This fact sheet provides basic information about aloe vera—common names, what the science says, potential side effects and cautions, and resources for more information.

Aloe vera’s use can be traced back 6,000 years to early Egypt, where the plant was depicted on stone carvings. Known as the “plant of immortality,” aloe was presented as a burial gift to deceased pharaohs.

Historically, aloe was used topically to heal wounds and for various skin conditions, and orally as a laxative. Today, in addition to these uses, aloe is used as a folk or traditional remedy for a variety of conditions, including diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and osteoarthritis. It is also used topically for osteoarthritis, burns, sunburns, and psoriasis. Aloe vera gel can be found in hundreds of skin products, including lotions and sunblocks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved aloe vera as a natural food flavoring.

Aloe leaves contain a clear gel that is often used as a topical ointment. The green part of the leaf that surrounds the gel can be used to produce a juice or a dried substance (called latex) that is taken by mouth.


What the Science Says

    Aloe latex contains strong laxative compounds. Products made with various components of aloe (aloin, aloe-emodin, and barbaloin) were at one time regulated by the FDA as oral over-the-counter (OTC) laxatives. In 2002, the FDA required that all OTC aloe laxative products be removed from the U.S. market or reformulated because the companies that manufactured them did not provide the necessary safety data.
    Early studies show that topical aloe gel may help heal burns and abrasions. One study, however, showed that aloe gel inhibits healing of deep surgical wounds. Aloe gel has not been shown to prevent burns from radiation therapy.
    There is not enough scientific evidence to support aloe vera for any of its other uses.


Side Effects and Cautions

    Use of topical aloe vera is not associated with significant side effects.
    A 2-year National Toxicology Program (NTP) study on oral consumption of non-decolorized whole leaf extract of aloe vera found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity in male and female rats, based on tumors of the large intestine. According to the NTP, from what is known right now there is nothing that would lead them to believe that these findings are not relevant to humans. However, more information, including how individuals use different types of aloe vera products, is needed to determine the potential risks to humans.
    Abdominal cramps and diarrhea have been reported with oral use of aloe vera.
    Diarrhea, caused by the laxative effect of oral aloe vera, can decrease the absorption of many drugs.
    People with diabetes who use glucose-lowering medication should be cautious if also taking aloe by mouth because preliminary studies suggest aloe may lower blood glucose levels.
    There have been a few case reports of acute hepatitis from aloe vera taken orally. However, the evidence is not definitive.
    Tell all your health care providers about any complementary health practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care. For tips about talking with your health care providers about complementary and alternative medicine, see NCCAM's Time to Talk campaign.




Sources

    Aloe. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Web site. Accessed at www.naturaldatabase.com on May 4, 2009.
    Aloe (Aloe vera). Natural Standard Database Web site. Accessed at www.naturalstandard.com on May 4, 2009.

A recent study presented at the Gerontological Society of America's 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting shows that a combination of vitamins and nutriceuticals improves memory and cognitive performance in community-dwelling adults.

A team of researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell tested the efficacy of a specially designed formulation on cognitive performance in healthy adults. The nutriceutical formulation includes vitamin B12, folate, vitamin E, S-Adenosyl L-methionine (SAM-e), Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC).

Study participants were randomly assigned to receive either the nutriceutical formulation or the placebo. Using standardized cognitive tests, the researchers concluded that the nutriceutical formulation can improve cognitive performance in healthy adults.


The standardized cognitive tests assessed for changes for simple memory (Digit-Recall test and CVLT II) and executive function (Trail-making test). The researchers concluded that the nutriceutical formulation enhances cognitive performance in healthy adults based on the statistically significant improvements in their scores. In addition, participants declined to their baseline performance level when the nutriceutical formulation was discontinued and achieved similar improvement following resumption of the nutriceutical formulation. The research team concluded that continued consumption of the nutriceutical formulation is required to maintain the beneficial cognitive effects.

"These findings suggest that people taking the nutriceutical formulation on a regular basis may be able to carry out complex mental tasks more quickly and more efficiently," said Dr. Ruth Remington from the University of Massachusetts Lowell team. "This is very exciting news in the area of cognitive health and shows an approach that healthy adults can take to stay sharp as they age," she continued.

