Aloë Vera
Wat is aloë vera ?
Een goede gezondheid
staat, meer dan ooit tevoren, bij veel mensen hoog op de prioriteitenlijst. Mensen zijn
kritischer geworden, en willen eigen keuzes maken om het leven in een gewenste richting te
sturen. De groeiende belangstelling voor natuurgeneeswijzen en daarmee o.a. voor Aloë
Vera, past bij velen in dat beeld.
De gelei uit de Aloë
plant versnelt het genezingsproces van brandwonden, ontstekingen en blaren. Maar de plant
blijkt nog meer gezonde eigenschappen te hebben. Zo verbetert Aloë Vera het
immuunsysteem, helpt het bij spijsverteringsproblemen, en is vooral zeer effectief bij
huidproblemen.
Een eeuwenoud recept
Zoals talloze andere
planten, is ook Aloë Vera al eeuwen bekend en beschreven vanwege haar medicinale werking.
Al voor de jaartelling
werd het gele sap en de kleurloze geleiachtige substantie uit de dikke vlezige bladeren
gewonnen. De Egyptenaren beschreven de heilzame werking van Aloë op papyrusrollen, en de
oude Grieken verrijkten hun recepten met Aloë Vera. Ze gebruikten het o.a. als
laxeermiddel, voor wondverzorging, huidirritaties, het stelpen van bloedingen en als basis
voor cosmeticaproducten. Er wordt gezegd dat Cleopatra er haar huid mee verzorgde, en
Alexander de Grote heeft omstreeks 333 voor Christus het eiland Socotra in de Indische
Oceaan veroverd, vanwege de enorme voorraden Aloë die daar groeide. Hij liet de wonden
van zijn soldaten met Aloë behandelen.
Een harmonieus geheel
Aloë Vera kan
gerangschikt worden onder de kruidengeneeskunde, ook wel fytotherapie genoemd. De
achterliggende gedachte is dat alle bestanddelen in een medicinale plant, tezamen een
werkzaam effect hebben. Aloë Vera bevat ongeveer 75 werkzame stoffen, zoals aminozuren,
mineralen, vitaminen, enzymen en sporenelementen, die samen verantwoordelijk zijn voor de
werking. Kenmerken van Aloë Vera zijn: ontgiftend, ontstekingsremmend, d.w.z.:
antisceptisch en antiviraal: dood bacteriën, schimmels en virussen, aloë vera is
celvernieuwend, dringt door de huidlagen heen, is kalmerend, pijnstillend, jeukstillend,
bloedstelpend en veilig voor mens en dier. Bovendien bevat aloë vera kankerremmende
eigenschappen.
De werking van Aloë
Vera
Over de werking van Aloë
Vera zijn vele (medische) publicaties verschenen. Een recente publicatie is het boek ‘De
Kracht Van Aloë Vera - de werking en de bewijzen’, van de Engelse arts Dr. Peter
Atherton. Dit boek is ontstaan uit een onderzoek dat Dr. Atherton een jaar lang deed aan
de Universiteit van Oxford. In dit boek wordt exact uitgelegd hoe, waar en waarom Aloë
Vera werkt. De werking wordt verklaard aan de hand van de bestanddelen van een Aloë blad,
en de chemische eigenschappen van deze bestanddelen. Beschreven wordt dat het in het
menselijk lichaam vooral actief is op o.a. de huid en de slijmvliezen, en op het
immuunsysteem. Niet alleen de huid verdedigt ons tegen schadelijke stoffen van buitenaf,
maar ook de binnenzijde dient beschermd te worden. Overal waar lichaamsholten in
verbinding staan met de buitenlucht, bestaat het oppervlak uit slijmvlies. De mondholte is
ermee bekleed, maar ook de slokdarm, de maag en de dunne- en dikke darm. Zo ook de
neusholtes, de luchtpijp en de longen met al haar vertakkingen. Ditzelfde geldt voor oog-
en oorholtes, de blaas, pisbuis, vagina en baarmoeder.
Het slijmvlies neemt, net
als de huid, gemakkelijk Aloë Vera in zich op. Vandaar dat het verlichting geeft bij
aandoeningen zoals buikkramp, keel- en tandvleesontsteking. Aloë Vera is werkzaam bij
huidaandoeningen zoals eczeem, acne, psoriasis, rimpeltjes, luieruitslag en brand- en
snijwondjes.
