in the site treated with SSD (15.9 ± 2 vs 18.73 ± 2.65 days, respectively; P < 0.0001). The sites treated with aloe were completely healed in less than 16 days vs 19 days for the sites treated with SSD. These results clearly demonstrated the greater efficacy of aloe cream over SSD cream for treating second-degree burns.

Aloe versus silver sulfadiazine creams for second-degree burns: A randomized controlled study

Aloe vera, also referred as Aloe barbadensis Miller, is a succulent plant widely used for biomedical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. Aloe vera has been used for thousands of years. However, recent significant advances have been made in the development of aloe vera for tissue engineering applications. Aloe vera has received considerable attention in tissue engineering due to its biodegradability, biocompatibility, and low toxicity properties. Aloe vera has been reported to have many biologically active components. The bioactive components of aloe vera have effective antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-modulatory effects that promote both tissue regeneration and growth. The aloe vera plant, its bioactive components, extraction and processing, and tissue engineering prospects are reviewed in this article. The use of aloe vera as tissue engineering scaffolds, gels, and films is discussed, with a special focus on electrospun nanofibers.

Mohamad R. Taravati

Papers

Screening methods used to determine the anti-microbial properties of Aloe vera inner gel.