Study participants were adults with no known dementia or clinical memory conditions. This is particularly noteworthy because, while this combination of vitamins and nutriceuticals has demonstrated effectiveness for cognitive health in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, this study shows a positive effect in individuals with no known memory problems.

Arginine, or L-arginine, is an amino acid that is made in the body. As a supplement, it seems to help with several conditions, from migraines to inflammation.

Why do people take arginine?

Because it relaxes blood vessels, arginine might have cardiovascular benefits for some people. Studies show that it might ease the symptoms of angina and peripheral arterial disease. It seems to boost the health of people with heart failure. It might also help with erectile dysfunction, but mostly when combined with other supplements such as yohimbine. Some studies have shown an immune-boosting effect.

Arginine combats the symptoms of wasting caused by HIV. It seems to improve the symptoms of kidney inflammation and assists kidney function after a transplant. Studies show arginine might ease migraines, improve blood pressure, lessen recovery time after surgery, and speed up wound healing.

Not all studies have been positive. Arginine does not seem to help with heart attack recovery, preeclampsia, or exercise tolerance in people with heart failure. It seems to worsen asthma.

Arginine has been studied as a treatment for many more conditions. They include dementia, hypertension, cancer, male infertility, diabetes, and obesity. But the results have been inconclusive. More research needs to be done.

Arginine has become a popular supplement in the U.S. However, most people seem to have enough arginine in their bodies already. They might not get much benefit from supplements.

How much arginine should you take?

There is no standard dose of arginine. Studies have used different amounts for different conditions. One common dosage is 2 to 3 grams three times a day. The safety of long-term arginine supplement use is not clear. Ask your doctor for advice.

In some cases, doctors recommend supplemental arginine. People with protein malnutrition, burns, infections, rapid growth, and other conditions might need supplemental arginine.

Can you get arginine naturally from foods?

Many foods are natural sources of arginine. They include nuts (like walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds, cashews, and Brazil nuts), seeds (like sesame and sunflower), oats, corn, cereals, buckwheat, brown rice, dairy products, meat, chicken, and chocolate.

What are the risks of taking arginine?

Side effects. Most people taking arginine have few side effects. It can cause nausea, cramps, diarrhea, allergic reactions, and asthma symptoms. It could also cause low blood pressure and changes to glucose and blood chemical levels. There is some thought that the ratio of lysine to arginine in the diet (or with supplements) can affect whether or not latent herpes viruses appear. Some doctors recommend increasing lysine and decreasing arginine to help prevent the recurrence of symptoms associated with herpes simplex virus.

Risks. If you have any medical conditions -- like cancer, asthma, allergies, liver or kidney problems, low blood pressure, sickle cell disease, or a bleeding disorder -- or have had a heart attack, don't take arginine without talking to a doctor first.

Interactions. If you take any medicines or supplements regularly, talk to your doctor before you start using arginine. They could interact with birth control medicines, hormone therapy drugs, blood thinners, some painkillers, and medicines for erectile dysfunction, heartburn, high blood pressure and diabetes. Arginine could also interact with supplements like ginkgo biloba, garlic, and potassium.

Given the uncertain risks, arginine should not be used by children or by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding without a doctor's approval.

Tiny RNAs shed by tumours can transform healthy cells into cancerous ones.

When a cancer cell throws out its trash, it can turn healthy neighbours into fellow tumour cells, researchers have found.

Many cells, including cancerous ones, shed thousands of tiny membrane-bound vesicles called exosomes that contain proteins, DNA and RNA. The process is thought to be a waste-management system, but it may also facilitate cell-to-cell communication: some of these vesicles can then merge with other cells and dump their payload inside.

In a study published online on 23 October in Cancer Cell1, researchers show that when human breast-cancer exosomes can cause tumours when mixed with normal cells then injected into mice. The results could pave the way to finding markers to monitor the progression of cancer, and possibly even point to targets for therapies.

“It’s amazing — these vesicles were considered garbage cans,” says Khalid Al-Nedawi, a cancer researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. “This paper really brings us closer to harnessing the potential of these tiny vesicles.”

Previous studies had shown that cancer cells crank out more exosomes than normal cells2. Cancer researcher Raghu Kalluri of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and his colleagues therefore decided to look into how the two types of exosome might differ. They isolated exosomes from cells grown in culture and found that, unlike normal exosomes, those from cancer cells contained the building blocks required to produce the short fragments of RNA called microRNA that can shut off the expression of target genes.

