Aloe Vera, a portentous plant for its many beneficial properties, owes these benefits to the precious gel found within its leaves.
It can be used both for external use, for the beauty of skin and hair, and for internal use with its strong gastroprotective properties, and also proves to be an excellent Food Supplement due to its strong concentration of important micronutrients.
Let’s find out together everything you need to know about the Aloe Leaves and their internal gel.
ALOE VERA LEAVES: PROPERTIES AND USES
Table of Contents
Aloe Vera, what is it?
Aloe Vera is a monocotyledonous xerophytic perennial succulent plant with a shrubby habit, in the family of the Asphodelaceae, and which can grow up to one meter in height. It is a self-sterile plant, which therefore reproduces solely by cross-pollination. The plant develops from the soil, from a seed or its suckers.
The leaves of Aloe Vera, which internally contain the valuable gel, are arranged in a lancelet-shaped clump and average 40 to 60 cm long. They result spotted during the growth phase while they tend to become green during the adult stage.
It is very important to wait until the Leaves are mature, which can be reached around the
6/7 years of age, before using them as an ingredient for juices or cosmetics, otherwise it will not have fully developed all its active ingredients.
Aloe Vera leaf, what does it look like?
Aloe Vera leaves are made up of 2 structural parts, the green outer skin that together with the mesophyll make up the outermost layers, and its aqueous parenchyma
composed of the famous “Aloe Vera gel“, which in turn has a more liquid component and a more fibrous, pulp-rich component.
From these two structure, two extracts can be obtained, very different from each other in terms of color and properties:
- From the outermost part is obtained the Aloe exudate, rich in Aloin and anthraquinone compounds, commonly used as a bittering agent in SuperAlcohols or as an ingredient in Drugs for laxative use. It gives pause in this regard to the European measure released in 2021 that limits the presence of Aloin at 1 PPM in Dietary Supplements, while
its presence in Drugs and/or Super-Alcoholic Beverages is not restricted.
Aloe Vera leaf, how to use it?
Leaving aside the Aloe Vera exudate, or Aloe Vera Condensed Juice, which contains numerous active ingredients with structure anthraquinonica, antronica and chromonica
, among which the most important and well-known is certainly the anthrone aloin (sometimes called barbaloina or socotrine), commonly used as an ingredient within Drugs, Food Supplements or Alcohol, the most widely used part is its Internal Gel.
We at AloeVonderweid, who have specialized in the cultivation and processing of Aloe Vera for more than 25 years, use the internal gel both in cosmetics with our Soothing Gels and in the nutritional field with our Aloe Juices, notified to the Ministry of Health as Food Supplements.
However, it is very important to know how to handle Aloe Vera gel in the best possible way, as it is very unstable, in order to prevent it from oxidizing or rotting, resulting in the deterioration of its active ingredients.
The gel, freshly extracted from the Leaf, must be used within a limited time frame, or it must be stored and/or stabilized in the proper manner for future use.
What does Aloe Vera Gel contain?
The Aloe Vera Gel, extracted from the central fleshy part(the aqueous parenchyma) of the Leaves, contains numerous components that can be grouped into 3 macro groups:
- Complex Sugars or Glucomannans.: polysaccharides of glucose and mannose, they perform the function of retaining water within the plant and impart moisturizing and gastroprotective properties to the gel. The most active Glucomannan is the Acemannan, particularly concentrated in the Leaves of Aloe Arborescens, much studied for its immune-stimulating properties. In fact, it succeeds, according to some studies, in increasing up to 10 times the activity of macrophages, which are in charge of eliminating toxins and waste from metabolism.
- Anthraquinones: although they are most concentrated in the peel, and to a much lesser extent in the gel, below legal limits, they are compounds responsible for laxative action and impart a bitter taste to the product.
- Micronutrients: In Aloe Vera Gel we find:
– Mineral Salts: Chromium, Iron, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Copper, Selenium, Sodium, Zinc
– Vitamins: Vitamin A (Beta – Carotene), Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid), Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin), Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) and Vitamin E (Tocopherol)
– Enzymes: they mainly have an anti-inflammatory action and promote the digestive process. Among them we can mentionamylase, bradykinase, carboxypeptidase, catalase, cellulase, lipase, protease and transaminase.
– AminoAcids: Aloe contains all 8 of the essential amino acids, useful for many bodily functions, which humans cannot produce on their own and must be supplemented through the diet. These amino acids are: Isoleucine, Methionine, Lysine, Leucine, Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, Threonine, and Valine. Aloe also contains non-essential amino acids such as Arginine, Histidine and Alanine, which are also very important.
– Saponins (cleansing substances endowed with antiseptic, antibacterial and antimicrobial power) and Lignins (substances much loved in Cosmetics that allow Aloe gel to penetrate deep down to the less superficial layers of the Skin)
Benefits of Aloe Vera Gel?
Aloe Vera Gel, rich in active ingredients and nutrients, it is used both in Cosmetics for the production of creams and gels with Soothing properties, moisturizers and against redness, and both in the field of Nutrition in the form of Pure juice for drinking for its nutritious, gastroprotective and laxative properties.
