This large (to 39 inches tall), thick leaved succulent is native to patches of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, apparently in remnants of a vast dry forest that once covered the whole region, mostly desert now. It was taken to China and Europe in the 17th century and is now naturalized in many regions of the world. There are over 500 species of Aloes, mostly in Africa, but only a few have medicinal uses and only Aloe Vera has culinary uses - but not all Aloe Vera varieties are edible,
Studies of Aloe Vera's medicinal, cosmetic and culinary properties are woefully inadequate and often contradictory. What seems fairly certain is that only the gel inside the leaves should be consumed, only after cooking, and only if you are certain it is an edible variety. The latex in the skin layer is a strong laxative and somewhat toxic. The gel is mildly laxative and mildly toxic, so consumption should be limited.
The gel is used commercially in yogurt, beverages and some desserts, as well in many cosmetic and skin care products. The main regions for culinary use are India, Singapore and Malaysia. Photo by Pau Pámies Grácia distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.
More on the Xanthorrhoeaceae
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Caution:This plant is highly confused. There are no less than 16 scientific names that are actually synonyms of "Aloe Vera". There are many varieties of Aloe Vera, named and unnamed. Some are quite toxic, and even edible ones can be somewhat toxic in different regions. Symptoms can vary, but extreme rashes and welts have been reported.Identification of any particular Aloe Vera plant must always be suspect, as they are more often mis-identified than correctly identified. Some "experts" say var chinensis is the edible one, others say it is a toxic one. While external use is probably harmless, if you intend to eat it, use only Aloe Vera purchased from a reliable produce market. Aloe Vera gel cubes, rinsed and par boiled, are a little crunchy and have a faintly grassy, slightly bitter and noticeably medicinal taste (so what did you expect from a medicinal plant?). It is not an unpleasant taste, and gel cubes are used in recipes, mainly in India and Southeast Asia. In India the use is often in curries or stir fries, but in Malaysia and Singapore it is most often used in fruit cocktail like desserts, and in beverages. It is important to note that, though aloe vera grows well in difficult regions, ethnic recipes are all of an "occasional use" nature - only the "health conscious" in North America call for guzzling the stuff. This cautious usage by those with long experience suggests to me that heavy use is not to be recommended - see also Health & Nutrition, below for further evidence. I have seen recipes that call for using the green part as well as the gel, but others caution against that, it can give you quite a case of the runs. Preparing an Aloe Vera LeafThis process should take you about 10 minutes per leaf, including some time for cleaning up the slime.
Health & NutritionVery little reliable research has been done on aloe here in North America, but indications are that caution is advised. The reason there is so little formal research is that most health research here is financed by the pharmaceutical industry, though the money may be "laundered" through one or more levels of "nonprofit organizations". This industry is rather uninterested in studying natural products they can't patent and charge a lot of money for. The safety and effectiveness of aloe vera extracts for both consumption or cosmetic uses is little known, and studies showing positive results are often countered by other studies showing negative results. On the other hand, the "alternative health" industry is perfectly happy to base their claims on inadequate studies, or even on no studies, if there is money to be made. There is some weight of evidence that aloe gel can help with first and second degree burns, and possibly genital herpes and psoriasis, but other topical uses have no reliable evidence or what evidence is available is negative. It is known that in certain doses aloe vera gel can be at least mildly toxic, the main symptom being serious diarrhea. Some products formerly used the latex from the green parts of the leaf, particularly in over the counter laxatives. Use of the latex and/or extracts from it is now banned by the FDA for lack of evidence it is safe. |