Abstract
Aloe vera has been traditionally used to treat skin injuries (burns, cuts, insect bites, and eczemas) and digestive problems because its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and wound healing properties. Research on this medicinal plant has been aimed at validating traditional uses and deepening the mechanism of action, identifying the compounds responsible for these activities. The most investigated active compounds are aloe-emodin, aloin, aloesin, emodin, and acemannan. Likewise, new actions have been investigated for Aloe vera and its active compounds. This review provides an overview of current pharmacological studies (in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials), written in English during the last six years (2014–2019). In particular, new pharmacological data research has shown that most studies refer to anti-cancer action, skin and digestive protective activity, and antimicrobial properties. Most recent works are in vitro and in vivo. Clinical trials have been conducted just with Aloe vera, but not with isolated compounds; therefore, it would be interesting to study the clinical effect of relevant metabolites in different human conditions and pathologies. The promising results of these studies in basic research encourage a greater number of clinical trials to test the clinical application of Aloe vera and its main compounds, particularly on bone protection, cancer, and diabetes.
Highlights
Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller, family Xanthorrhoeaceae) is a perennial green herb with bright yellow tubular flowers that is extensively distributed in hot and dry areas of North Africa, the MiddleEast of Asia, the Southern Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands
In addition to isolated compounds, Ahluwalia et al [64] evaluated the activity of AVH200®, a standardized Aloe vera extract which contains alin and acemannan on the activation, proliferation, and cytokine secretion of human blood T cells obtained from healthy individuals aged 18–60, and they found that it decreased CD25 and CD3 expression on CD3(+) T cells
This study showed that those Aloe vera from colder climatic regions possessed the highest antiplasmodial activity which was related to the highest aloin and aloe-emodin content
Summary
Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller, family Xanthorrhoeaceae) is a perennial green herb with bright yellow tubular flowers that is extensively distributed in hot and dry areas of North Africa, the Middle. The colorless mucilaginous gel from Aloe vera leaves has been extensively used with pharmacological and cosmetic applications. We summarize an update of the pharmacological activities (in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials) of Aloe vera. This review is structured into different activities, which include in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials, published in the last six years.
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