Aloe Vera Aloe Vera
If there`s one plant that could justified vie for the title “plant of the decade” its Aloe Vera. It`s supposed to be good for everything from acne to zebra stings (well, if zebras stung, Aloe Vera would probably soothe them)! So what can it offer to those of us in training?
This is article wrote by Andrew Hamilton.
When my sistem lived in Barbados, she used to notice a curious phenomenon. Down in the front of the garden were some funnt looking plants, like a cross between a cactus and a spider plant. And every so often when passing these plants, she saw that some of the leaves had been cut away and removed. Baffled by this, she mentioned the strange goings on to her father-in-law who roared out loud with laughter. “of courses!”, he exclaimed. “What do you expect if you grow Aloe plants next to the road!”
To the locals of the island, the Aloe Vera plant (whose full name is Aloe Barbadenis (miller)) had been renowed for its healing properties for centuries. They couldn`t understand why such a valueable “medicine chest” was not being harvested by its owner, and obligingly stepped in to help remedy the situation! More recently however, Western scientists have become interested in the Aloe plant, and much exciting research examining the pharmacological action of some of its naturally occurring compounds is under way.
You may have noticed that some retail outlets are selling bottled Aloe for drinking or Aloe in lotions and potions for direct application to the skin. So what could the Aloe plant have to offer those of us in training?
Most of high tech drugs, pills, potions and supplement used in medicine are not dreamed up by scientists in white coats, but start out as extract of plants, which then undergo further development and chemical medification until a drug is produced that the phamaceuticak companies can patent (and then earn lots of money from). The range and variety of biologically active compounds produced by the plants kingdom is truly vast, and dwarfs those produced by animals. Most of the world`s plant species haven`t as yet been examined for their potential medicinal properties. However, it has been estimated that within the plant varieties contained in the Amazon rainforest, there will be a cure for every illness known to Man. What does the Aloe plant give to us?
[...] from previous Aloe Vera article. The use of Aloe Vera (also known as the “burn plant”, “the miracle plant” [...]