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Indian aloe Details & Specifications |
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| Botanical Name |
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Aloe vera Linn. |
| English Name |
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Indian aloe |
| Hindi Name |
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Guarpatha |
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| CATEGORY |
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Purgative |
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| SOURCE |
| Part used |
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State of the part used |
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Leaves |
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N/A |
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N/A |
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| FAMILY |
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Liliaceae |
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| GEOGRAPHICAL SOURCE |
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Plant is indigenous to Africa and is found in following countries :-
? East and South Africa
?Europe
?India
?West Indies
?Zanzibar
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| IDENTIFICATION |
| Organoleptic characteristics |
| Colour |
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| Odour |
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Characteristic |
| Taste |
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Bitter |
| Size |
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N/A |
| Physical
Standards |
| Total Ash |
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N/A |
| Moisture |
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Not more than 12 percent |
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| CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS |
| Major |
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Major chemical constituents responsible for physicochemical and therapeutic action of the herb are :---
?Aloins (C-glucosyl chromome)
?Barbaloin
?Isobarbaloin. /p>
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| Minor |
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Minor chemical constituents of this herb are :-
? Isobarbloin
? Beta-barbaloin
? Aloe-emodin
? Resin
? Aloetic acid
? Homonataloin
? Aloesone
? Chrysophanic acid
? Chrysamminic acid
? Galactouronic acid
? Choline
? Choline salicylate
? Saponins
?Mucopolysaccharides
?Glucosamines
?Hexuronic acid
?Coniferyl alcohol
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| CULTIVATION |
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For cultivation, root sucker are used for propagation. This is a succulent plant without stem, the leaves being radical, spiny and toothed. There is variety with variegated foliage. The flower stalk rises to many feet in height, bearing a number of large and handsome flowers. In cold climates there is usually a very long interval between the times of its flowering.
The genus Aloe consists of about 212 species, some of them is used as sources of aloes. Plants of aloes have rosettes of subulate, succulent large leaves. The leaves are sessile and have a strong spine at apex and also number of spines along the margins. The lower portion is rounded and upper portion is slightly concave. For cultivation of aloes plant, root suckers are used for propagation. The plants grow even in poor grades of soils and in dry climatic conditions. The root suckers are planted in the rows about 50 cm apart. Water logging near the plant must be prevented. The roots do not penetrate much in the soil. For the development of plants a mixture of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate is used. The leaves are cut for the first instance in second year of cultivation and the drug is obtained from leaves for twelve years. After twelve years, the plants are completely harvested by uprooting and once again the land is worked for replication. During the collection of leaves, a cut is given to leaves near their bases, by which the juice located in parenchymatous cells of pericycle exudes out, due to the pressure exerted by mucilage cells. A single incision is sufficient for drawing out all the juice from entire system of pericyclic cells.
Preparation of Cape aloes : Cape aloes is prepared from wild plants of A. ferox and its hybrids. The leaves are cut transversely near the base and about 200 of them are arranged round a shallow hole in the ground, which is lined with plastic sheeting or more traditionally a piece of canvas or a goatskin. The leaves are arranged so that the cut ends overlap and drain freely into the canvas. After about 6 hour all the juice is collected and transferred to a drum or paraffin tin in which it is boiled for about 4 hours on an open fire. The product is poured while hot into tin (capacity -25 kg) where it gets solidified. It occurs as brownish black, opaque mass. It is waxy and somewhat resinous. It shows an uneven fractur surface. Livery curacao aloe and Capey barbados aloes are distinguished by their transparency.
Preparation of Curacao aloes : Curacao aloes is produced from cultivated plants of A. barbadensis. The cut leaves are stacked in V-shaped troughs, arranged on a slope so that the juice has been collected. It is evaporated in a copper vessel. The temperature used is generally lower than in the case of Cape aloes and the product is, therefore, usually opaque, although some which is semi-transparent may be produced and is known in the commerce as Capey Barbadoes’. It is packed in gourds but these are now only seen in museums. The present-day drug is exported in cases each holding about 130 lb. It is found in dark brown or greenish-brown to olive brown masses. It has nauseating and bitter taste. It breaks with a glassy fracture. It has a sour but distinct odor.
Preparation of Socotrine aloes : It is prepared from Aloes perryi occuring in island of Socotra and mainland of East Africa. The juice of the leaves is collected in goatskin and allowed to become semisolid in nature. It is exported in a pasty condition under the name of Socotrine aloe. It is occurred as brownish-yellow, opaque mass with a pasty or semisolid like consistency. The fractured surface is conchoidal. Socotrine aloes is bitter, nauseous taste with unpleasant odor. It is totally soluble in 60 percent alcohol.
Preparation of Zanzibar aloes: It is obtained from a variety of Socotrine aloe. The juice is poured into skins of some small carnivorous animals, where it solidifies and such as packed in wooden boxes. Zanzibar aloe is also sometimes called as monkey-skin aloe, although the skin is not that of monkeys. These variety shows a liver brown color with a dull, waxy, smooth and even fracture. It has a characteristic but not much disagreeable odor and bitter taste.
The fleshly leaves of the true Aloe contain near the epidermis or out skin, a row of fibrovascular bundles the cells of within are much enlarged and filled with a yellow juice which exudes when the leaf is cut. When it is desired to collect the juice, the leaves are cut off close to the stem and so placed that the juice is drained off into tubs. This juice thus collected is concentrated either by spontaneous evaporation or more generally by boiling until it becomes of the consistency of thick honey.
On cooling, it is then poured into gourds, boxes or other convenient receptacles and solidifies. Aloes require two or three year’s standing before they yield their juice. The chief varieties of Aloes are Curacao or Barbados, Socotrine, Zanzibar and Cape.
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| STORAGE |
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To maintain physicochemical properties and medicinal values of the herb it is recommended to maintain following storage conditions: -
?Air tight containers
?Protection from light
?Protection from moisture
?Free from microbial contamination
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