Drinkbare Aloë Vera Gel
…
is veilig voor jong en
oud. Het verhoogt de weerstand tegen verkoudheid en andere virale-, microbiële- en
schimmelinfecties.
Het houdt de huid jong en
gezond. Aloë Vera gel kan nooit een geneesmiddel vervangen, evenmin als veel andere
natuurproducten, maar het kan er wél een waardevolle aanvulling op zijn.
Aloë Vera producten
worden door miljoenen mensen in de gehele wereld gebruikt. Zowel jonge als oudere mensen,
nemen het vooral om energieker te zijn en om beter te functioneren. Bij beide categorieën
wordt het ook gebruikt voor verhoging van de weerstand, en het staat er om bekend dat het
veel ouderdomskwaaltjes verlicht. Kortom; pure Aloë Vera producten kunnen een positieve
bijdrage leveren, en zijn een nuttige aanvulling op uw huisapotheek.
Mochten er naar
aanleiding van dit artikel vragen zijn, dan kunt u contact opnemen met:
N. van der Horst
Tel: 06-47974434
E-mail: info@laveraconsult.nl
www.laveraconsult.myflpbiz.com
Wat zeggen de mensen die Aloe Vera
gebruiken?
http://www.aloe-info.nl/testimonials.htm
Management of psoriasis with Aloe vera
extract in a hydrophilic cream: a placebo-controlled, double-blind study.Syed TA, Ahmad
SA, Holt AH, Ahmad SA, Ahmad SH, Afzal M. Department of Clinical Physiology, Malmo
University Hospital, Sweden.
The purpose of this double-blind,
placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and tolerability of topical
Aloe vera extract 0.5% in a hydrophilic cream to cure patients with psoriasis vulgaris.
Sixty patients (36M/24F) aged 18-50 years (mean 25.6) with slight to moderate chronic
plaque-type psoriasis and PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) scores between 4.8 and
16.7 (mean 9.3) were enrolled and randomized to two parallel groups.
The mean duration of the disease prior to
enrollment was 8.5 years (range 1-21). Patients were provided with a precoded 100g tube,
placebo or active (with 0.5% Aloe vera extract), and they self-administered trial
medication topically (without occlusion) at home 3 times daily for 5 consecutive days per
week (maximum 4 weeks active treatment). Patients were examined on a weekly basis and
those showing a progressive reduction of lesions, desquamation followed by decreased
erythema, infiltration and lowered PASI score were considered healed.
The study was scheduled for 16 weeks with
12 months of follow-up on a monthly basis. The treatment was well tolerated by all the
patients, with no adverse drug-related symptoms and no dropouts. By the end of the study, the
Aloe vera extract cream had cured 25/30 patients (83.3%) compared to the placebo
cure rate of 2/30 (6.6%) (P < 0.001) resulting in significant clearing of the psoriatic
plaques (328/396 (82.8%) vs placebo 28/366 (7.7%), P < 0.001) and a decreased PASI
score to a mean of 2.2.
The findings of this study suggest that
topically applied Aloe vera extract 0.5% in a hydrophilic cream is more effective than
placebo, and has not shown toxic or any other objective side-effects. Therefore, the
regimen can be considered a safe and alternative treatment to cure patients suffering from
psoriasis.
PMID: 8765459
Trop Med Int Health. 1996 Aug;1(4):505-9
Effect of Aloe vera preparations
on the human bioavailability of vitamins C and E.
Vinson JA, Al Kharrat H, Andreoli L.
Department of Chemistry, University of
Scranton, Scranton, PA, 18510 4626, USA. vinson@scranton.edu
There are no literature references
describing the effect of consumption of Aloe vera liquid preparations on the absorption of
water- or fat-soluble vitamins. There is a very large population worldwide which consume
vitamins and many people also consume Aloe. Thus we report the effect of Aloe on the human
absorption of vitamins C and E, the most popular vitamin supplements. The plasma
bioavailability of vitamins C and E were determined in normal fasting subjects, with eight
subjects for vitamin C and ten subjects for vitamin E. In a random crossover design, the
subjects consumed either 500 mg of ascorbic acid or 420 mg of vitamin E acetate alone
(control), or combined with 2 oz of two different Aloe preparations (a whole leaf extract,
or an inner fillet gel). Blood was collected periodically up to 24 h after consumption.