Going more specifically, Aloe Vera Gel has benefits:
- Depurants: is able to detoxify the body of toxins. The saccharides present in the gel, adhere to the walls of the intestine, forming a protective barrier that prevents the absorption of harmful substances.
- Laxatives: succeeds in stimulating the bacterial flora and Promotes waste elimination, improving the absorption of nutrients.
- Immunostimulants: due to the presence of Acemannan, it is able to regulate immune responses to infectious or sensitizing agents.
- Cicatrizants: quality due to the presence of polysaccharides derived from the
mannose, which Stimulate macrophage activity, enhance collagen synthesis, increase cell regeneration.
- Coagulants: it is capable of rapidly repair tissues and membranes, which is why it is used not only on burns but also on wounds, eczema and blisters, to accelerate healing.
- Soothing: offers a immediate relief to mosquito and other insect bites, and also to sunburn.
- Nutrients: Due to the high concentration of Mineral Salts, Vitamins, Enzymes and Amino Acids.
Aloe Vera leaf, where to buy them?
The Aloe Vera Leaves turn out to be rarer and harder to find than Aloe Vera Juice or Gel, products commonly found in Herbalist shops and Pharmacies.
However, thanks to the Internet and Electronic Commerce, it is possible to get in touch and purchase the Aloe Vera leaves from specialized growers.
In order to choose where to buy Aloe Vera Leaves, it is very important to evaluate these 2 aspects:
1. Type of cultivation: the greenhouse cultivation with Potted Plants, easier to develop and maintain, does not allow optimal and vigorous growth of Aloe plants.
and in turn of the optimal development of the Inner Gel. On the other hand, Open-air crops, mainly developed in Southern Italy, allow for optimal growth of the Plant and its Leaves, also proven by scientific studies. We therefore recommend choosing open-air Aloe Vera cultivations.
2. Age of the plant: For the plant to be considered Matures, resulting in the optimal development of its active ingredients, the plant must be at least 6/7 years of age.
The price of Aloe Vera Leaves varies widely, however it is around 9/10 Euro per kilo. At first impression it may seem like a high price, but choosing gel-rich Aloe Leaves will yield a good return.
Preservation of Aloe Vera Leaves:
Aloe Leaves can be stored in the refrigerator, if washed and cleaned first, for a few days without risk of spoilage. To be stored longer instead, even for months, they should be placed in the freezer inside a transparent bag.
Different discussion for Aloe Internal Gel: being very unstable once extracted, if not stored carefully it will risk oxidizing or rotting. It is therefore recommended to either use the freshly extracted gel, or to store it in the freezer preferably inside the classic containers used for ice cubes.
How to cut an Aloe Vera Leaf and extract the Gel?
Properly cutting the Aloe Vera Leaves, in order to extract the inner gel, is not very complex and requires little care. The steps to be taken are:
- Clean the leaves as best as possible, perhaps with a damp sponge
- Remove the thorns from the outer edges
- Peel the leaf from the outer parts so that they are removed (a yellow/transparent gel should remain)
- Pull out the central part and squeeze or blend as needed.
By following these steps well, it is possible to best recover all the molecules of phytotherapeutic interest capable of imparting the desired benefits to the gel.
Uses of Aloe gel:
The Aloe Gel can be used as an ingredient for a variety of products, mainly Cosmetic (Gels or Creams) and Nutritional (Juices or Food Supplements).
For cosmetic use, the Gel can be used as a Remedy for the Burns caused by the sun, such as
Hair Wrap to make it soft and shiny, to Acne or problems Dermatological thanks to its disinflammatory and healing properties, for the Inflamed Gingers, for the Insect Bites and also as a Natural Mouthwash.
For Nutritional use, as well as for Internal use, Aloe Vera Gel (also called Juice in this case) is very useful for its nourishing and remineralizing (given the innumerable amount of micronutrients present), depurative and gastroprotective (thanks to the action of certain compounds, including Acemannan ).
How to make Aloe Vera to Drink and when to drink it?
To make your own Aloe Vera Juice at home, all you need to do is purchase some
Ripe Aloe Vera Leaves, extract the Inner Gel and blend it in a blender to “break it down” and obtain a more liquid substance.
At this point, if you do not like its taste, you can then add other Fruit Juices to it to make it tastier.
The best and most recommended time to drink Aloe is definitely before meals, preferably on an empty stomach.
Types of Aloe Juices:
On the shelves of Pharmacies and Herbalists, and also on the Internet, one can find thousands of Aloe Juices supplied by a variety of brands.
However, care must be taken when choosing the best Aloe Vera Juice, as most “famous,” or at least more visible, Aloe Juices contain Aloe Gel from non-EU (often South America) sources.
The fact of consuming an Extra – EU raw material is not a problem in itself, except for the fact that most of the time it is imported in the form of Concentrate or even in the form of Powder (up to 1X200), which is then reworked To be processed into Aloe Juice.
All these industrial steps tend to spoil the raw material and lose some of its active and beneficial ingredients.
It is therefore important to select the Aloe Vera Juice that has undergone as little treatment as possible.
