PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part:  hojas.

ACCION FARMACOLOGICA= Pharmacological action: Laxante, emenagogo, antifebril.

POSOLOGÍA= Posology: Se usa la planta fresca aplicándose las hojas externamente como cicatrizante, emoliente y para aliviar dolores en quemaduras. Licuado, internamente, como laxante e inmunoestimulante. Distintas especies de Aloe forman parte de muchas formulaciones cosméticas: champúes, filtros solares, cremas humectantes, etc.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: Las hojas tienen un alto contenido en mucílagos que explican su acción emoliente, de ellas se han aislado polisacáridos con marcado efecto hipoglicemiante; glucoproteínas (aloctina A) con actividad antiinflamatoria y anticancerígena; la aloína y barbaloína (glicósidos) de sus hojas presentan actividad antialérgica (inhibidores de la histamina). Se ha demostrado la acción protectora contra la radiación en ratones.

ZONA GEOGRAFICA= Geografical zone: Brasil. 

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs:

Juice and integument of leaves of 3 Aloe species, Aloe vera, A. ferox and A. africana, are not allowed to be used as food according to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in Japan. On the other hand, whole leaves of A. arborescens can be used as food. The present study was designed to distinguish Aloe species by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. DNA was isolated from fresh and dried leaves of the 4 Aloe species. Five out of 32 different 10-mer primers examined were useful for analysis. By comparison of the characteristic bands of PCR products on agarose gel, it was possible to distinguish the 4 species. Thus, the botanical species of Aloe in commercial food products can be identified by RAPD analysis.

ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants, last advances on chemistry and bacteria activities on the medicinal herbs

1) The chem. compn. of Aloe arborescens Mill. (Asphodelaceae) and its change by biostimulation (cold stress) were studied.  It was found that aloe-emodin; 2''-O-feruloylaloesin; aloins A and B; aloenin; free glucose, saccharose, and fructose; pectinic substances; and malic, malonic, and oxalic acids were present. 4-Methoxy-6-(4'-hydroxy-6'-methylphenyl)-2-pyrone, 7-hydroxy-2,5-dimethylchromone, umbeliferone, esculetin, and vanillic and veratric acids were found for the first time.  Changes in the chem. compn. of A. arborescens due to biostimulation for 5-10 d increased the antiradical and biostimulating activity of the raw material.

2) The recent advances in the anal. of tumor immunobiol. suggest the possibility of biol. manipulating the efficacy and toxicity of cancer chemotherapy by endogenous or exogenous immunomodulating substances.  Aloe is one of the of the most important plants exhibiting anticancer activity and its antineoplastic property is due to at least three different mechanisms, based on antiproliferative, immunostimulatory and antioxidant effects.  The antiproliferative action is detd. by anthracenic and antraquinonic mols., while the immunostimulating activity is mainly due to acemannan.  A study was planned to include 240 patients with metastatic solid tumor who were randomized to receive chemotherapy with or without Aloe.  According to tumor histotype and clin. status, lung cancer patients were treated with cisplatin and etoposide or weekly vinorelbine, colorectal cancer patients received oxaliplatin plus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), gastric cancer patients were treated with weekly 5-FU and pancreatic cancer patients received weekly gemcitabine.  Aloe was given orally at 10 mL thrice/daily.  The percentage of both objective tumor regressions and disease control was significantly higher in patients concomitantly treated with Aloe than with chemotherapy alone, as well as the percent of 3-yr survival patients.  This study seems to suggest that Aloe may be successfully assocd. with chemotherapy to increase its efficacy in terms of both tumor regression rate and survival time.

