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ALOE VERA: A REVIEW OF ITS CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS

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Aloe vera has been used for over five thousand years. Throughout history, it has been considered a magical plant, almost a panacea, capable of remedying many of mankind’s ailments. It is only in the last 20 years, after a series of proven research, that we can highlight the characteristics of this plant, whose secrets have been hidden behind a blanket of botanical and pharmacological puzzles that only today begin to yield some answers. The Aloe vera plant and its clinical uses are briefly reviewed in this article.
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... The Egyptians called Aloe "the plant of immortality." Today, the Aloe vera plant has been used for various purposes in dermatology, National Institutes of Health Suggests [6] . Aloe vera grows in a clump. ...
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Introduction: Intravenous infusion is the organization of liquid or medicine intravenously in intense conditions for impact. Phlebitis is one of the foremost common complications of intravenous treatment. Around 80% of hospitalized patients are given intravenous infusion therapy at a point admit their remain in a advanced medical facility. Aloe Vera may be a best known plant utilized for treating skin wounds, but it has few other uses that could potentially benefit health. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Aloe Vera gel application among patients with IV phlebitis. Methods: Quasi Experimental study was conducted among 60 hospitalized patients who developed intravenous phlebitis. Purposive sampling technique was used and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups that met the inclusion criteria. On the first day, a VIP score was used to determine the degree of phlebitis, and then the Aloe Vera gel was applied twice a day for three days in the experimental group and once a day in the control group. On the fourth day, both groups received post-test evaluations using the same scale. Results: The mean post test IV phlebitis score (3.07± 2.477) which was less than the mean pre-test score (9.40 ± 2.673) with a mean difference of 6.33 & t value ( t=8.250 at df = 29) was statistically significant at the p< 0.05 level in the experimental group. In the experimental group, a significant association was found between educational qualification and previous history of any chronic illness in patients with a pre-test level of IV phlebitis (p 0.05). Conclusion: It is concluded that Aloe Vera gel was effective in the treatment of intravenous phlebitis among patients receiving intravenous therapy and can be recommended for use in grade I and II phlebitis.
... Aloe vera itself has a unique feature, namely its ability to survive in dry areas during the dry season, by closing its stomata tightly. Thus this plant is very suitable to be cultivated in Indonesia (Malik and Zarnigar, 2013). Parthasarathy et al. (2017) conducted a research related to the qualitative test of phytochemical compounds in Aloe vera extract. ...
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... As examples, among the ingredients of more common use are: Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), utilized for its antioxidant properties in the pigment-lightening formulations together with alpha lipoic acid, arbutin and Kojic acid [42]; aloe vera, which finds applications for its antibacterial, antiviral and immune modulating effectiveness [43]; grape seed oil, used as anti-aging agent thanks to its antioxidant and healing properties [44]; and green and black tea rich in antioxidant and antibacterial molecules, which are also able to inhibit the virus entry [45]. Some selected natural ingredients of common use in the cosmetic field and obtained from waste, micro algae and bacteria are reported in Table 1 as an example [46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56], while the more used ones, such as hyaluronic acid, oligopeptides, biomimetic peptides and collagen, are described reporting their supposed mechanism of action. ...
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... Succulent plants are water-retaining plants, which can store water in their leaves, stems, and roots to survive in a dry environment. Aloe barbadensis Miller (Aloe Vera), Beschorneia and Sansevieria plants belong to succulent family [39,40]. These plants can grow in tropical, sub-tropical, warmer temperature regions, and exchange the oxygen and CO 2 using CAM process at night. ...
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The influence of Aloe vera (L.) Burman f. on the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) components of the matrix in a healing wound was studied. Wound healing is a dynamic and complex sequence of events of which the major one is the synthesis of extracellular matrix components. The early stage of wound healing is characterized by the laying down of a provisional matrix, which is then followed by the formation of granulation tissue and synthesis of collagen and elastin. The provisional matrix or the ground substance consists of GAGs and proteoglycans (PGs), which are protein GAG conjugates. In the present work, we have studied the influence of Aloe vera on the content of GAG and its types in the granulation tissue of healing wounds. We have also reported the levels of a few enzymes involved in matrix metabolism. The amount of ground substance synthesized was found to be higher in the treated wounds, and in particular, hyaluronic acid and dermatan sulphate levels were increased. The levels of the reported glycohydrolases were elevated on treatment with Aloe vera, indicating increased turnover of the matrix. Both topical and oral treatments with Aloe vera were found to have a positive influence on the synthesis of GAGs and thereby beneficially modulate wound healing.
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Cultures of normal chicken spleen cells and HD11 line cells produce nitric oxide (NO) in response to Acemannan, a complex carbohydrate derived from the Aloe vera plant. Neither cell type produced detectable amounts of NO in response to similar concentrations of yeast mannan, another complex carbohydrate. Nitric oxide production was dose dependent and inhibitable by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-methyl-L-arginine. In addition, the production of NO was inhibited by preincubation of ACM with concanavalin A in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that ACM-induced NO synthesis may be mediated through macrophage mannose receptors, and macrophage activation may be accountable for some of the immunomodulatory effects of ACM in chickens.
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Recent evidence from in vitro and in vivo experiments suggests that topical antimicrobials may be toxic to fibroblasts and keratinocytes and retard wound healing. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Aloe, a potential wound-healing agent, on wound contraction in excisional wounds treated with topical antimicrobials. Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared with four 1.5 cm2 dorsal defects through the skin and panniculus. The animals were divided into five groups (n = 10 per group): (1) Aloe, (2) NaOCl solution (0.025%), (3) mafenide acetate, (4) mafenide acetate + Aloe, and (5) control. Wounds were treated topically for 14 days 3 times a day. Serial standard photographs and serial wound planimetry were performed weekly. Following healing, the breaking strength of each resultant scar was determined using an Instron tensiometer. Kruskal-Wallis, ANOVA, and multiple comparison methods were used for data analysis. Aloe and NaOCl solution significantly accelerated wound contraction (p < 0.05). In the mafenide acetate + Aloe group, contraction was similar to the control, whereas the mafenide acetate alone retarded wound healing. The addition of Aloe in combination and alone in wounds increased the breaking energy when compared to controls (p < 0.05). Aloe appears to expedite wound contraction and neutralize the wound retardant effect seen with the topical mafenide acetate alone. This effect appears to be due to an increased collagen activity, which is enhanced by a lectin, consequently improving the collagen matrix and enhancing the breaking strength.
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Wound healing is a fundamental response to tissue injury that results in restoration of tissue integrity. This end is achieved mainly by the synthesis of the connective tissue matrix. Collagen is the major protein of the extracellular matrix, and is the component which ultimately contributes to wound strength. In this work, we report the influence of Aloe vera on the collagen content and its characteristics in a healing wound. It was observed that Aloe vera increased the collagen content of the granulation tissue as well as its degree of crosslinking as seen by increased aldehyde content and decreased acid solubility. The type I/type III collagen ratio of treated groups were lower than that of the untreated controls, indicating enhanced levels of type III collagen. Wounds were treated either by topical application or oral administration of Aloe vera to rats and both treatments were found to result in similar effects.
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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). 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. 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. 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.