Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Aloe vera: A Comprehensive Review

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Aloe vera: A Comprehensive Review

Ankur Chutia*1,Prasurjya Saikia2 ,Mahmudal Hasan4,Ananga Mohan Das2,Adam Siyum3

*1Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Himalayan University , Jollang, village, near central jail, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 791111,India

2Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Himalayan University , Jollang, village, near central jail, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 791111,India

3Scholar , Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Himalayan University , Jollang, village, near central jail, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 791111,India

4Scholar, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Assam down town University, Panikhaiti, Guwahati, Assam -781026, India.

*Correspondence should be addressed to:

Ankur Chutia

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, Himalayan University , Jollang, village, near central jail, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh 791111,India

E-mail address: achutia74@gmail.com

ORCID ID Details:

Prasurjya Saikia; 0009-0004-3785-5894

Ananga Mohan Das -0009-0006-2328-1169

Ankur Chutia- 0009-0008-8172-6001

Mahmudal Hasan-0009-0002-9500-4305

INTRODUCTION

Occurrence and Botanical Characterisation Aloe is a tropical, drought-resistant succulent. In botany it is known as Aloe vera (L.) Webb. (Aloe barbadensis Mill.) of the Liliaceae family. Aloe vera is the most common aloe variety. It is native to the Mediterranean region, the Arabian Peninsula, India, China and Eastern Africa. Wild forms of aloe are common in Cyprus, Malta, Sicily, the Canary Islands, and in India . The biggest Aloe

vera plantations can be found in the island of Barbados and in the North of the USA. Aloe has branched or unbranched shoots with greyish green sharp-edged coated leaves forming a rosette. The leaves are filled with brown or yellowish milky juice that contains most bioactive compounds.

So far, more than 350 aloe species have been identified. Most of them, i.e., 42 species come from Madagascar, 12–15 species from the Arabian Peninsula, 4 from India and the other species come from other tropical countries. About 30 of them have been tested and their therapeutic properties have been confirmed, e.g., Aloe spicata, Aloe perryi Baker, Aloe socotńna, Aloe

africana Miller, Aloe chinensis, Aloe perfoliata and Aloe saponaria. However, Aloe barbadensis, known as Aloe vera, Aloe ferox (bitter aloe) and Aloe aborescens (krantz aloe) are the most common species, typically used for industrial production. Aloe species do not have identical effect on the human organism. Some species are therapeutic, others are toxic or neutral.

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Mill. /Aloe vera Linn.) is the most common aloe variety. It is a short- stemmed perennial, that grows to a height of 60–100 cm. Aloe plants have thick, green or grey and green fleshy, sword-shaped leaves. The leaf edges have triangular thorns at their edges. The flower shoot, which grows in the summer, is built from numerous, pendulous bell-shaped pink and orange flowers. When the plant sheds blossom, it gives fruit in the form of bags [8]. A flesh and pulp obtained from aloe leaves differ in composition and properties. Aloe flesh can be obtained by peeling leaves and then washing and squeezing them carefully. This procedure gives pure flesh without bitter aftertaste or strong laxative properties. Aloe flesh is light green with jelly-like consistency. It is composed of water (96%) and dry matter (4%), which contains protein (6.86%), fat (2.91%), dietary fibre (73.35%), ascorbic acid (0.004%) and ash (16.88%) [9]. Apart from flesh, aloe pulp contains epidermis. It is not washed nor filtered, consequently having strong laxative properties due to the content of aloin.