Exposure to the cancer exosomes altered gene expression in the normal cells. Those cells then caused tumours when injected into mice. Exosomes from normal cells did not yield tumours, however, and tumour growth was reduced in cells exposed to cancer exosomes in which the microRNA-producing molecular machinery had been disabled.

The team also collected exosomes from the blood of 8 healthy individuals and 11 people with breast cancer. Five of the 11 exosome samples from the patients induced tumour growth when mixed with normal cells and injected into mice; none of the exosome samples from healthy people did so.

It is unclear how far exosomes can travel in the body, says Kalluri, but the fact that the team could isolate them from blood suggests that they could be quite mobile. And even if their effect is only local, they could still make nearby cancer cells more aggressive, or transform healthy cells into cancerous ones, he says.

A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine study in the November 22 issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry, explains how vitamin A is generated from beta carotene, its dietary precursors. The discovery sheds new light into how beta carotene’s enzymes are utilized differently contributing to the vitamin’s production. This insight will help guide solutions for vitamin A deficiency, a global public health problem affecting more than half of all countries, according to the World Health Organization.

The study, named a Paper of the Week, led by Johannes von Lintig, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, demonstrates that beta-carotene is converted to Vitamin A and not other metabolites, which some theorized were toxic compounds.

Vitamin A deficiency is especially prevalent in developing countries of Asia, due to largely rice-based diets which lack beta-carotene, a member of the micronutrient carotenoid family. The deficiency mainly affects pregnant women and children and leads to blindness and increases morbidity.

Understanding how vitamin A is produced in the body is essential to effective public health interventions. Efforts are underway by humanitarian groups to supplement young children and fortify foods, for example in the form of “golden rice,” rice genetically modified to contain beta-carotene. The von Lintig Laboratory’s discovery validates the benefits of fortifying foods to combat the worldwide deficiency problem. Some reports indicate the problem exists in areas of the U.S. where access to fresh fruits and vegetables is scarce.



The research team provided evidence that BCO1 directly converts beta-carotene to vitamin A. However, they discovered the second enzyme, BCO2, is also significant. It helps prepare carotenoids, other than beta-carotene, for vitamin A production. Specifically, BCO2 removes the part of the carotenoid that cannot be utilized for vitamin A production. The remaining portion of the carotenoid is then further processed by BCO1 to generate vitamin A.

“Our study shows that beta-carotene’s second enzyme does not produce a toxic compound, as had been proposed by some researchers. Rather, the enzyme aids in the metabolizing of carotenoids, aside from beta-carotene, to become vitamin A,” said von Lintig and concluded “that beta-carotene is an important and safe precursor for vitamin A in our diet. Our findings also suggest that golden rice plants are likely very safe for consumption.”

Today's Scientific Program of the 2010 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) - Middle East-Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Joint Meeting includes a report on beta carotene's ability to improve vision in people with certain incurable retinal diseases. The AAO-MEACO meeting-the world's largest, most comprehensive ophthalmic education conference-is in session October 16 through 19 at McCormick Place, Chicago.

cis Beta-Carotene Mat Boost Vision in Some Patients with Incurable Retinal Disease Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a cluster of hereditary disorders of the retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye) that can result in incurable blindness. RP usually begins with night blindness in childhood, then loss of peripheral (side) vision leading to tunnel vision, and ultimately blindness. Since a specific form of the nutrient beta carotene, 9-cis, has been effective against one type of night blindness, researchers decided to test its effects in RP patients. One third of the 29 participating patients showed improved visual function while taking the prescribed oral dose for 90 days, but the other two-thirds showed no effect.

"We recommend repeating the study with patients with the genetic forms of RP that would be most likely to respond to oral beta carotene," said Dr. Rotensteich. "We know its positive effect is associated with retinoid cycle defect, which is involved in some but not all forms of RP. Also, future research should look for the optimal beta carotene dosage," he added.

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است ..

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .

لورم ایپسوم متنی است که ساختگی برای طراحی و چاپ آن مورد است. صنعت چاپ زمانی لازم بود شرایطی شما باید فکر ثبت نام و طراحی، لازمه خروج می باشد.سایت جـوم آریـا یکی از بهترین ارائه دهنده ی قالب های فارسی جوملا و وردپرس است .