Aloe lateritia
Aloe lateritia
Safety & Hazards
The sap of Aloe species contains anthraquinones. These compounds have several beneficial medicinal actions, particularly as a laxative, and many species of Aloe are thus employed in traditional medicine. Whilst safe in small doses and for short periods of time, anthraquinones do have potential problems if used in excess. These include congestion and irritation of the pelvic organs[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Long term use of anthraquinone laxatives may also play a role in development of colorectal cancer as they have genotoxic potential, and tumorigenic potential[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ].
Botanical Description
Aloe lateritia is a succulent, evergreen, perennial plant producing a dense rosette of leaves that can be 25 - 50cm long and 5 - 10cm wide at the base. The plant can be stemless or, especially in older plants, with a stem up to 50cm long. The plant often suckers to form small groups[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, aid to ferment and source of a dye. It is widely harvested for the medicinal 'bitter aloes' which are traded internationally. The plant is sometimes grown as a garden ornamental in the tropics and subtropics[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Aloe lateritia is one of the Aloe species in Kenya harvested illegally from the wild. It appears that there is substantial international trade in processed exudate, but the exported product is probably a mixture of exudate from several species. Informal figures for 2003 suggest that up to 85,000 kg of solid ‘bitters’ with a market value of about US$ 840,000 are exported from Kenya per year[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ].The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].