Aloe Vera

History

 

Arab world

The Aloe vera plant is native to Africa, specifically the Arabian Peninsula. Its generic name Aloe comes from the Arabic term alloeh which means bright and bitter substance, it is also called aloe vera; This and other variants are due to the deformation of the Arabic word Çabila, which means thorny plant.

They were the first to commercialize the plant. They extracted the pulp in a procedure with wooden presses or by stepping on the leaves themselves, in a similar way to the process of obtaining wine.

Afterwards, they let it dry in the sun and the gel was reduced to powder, making it easier to market. Thanks to this, in the 6th century BC Aloe Vera had already been exported to Persia and India.

 

Egypt

As it contains cosmetic properties, Cleopatra and Nefertiti used the juice of the plant for their daily beauty rituals. It was also used by priests in the embalming process of the pharaohs, in Egyptian burial rituals. Among the ancient Egyptians, it was known as the plant of immortality.

In the Ebers papyrus, or “Book of Remedies”, an Egyptian treatise on medicine from the 15th century BC, preserved in Leipzig, more than a dozen remedies made with aloe vera are detailed.

 

Greece

Hippocrates talks about its medicinal properties.

According to legend, Alexander the Great, wounded by an arrow in the siege of Gaza, used a concoction with Aloe Vera to heal his wound. Being fascinated by the healing powers of the plant, he decides to conquer Socotra, an island where Aloe vera crops were abundant.

 

Rome

The Romans discovered the plant during the Punic Wars and were fascinated by its healing power on the scars of warriors.

During the mandate of Emperor Nero, his doctor, Dioscorides, recounted in his treatise De Materia Medica the historical use of some 600 medicinal plants, among which was one of his favorites, Aloe Vera. He considered the plant ideal for the treatment of diseases and ailments, noted for its anticoagulant power of blood from wounds and for its healing virtues.

 

Far East

The Chinese were the first to use the plant for medicinal purposes. In Japan, samurai smeared the plant’s gel on themselves to ward off evil spirits and achieve immortality.

 

Spain

During the 16th century, Spanish Jesuit monks collected wild aloe vera and spread it to areas where it had not yet been cultivated. The Mayan Indians named the juice of this desert plant the “Fountain of Youth” and also used it as an insect repellent on wood and other materials vulnerable to insect damage.

It was introduced to the American continent by Christopher Columbus at the time of the discovery of America, because he used it as medicine for his crew. In those years, Spain already had considerable plantations of this vegetable, probably left as a legacy of the Muslim invasion.

 

Plant

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) belongs to the same family as garlic, onion and asparagus, all known to have medicinal properties.

It has elongated, fleshy leaves rich in water, reaches a height of 50 to 70 cm with stems 30 to 40 cm long, with toothed edges, and its flowers are yellow. It adapts to living in areas of low water availability and has a large storage capacity.

Of around 300 species of Aloe, there are four types that have the greatest medicinal properties: Aloe barbadensis Miller, Aloe perryi Baker, Aloe ferox and Aloe arborescens. Aloe barbadensis Miller is the most used in medicine and cosmetics.