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Aloe: Healer,
Moisturizer, Beautifier Your skin looks better and you feel better. Aloe has long been recognized for its beneficial effects as a topical skin application. In ancient times, it was used to protect against insect bites and to help relieve cuts, abrasions, and burns. The earliest mention of the aloe plant dates back to 1500 b.c., where it is mentioned in the Papyrus Ebers. Alexander the Great used the herb to treat his soldier's wounds, and, reportedly took the Greek philosopher Aristotle's advice to conquer an island off the coast of Africa to ensure a stable aloe supply. Cleopatra used it to moisturize her skin, and some say, bathed in it. In 1 a.d., Dioscorides, the author of a Greek herbal, described aloe's uses. Today, numerous benefits are attributed to the aloe plant_the most apparent being what it can do for the skin. Aloe is said to help soothe wounds, sunburn, and frostbite and improve the appearance of the skin. How aloe works has always been a question. The answer probably involves synergistic action among some 200 ingredients, and synergy is a hard thing to put a finger on. Some effects may be negated when one ingredient is isolated or eliminated, so it is really hard to know which ingredients are responsible for which effects. Still, progress is being made. Aloe's benefits can be attributed to its nutrients: The plant contains proteins (including seven of the eight essential amino acids); carbohydrates (including mucopolysaccharides); vitamins (including B1, B2, B3, B6, C, and folic acid); and minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and copper. These nutrients, although beneficial individually, work synergistically to soothe, heal, moisturize, and regenerate your skin. Scientific research into aloe vera began in the 1900s. The first "substantiated" ingredient found was aloin, which was used as a laxative and was the most commonly used laxative in western countries until World War II. In the 1930s, research began focusing on aloe's topical benefits. This interest was first aroused because of the growing use of X-rays. X-rays often inflicted X-ray dermatitis, serious burns that were characterized by painful skin ulcers that often never healed. Research also points to the value of mucopolysaccharides, one of the ingredients of aloe vera. Many studies suggest that the mucopolysaccharides are responsible for the wound-healing activity because they act as a growth factor. This growth factor contributes to wound-healing by stimulating fibroblasts (connective-tissue cells) to produce more collagen, which in turn increases the remodeling of the wound and fills in the wound area. Acting synergistically, aloe vera may keep the wound moist and at the same time allow oxygen to penetrate the wound, adding to regeneration. There is a variety of aloes. Among these, the followings are the
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