The Use of Aloe Vera as Herbal Remedies and Medicine

This is an African plant, used in official medicine by the ancient Egyptians as well as in classical Greek and ancient Chinese medicine. It was introduced into North America by missionaries and gradually became a familiar plant of domestic medicine throughout North and South America. Its main use in official medicine was as a purgative, but in folk medicine it has been used primarily as a skin healer, and its fame has spread for the treatment of burns (the gel from the scraped leaves is used). Along with many other people, Columbus confused aloe with the rather similar-looking but unrelated agave, which he found growing as a native in the New World.

The true aloe reached Mexico shortly after the conquest, when Hernandez reported that the Aztecs used it in treating various skin conditions. The aloe now thrives throughout North and South America.

In modern times in the American and Mexican West it has been used for treating a variety of skin conditions, such as dermatitis and boils . It has even been used in the treatment of radiation burns. As its popularity has increased, extravagant claims have been made for the plant as a panacea. At least some of these claims are justifiable in the light of modern research, and it is now widely used by herbalists and as an over-the-counter medication in both North America and Britain.

It has been claimed to be one of the most widely used healing plants in the world . Although most of these uses belong to modern herbalism, the plant has been used to some extent in folk medicine too. It has been applied to rashes, burns, warts, insect stings, and taken internally for stomach ache. Recently Aloe vera has become a popular constituent of many cosmetic as well as herbal preparations in Britain as well as in North America. It is one of a number of plants to achieve fame in the modern secondary return to herbalism among the middle class.