Plasma was analyzed for ascorbate and tocopherol by-HPLC with UV detection. There was no
significant difference in the areas under the plasma ascorbate-time curves among the
groups sincerely due to large differences within the groups. For comparative purposes the
control area was 100%. The Aloe Gel area was 304%, and Aloe Whole Leaf 80%.
Only Aloe Gel caused a significant
increase in plasma ascorbate after 8 and 24 h. For vitamin E, the results for the relative
areas were control 100%, Gel 369%, and Leaf (198%). Only the Aloes produced a significant
increase in plasma tocopherol after 6 and 8 h. Both Aloes were significantly different
from the control after 8 h. Aloe Gel was significantly different from the baseline after
24 h. The Aloes slowed down the absorption of both vitamins with maximum concentrations
2-4 h later than the control. There was no difference between the two types of Aloe. The results indicate that the Aloes
improve the absorption of both vitamins C and E. The absorption is slower and the vitamins last longer in the
plasma with the Aloes. Aloe is the only known supplement to increase the absorption of
both of these vitamins and should be considered as a complement to them.
Evaluation of aloe vera gel
gloves in the treatment of dry skin associated with occupational exposure.
West DP, Zhu YF.
Department of Dermatology, Northwestern
University, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill 60611-2923, USA.
OBJECTIVE: An examination glove that
delivers aloe vera (AV) gel to the gloved hand was studied in 30 adult females with
bilateral occupational dry skin with or without irritant contact dermatitis (with or
without erythema, fissures, and excoriations).
METHODS: All participants were factory
assembly-line workers with repeated superficial skin trauma who attributed their dry,
irritated, emollient-dependent skin to a common cause (occupational exposure).
Participants were sequentially enrolled (after written informed consent, n = 29 evaluable
participants) into an open, contralateral comparison study to evaluate efficacy of AV
glove use 8 h/day to one hand versus no use to the opposite hand for 30 days, followed by
30 days rest, followed by 10 days of repeated use. Participant's dorsal hands were
documented by standardized photos at baseline, during, and at the end of study.
RESULTS: Unblinded investigator baseline
assessment rated dry skin as mild to moderate (n = 27), or moderate to severe (n = 2).
Mean time to noticeable improvement for the AV glove hand was 3.5 days (range: 2-6 days)
whereas marked improvement was 10.4 days (range: 7-17 days) for the AV glove hand. No
improvement was detected for nonglove hands.Blinded photo assessment was rated
independently by dermatology research staff. End-of-study mean global assessment of AV
glove hands versus nonglove hands was 1.3 for AV glove hand (0 = no change, 1 = good
[10%-89% global improvement], 2 = marked improvement [90%-100% global improvement]) versus
0 for nonglove hand (P <.0001). Mean global end-of-study assessments by the
participants = 2.0 for AV glove hand versus 0 for nonglove hand.
CONCLUSION: Dry-coated AV gloves that
provide for gradual delivery of AV gel to skin produced a uniformly positive outcome of
improved skin integrity, decreased appearance of fine wrinkling, and decreased erythema in
the management of occupational dry skin and irritant contact dermatitis.
Randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled trial of oral aloe vera gel for active ulcerative colitis.
Langmead L, Feakins RM, Goldthorpe S,
Holt H, Tsironi E, De Silva A, Jewell DP, Rampton DS.
Centre for Gastroenterology, Institute of
Cellular and Molecular Science, Barts and The London, Queen Mary School of Medicine and
Dentistry, London, UK.
BACKGROUND: The herbal preparation, aloe
vera, has been claimed to have anti-inflammatory effects and, despite a lack of evidence
of its therapeutic efficacy, is widely used by patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
AIM: To perform a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the efficacy and
safety of aloe vera gel for the treatment of mildly to moderately active ulcerative
colitis. METHODS: Forty-four evaluable hospital out-patients were randomly given oral aloe
vera gel or placebo, 100 mL twice daily for 4 weeks, in a 2 : 1 ratio. The primary outcome
measures were clinical remission (Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index </= 2),
sigmoidoscopic remission (Baron score </= 1) and histological remission (Saverymuttu
score </= 1). Secondary outcome measures included changes in the Simple Clinical
Colitis Activity Index (improvement was defined as a decrease of >/= 3 points; response
was defined as remission or improvement), Baron score, histology score, haemoglobin,
platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and albumin.