3) In Aloe arborescens Mill. leaves, strong sunlight or its combination with drought induces the accumulation of the red keto-carotenoid, rhodoxanthin.  Simultaneously, the transformation of chloroplasts into chromoplasts accompanied by degrdn. of thylakoid membranes and formation of plastoglobuli, large in size and no., takes place.  Depending on stress conditions the build up of rhodoxantin occurred along with the loss of chlorophyll or on the background of relatively high content of the pigment in the leaves.  Microspectrophotometrical measurements showed the presence of chlorophyll-free plastids and retention of carotenoids during leaf adaptation to strong sunlight.  The plastid spectra contained absorption bands of common for higher plants carotenoids together with those of rhodoxantin, with absorption maxima situated in the blue (440-480 nm) and the green ranges of the spectrum, resp.  The studies of whole-leaf optical properties revealed a broad band of rhodoxanthin absorption in the blue-green range peaking near 540-550 nm.  Within this spectral band the accumulation of rhodoxanthin occurring, probably, in plastoglobuli considerably increased light absorption by stressed Aloe leaves.  A possible photoprotective function of rhodoxanthin and other carotenoids as an internal light trap analogous to that accomplished by anthocyanins in other plant species is discussed.

Patente extraída del Chemical Abstracts=Patent extrated from the Database Chemical Abstracts

Genes encoding ProAL proteins from Aloe arborescens having anti-allergic and immune-modulatory activity for use in inhibiting beta -hexosaminidase and therapy.      Park, Young In; Jo, Tae Hyung; Kim, Dong Seon; Lee, Young Chul; Kim, Mi Ran.  (Unigen, Inc., S. Korea).    PCT Int. Appl.  (2009),     30pp.  CODEN: PIXXD2  WO  2009136757  A1  20091112  Designated States W: AE, AG, AL, AM, AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BR, BW, BY, BZ, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, NO, NZ, OM, PG, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TJ, TM, TN, TR, TT.  Designated States RW: AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IS, IT, LU, MC, MT, NL, NO, PT, SE, TR, BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG.  Patent  written in English.    Application: WO  2009-KR2428  20090508.  Priority: KR  4273-6  20080508.  CAN 151:522033    AN 2009:1395898    CAPLUS   (Copyright (C) 2010 ACS on SciFinder (R))   

The present invention relates to Aloe ProALA and ProALB genes encoding proteins having an anti-allergic and immune-modulatory activity and methods for cloning said genes for use in inhibiting beta-hexosaminidase.  It provides methods for cloning ProALA and ProALB genes and large scale prodn. and purifn. of the encoded proteins for use in therapy.  ProALA and ProALB may be used in the treatment of viral infections, Swine flu, SARS, Avian flu, hay fever, lung damage, allergic inflammation, cough due to a cold, allergic cough, allergic conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, urticaria, rheumatism, atopy, asthma, skin itch and sunlight allergic symptoms.

Uses: local pain.                                                 

Origin: South Africa.         

1) OLIVEIRA SIMOES, Claudia María, et al. Plantas da maedicina popular no Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre : UFGRS,1986, pp.28-29.

2) ALONSO PAZ, Eduardo ; BASSAGODA, María Julia ; FERREIRA, Fernando. Yuyos : uso racional de las plantas medicinales. Montevideo : Fin de siglo, 1992, p. 28.

3) SHIODA, H.,et al. Identification of Aloe species by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Journal of the Food Hygienic Society of Japan. 2003, vol.44, nº4, p.203-207.
 
4) ALONSO PAZ, Eduardo ; BASSAGODA, María Julia ; FERREIRA, Fernando. Yuyos : uso racional de las plantas medicinales. 2da. ed. Montevideo : Fin de siglo, 2007, p. 32.

5) OLENNIKOV, D. N., et al. Chemical composition of Aloe arborescens and its change by biostimulation.  Chemistry of Natural Compounds. 2009. , vol.45, nº4, p.478-482.
 
6) LISSONI, Paolo; ROVELLI, Franco, et al. A randomized study of chemotherapy versus biochemotherapy with chemotherapy plus Aloe arborescens in patients with metastatic cancer. In Vivo. 2009, vol.23, nº1, p.171-176.
 
7) MERZLYA, Mark; SOLOVCHENKO, Alexei; POGOSYAN, Sergei. Optical properties of rhodoxanthin accumulated in Aloe arborescens Mill. leaves under high-light stress with special reference to its photoprotective function. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences. 2005, vol.4, nº4, p.333-340.

8) Geraldini , Isanete, Journal of Ethnopharmacology v. 173, 2015 . -- p. 383-423