aloe
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aloe


aloesuccotrina
scientificclassification
kingdom:plantae

division:magnoliophyta

class:liliopsida

order:asparagales

family:asphodelaceae

genus:aloe
l.

species
seespecies

forotheruses,seealoe(disambiguation).
aloe,alsowrittenaloë,isagenuscontainingaboutfourhundredspeciesoffloweringsucculentplants.

thegenusisnativetoafricaandiscommoninsouthafrica'scapeprovinceandthemountainsoftropicalafrica,andneighbouringareassuchasmadagascar,thearabianpeninsulaandtheislandsoffafrica.


theapgiisystem(2003)placedthegenusinthefamilyasphodelaceae.inthepastithasalsobeenassignedtofamiliesaloaceaeandliliaceae.membersofthecloselyalliedgeneragasteria,haworthiaandkniphofiawhichhaveasimilarmodeofgrowth,arealsopopularlyknownasaloes.notethattheplantsometimescalled"americanaloe"(agaveamericana),belongstoagavaceae,adifferentfamily.

mostaloeshavearosetteoflarge,thick,fleshyleaves.theleavesareoftenlance-shapedwithasharpapexandaspinymargin.aloeflowersaretubular,frequentlyyellow,orangeorredandareborneondenselyclustered,simpleorbranchedleaflessstems.

manyspeciesofaloeareseeminglystemless,withtherosettegrowingdirectlyatgroundlevel;othervarietiesmayhaveabranchedorun-branchedstemfromwhichthefleshyleavesspring.theyvaryincolourfromgreytobrightgreenandaresometimesstripedormottled.

contents[hide]
1uses
1.1externaluses
1.2internaluses
1.3chemicalpropertiesofaloin
2references
3heraldry
4species
5references
6links
7externallinks
8images



[edit]uses
informationinthisarticleorsectionhasnotbeenverifiedagainstsourcesandmaynotbereliable.
pleasecheckforinaccuraciesandmodifyasneeded,citingthesourcesagainstwhichitwaschecked.
aloespeciesarefrequentlycultivatedasornamentalplantsbothingardensandinpots.manyaloespeciesarehighlydecorativeandarevaluedbycollectorsofsucculents.somespecies,inparticularaloeveraarepurportedtohavemedicinalproperties.

otheruseofaloesincludetheirroleinalternativemedicines(seeherbalism)andinhomefirstaid.boththetranslucentinnerpulpaswellastheresinousyellowexudatefromwoundingthealoeplantisusedexternallytorelieveskindiscomfortsandinternallyasalaxative.todate,someresearchhasshownthataloeveraproducespositivemedicinalbenefitsforhealingdamagedskin.conversely,otherresearchsuggestsaloeveracannegativelyeffecthealing(voglerandernst,1999).

somealoespecieshavealsobeenusedforhumanconsumption.forexample,drinksmadefromorcontainingchunksofaloepulparepopularinasiaascommercialbeveragesandasateaadditive;thisisnotablytrueinkorea.


[edit]externaluses
aloeisusedexternallytotreatanumberofskinirritations.ithasantisepticandantibioticpropertieswhichmakeithighlyvaluableintreatingcutsandabrasions.ithasalsobeencommonlyusedtotreatfirstandseconddegreeburns,aswellassunburnsandpoisonoak,poisonivy,andpoisonsumacinfections,andeczema.itcanalsobeusedasahairstylinggelandworksespeciallywellforcurlyorfuzzyhair.


[edit]internaluses

aloevossiialoecontainsanumberofmedicinalsubstancesusedasapurgative.themedicinalsubstanceisproducedfromvariousspeciesofaloe,suchasa.vera,a.vulgaris,a.socotrina,a.chinensis,anda.perryi.severalkindsofaloesarecommerciallyavailable:barbadoes,socotrine,hepatic,indian,andcapealoes.barbadoesandsocotrinearethevarietiesmostcommonlyusedforcurativepurposes[citationneeded].

aloesaretheexpressedjuiceoftheleavesoftheplant.whentheleavesarecut,thejuicethatflowsoutiscollectedandevaporated.afterthejuicehasbeenremoved,theleavesaresometimesboiledtoyieldaninferiorkindofaloes.thejuiceoftheleavesofcertainspecies,e.g.aloevenenosa,ispoisonous.