RESULTS: Clinical remission, improvement
and response occurred in nine (30%), 11 (37%) and 14 (47%), respectively, of 30 patients
given aloe vera, compared with one (7%) [P = 0.09; odds ratio, 5.6 (0.6-49)], one (7%) [P
= 0.06; odds ratio, 7.5 (0.9-66)] and two (14%) [P < 0.05; odds ratio, 5.3 (1.0-27)],
respectively, of 14 patients taking placebo. The Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index
and histological scores decreased significantly during treatment with aloe vera (P = 0.01
and P = 0.03, respectively), but not with placebo. Sigmoidoscopic scores and laboratory
variables showed no significant differences between aloe vera and placebo. Adverse events
were minor and similar in both groups of patients.
CONCLUSION: Oral aloe vera taken for 4
weeks produced a clinical response more often than placebo; it also reduced the
histological disease activity and appeared to be safe. Further evaluation of the
therapeutic potential of aloe vera gel in inflammatory bowel disease is needed.
Management of psoriasis with Aloe
vera extract in a hydrophilic cream: a placebo-controlled, double-blind study.
Syed TA, Ahmad SA, Holt AH, Ahmad SA,
Ahmad SH, Afzal M.
Department of Clinical Physiology, Malmo
University Hospital, Sweden.
The purpose of this double-blind,
placebo-controlled study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and tolerability of topical
Aloe vera extract 0.5% in a hydrophilic cream to cure patients with psoriasis vulgaris.
Sixty patients (36M/24F) aged 18-50 years (mean 25.6) with slight to moderate chronic
plaque-type psoriasis and PASI (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index) scores between 4.8 and
16.7 (mean 9.3) were enrolled and randomized to two parallel groups. The mean duration of
the disease prior to enrollment was 8.5 years (range 1-21). Patients were provided with a
precoded 100g tube, placebo or active (with 0.5% Aloe vera extract), and they
self-administered trial medication topically (without occlusion) at home 3 times daily for
5 consecutive days per week (maximum 4 weeks active treatment). Patients were examined on
a weekly basis and those showing a progressive reduction of lesions, desquamation followed
by decreased erythema, infiltration and lowered PASI score were considered healed. The
study was scheduled for 16 weeks with 12 months of follow-up on a monthly basis.
The treatment was well tolerated by all
the patients, with no adverse drug-related symptoms and no dropouts. By the end of the
study, the Aloe vera extract cream had cured 25/30 patients (83.3%) compared to the
placebo cure rate of 2/30 (6.6%) (P < 0.001) resulting in significant clearing of the
psoriatic plaques (328/396 (82.8%) vs placebo 28/366 (7.7%), P < 0.001) and a decreased
PASI score to a mean of 2.2. The findings of this study suggest that topically applied
Aloe vera extract 0.5% in a hydrophilic cream is more effective than placebo, and has not
shown toxic or any other objective side-effects.
Therefore, the regimen can be considered
a safe and alternative treatment to cure patients suffering from psoriasis.
A double-blind trial of a
celandin, aloevera and psyllium laxative preparation in adult patients with constipation.
Odes HS, Madar Z.
Intestinal Diseases Unit, Soroka Medical
Center, Beer Sheva, Israel.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the
effect of a novel laxative preparation, composed of celandin, aloevera and psyllium in
patients with chronic constipation. Thirty-five men and women were randomized to receive
capsules containing celandin-aloevera-psyllium, or placebo, in a double-blind trial
lasting 28 days. Symptoms in the last 2 weeks of the treatment period were compared to
those in the 14-day pre-trial basal period. In the celandin, aloevera and psyllium group,
bowel movements became more frequent, the stools were softer and laxative dependence was
reduced. In the placebo group, all these parameters were unchanged. Abdominal pain was not
reduced in either group. The results of this study show that the preparation is an
effective laxative in the treatment of constipation.
