Aloe vera
Aloe vera
Safety & Hazards
Aloe vera is very widely used as a herbal remedy. Whilst the leaf gel is entirely safe, the bitter aloes found at the base of the leaves contain anthraquinones which have potential problems if used in excess. The possible side effects of anthraquinones 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. ]. 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 vera is a succulent, evergreen perennial herb that can be stemless or with a short stem up to 30cm long; it can produce a flowering stem up to 160cm tall[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. , 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. ]. Freely suckering, it produces dense rosettes of 16 - 20 long pointed leaves from shortly branched creeping rhizomes[ 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. , 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ]. The plant is a very popular herbal medicine that has a history of use dating back to at least 400 BC. It is widely cultivated, from warm temperate to tropical regions, as a medicinal plant and ingredient of skin care products. It is also commonly grown as an ornamental in gardens and as a pot plant in regions where it is not warm enough to grow it outdoors.