therehavebeenveryfewproperlyconductedstudiesaboutpossiblebenefitsofaloegeltakeninternally.onestudyfoundimprovedwoundhealinginmice.anotherfoundapositiveeffectofloweringriskfactorsinpatientswithheartdisease.someresearchhasshowndecreasingfastingbloodsugarindiabeticanimalsgivenaloe[1].noneofthesestudiescanbeconsideredtobedefinitive,andtherearemanyfalseadvertisingclaimsforaloe.

aloehasbeenmarketedasaremedyforcoughs,wounds,ulcers,gastritis,diabetes,cancer,headaches,arthritis,immune-systemdeficiencies,andmanyotherconditionswhentakeninternally.however,theseusesareunsubstantiated;theonlysubstantiatedinternaluseisasalaxative.furthermore,thereisevidenceofpotentialadversesideeffects(forexample,acutehepatitis[1]).althoughsomestudiessuggestthatcertaincomponentsofaloesuchasaloe-emodinhavegenotoxicactivity,humanclinicaltrialsandrodentcarcinogenicitystudiesdonotsubstantiateagenotoxicrisktohumanswhenaloeproductsareconsumedasdirectedbrusickd,mengsu(1997)."assessmentofthegenotoxicriskfromlaxativesennaproducts".environmolmutagen29(1):1-9.pmid9020301..

on9may2002,theu.s.foodanddrugadministrationissuedafinalrulebanningtheuseofaloeandcascarasagradaaslaxativeingredientsinover-the-counterdrugproducts[2].


[edit]chemicalpropertiesofaloin

splitaloeaccordingtow.a.shenstone,twoclassesofaloinsaretoberecognized:(1)nataloins,whichyieldpicricandoxalicacidswithnitricacid,anddonotgivearedcolorationwithnitricacid;and(2)barbaloins,whichyieldaloeticacid(c7h2n3o5),chrysammicacid(c7h2n2o6),picricandoxalicacidswithnitricacid,beingreddenedbytheacid.thissecondgroupmaybedividedintoa-barbaloins,obtainedfrombarbadoesaloes,andreddenedinthecold,andb-barbaloins,obtainedfromsocotrineandzanzibaraloes,reddenedbyordinarynitricacidonlywhenwarmedorbyfumingacidinthecold.nataloin(2c17h13o7·h2o)formsbrightyellowscales.barbaloin(c17h18o7)formsyellowprismaticcrystals.aloesalsocontainatraceofvolatileoil,towhichitsodourisdue.[citationneeded]

inhomeopathicmedicinealoeisusedforhemorrhoids[2].


[edit]references
^acutehepatitisinducedbyanaloeverapreparation:acasereport
^moneygill,roger(1993).desktopguidetokeynotesandcomfirmatorysymptoms.grassvalley,ca:hahnemannclinicpublishing.

[edit]heraldry
thealoeplant(a.rubrolutea)occursasachargeinheraldry,suchasinthecivicheraldryofnamibia[3]


[edit]species
therearearound400speciesinthegenusaloe.forafulllist,seelistofspeciesofgenusaloe.speciesinclude:

aloearborescens-aloearborescensmiller,usedinhealthcare
aloearistata-torchplant,lacealoe
aloedichotoma-quivertreeorkokerboom
aloenyeriensis
aloevariegata-partridge-breastedaloe,tigeraloe
aloeverabarbadosaloe,commonaloe,yellowaloe,medicinalaloe.thisisthevarietyusedmedicinally.
aloewildii

[edit]references
^acutehepatitisinducedbyanaloeverapreparation:acasereport
^moneygill,roger(1993).desktopguidetokeynotesandcomfirmatorysymptoms.grassvalley,ca:hahnemannclinicpublishing.
schmidtjm,greenspoonjs(1991)aloeveradermalwoundgelisassociatedwithadelayinwoundhealing.obstetgynecol1:115-117.
voglerbk,ernste(1999)aloevera:asystematicreviewofitsclinicaleffectivenessbritishjournalofgeneralpractice49:823-828.
internationalaloesciencecouncil:http://www.iasc.org/aloel
universityofmarylandmedicalcenter:http://www.umm.edu/altmed/consherbs/aloechl
craig,winston.theall-purposegel.vibrantlifejuly2001.
farrar,maureenmeyers.skindeep.betternutritionjuly2005.
britishjournalofgeneralpractice,october1999

[edit]links
listofsouthernafricanindigenoustrees


[edit]externallinks
wikimediacommonshasmediarelatedto:
aloefloraofnorthamerica:aloe

[edit]images

aloearborescens

aloearistata

aloedichotoma

aloehereroensis

aloeparvula

aloesaponaria

aloesaponariaflower

aloestriatula

retrievedfrom"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/aloe"
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