- Region
- Africa
- Origin
- The Arabian Peninsula and North Africa
- Sanskrit
- Kumari
Africa · Herb · № 4
Aloe vera
Herb · Africa
Aloe vera
Aloe vera
The gel from the leaf is used externally to soothe the skin and for minor burns. Research on wound healing gives mixed results; the gel is no substitute for wound care.
Safety notes
Do not ingest aloe latex. Oral aloe can cause adverse effects and medicine interactions; seek advice during pregnancy.
Cautions by tradition (4)
- Herbal medicine worldwide: Not in pregnancy or for young children.
- Natural skin and hair care: Products with water and gel keep only a short time: store them in the fridge and throw them away after about a week. On burnt skin, only spray on and let dry; do not rub in.
- Kallawaya healing in Bolivia: The yellow sap under the skin is a strong laxative; not in pregnancy.
- Chinese materia medica: Not during pregnancy or menstruation, not with a cold, weak spleen and not for long periods: the leaf juice is a strong laxative. The gel from the leaf works differently and is used externally.
Preparation
The clear gel from the inside of the leaf is applied directly to the skin. The yellow sap from the leaf edge (latex) is a strong laxative and does not belong in home-made drinks.
Use in traditions
Aloe has been used for thousands of years around the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. The island of Socotra was famous for its aloe in antiquity, and Dioscorides described its use on wounds. In Unani medicine the thickened leaf juice is called sibr, in Ayurveda kumari; Chinese medicine knows it as lu hui. The dried sap of the outer leaf layer was used everywhere as a strong laxative.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Laxative, promotes bile flow, wound-healing, tonic, soothing, antifungal, stops bleeding, anthelmintic, rejuvenating, lowers blood sugar and cholesterol.
Preparation and amount
Tincture 1–3 ml to stimulate appetite; fresh gel on burns, wounds, dry skin, fungal infections and insect bites; up to 2 tsp juice 3 times a day in water as a tonic; gel in steam inhalation.
Caution: Not in pregnancy or for young children.
Ayurvedic materia medica
Attributed effects
In small doses stomachic and tonic, in large doses laxative, promotes menstruation and anthelmintic; for constipation, absent menstruation, colic, wound healing and burns, worms in children, hair growth.
Preparation and amount
Tea 12–20 ml; fresh juice from the gel; ointment on burns; Ayurvedic preparation kumari asava.
Natural skin and hair care
Attributed effects
Holds moisture in the skin, eases irritation and feels cool on skin that has had too much sun.
Preparation and amount
External: the gel or dried powder goes into homemade cleansers and toners, a cooling eye gel and after-sun products.
Caution: Products with water and gel keep only a short time: store them in the fridge and throw them away after about a week. On burnt skin, only spray on and let dry; do not rub in.
Kallawaya healing in Bolivia
Attributed effects
A household remedy for burns, wounds, boils and dry, cracked lips.
Preparation and amount
The gel from a fresh leaf on the skin.
Caution: The yellow sap under the skin is a strong laxative; not in pregnancy.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- bitter, cold
- Meridians
- liver, stomach, large intestine
Attributed effects
The concentrated leaf juice (lu hui) drains heat in constipation, cools heat in the liver meridian (headache, red eyes, dizziness) and was used against worms and for malnutrition in children from intestinal parasites.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 0.5–2 g a day of the dried juice.
Combinations
- With gentian and huang qin for liver heat
Caution: Not during pregnancy or menstruation, not with a cold, weak spleen and not for long periods: the leaf juice is a strong laxative. The gel from the leaf works differently and is used externally.
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Brings luck, prevents accidents, protects (leaf above the front door), softens grief, as incense for the moon goddess.
Herbal magic and rituals
Attributed effects
In herbal magic associated with protecting the home, luck and comfort.
Preparation and amount
In many places an aloe in the house or on the windowsill is kept as a lucky plant that protects the home. In Mexico and the Caribbean a plant or leaf is sometimes hung above the door against harmful influences.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)TinctureSalve and balmSteam and bathPowder and kitchen
- Recipes
- Mild lavender cleanserPatchouli cleanser for oily skinChamomile cleanser for dry or mature skinRose water tonerWitch hazel tonerCucumber eye gelLavender aloe spraySoothing after-sun milkBrown sugar foot scrubCustom herbal shampoo
- Formulas
- Dang gui long hui wan
Tags
Sources
- www.nccih.nih.gov
- Michael & Lesley Tierra, Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine, vol. II: Materia Medica and Herbal Resource (1998)
- Penelope Ody, The Complete Medicinal Herbal (1993; 2017)
- L. D. Kapoor, CRC Handbook of Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants (1990)
- Stacey Dugliss-Wesselman & Susan Gregg, Herbal Remedies Made Simple (2018)
- Joseph W. Bastien, Healers of the Andes: Kallawaya Herbalists and Their Medicinal Plants (1987)
- Louis Girault, Kallawaya. Guérisseurs itinérants des Andes (1984)