Aloe Vera - The desert lily as a miracle cure?

What is aloe vera?

The real aloe (Latin Vera - real) is a cactus-like Affodillgewächs, and thus one of the lily family. It grows in many regions of Europe, is very easy to care for and can therefore also be used as a decorative plant. It has been known for decades, even the ancient Egyptians swore by the "blood" of the desert lily. [1]

What makes her such a miracle cure?

Aloe vera is used to gain two things, the juice and the gel. For a long time the juice was used against constipation. It emerges after cutting the leaves, and is yellowish in color. This color gives him its main ingredients, the anthranoids and the aloin. Anthranoids are suspected to have carcinogenic effects. Due to its toxicity, the juice has now been replaced by other means, but what interests medicine and cosmetics is the gel. The aloe vera gel is called the water storage tissue consisting of polysaccharides, with D-glucose and D-mannose. It consists of 99% water, the rest are vitamins, minerals, amino acids, salicylic acid and enzymes.^[2]

What is the gel suppose to do?

The gel is said to have wound healing, anti-inflammatory and cooling effects. Cleopatra swore by the "blood" of aloe, and Christopher Columbus always had an aloe vera ointment on his digressions. It is processed for external and internal use, and ranges from creams to ointments to juices. There are preparations of aloe in ointments and creams for the treatment of sunburn, dermatitis and psoriasis.^[3]

Is the desert lily really such a miracle cure?

Alles in allem, nein. Das Aloe-Vera-Gel weist einige interessante Wirkungsweisen und Anwendungen auf, jedoch ergeben Studien und Placebotests keine eindeutigen Ergebnisse. Zudem sind mit den über 200 Inhaltsstoffen nur schwer Aussagen zu treffen, welche wenigen diese Stoffe überhaupt eine Wirkung erzielen. Aussagen und Erfahrungsberichte gehen zu weit auseinander um ein klares Statement zu geben. Fakt ist, Aloe-Vera-Gel kann bei einigen Beschwerden helfen, es ist aber nicht immer so wirksam wie angepriesen. Lediglich die Einnahme von Saft oder Püree der Aloe Vera in welchem teile der Blätter enthalten sind sollten gemieden werden, da diese große Mengen an Anthranoiden enthalten.^[4]

Quellen und Infos:

Wikipedia^[1][2]

Arte – Xenius about Aloe Vera^[3][4]