Herbal Aloe Vera and Skin Aging

Aloe Vera is species of succulent plant in the genus Aloe, belonging to the Family Xanthorrhoeaceae, native to Sudan. It has become very popular for commercial cultivation due to its health benefits. Aloe vera has been used in herbal medicine in treating many kinds of disease, including wound, burn healing, minor skin infections, sebaceous cysts, diabetes, and elevated of cholesterol, etc. It is also one of many popular herb studied in scientific ways with some conflicted results.

A free radical is any atom or molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell and highly reactive to react with other cell, which in turn, causes oxidative damage to the enzymes, other protein, unsaturated fatty acid, phospho-lipids, DNA and RNA, etc., leading to aging of the organisms, as a result of widespread damage due to set of a chain reaction auto-catalytically after attacking the lipid bilayers of the cell walls. Free radicals oxidative effects can damage to skin and speed up the skin aging process.

The Ingredients 
The ten main areas of chemical constituents of Aloe vera include: amino acids, anthraquinones, enzymes, minerals, vitamins, lignins, monosaccharide, polysaccharides, salicylic acid, saponins, and sterols.
They all work together in a synergistic way to create healing and health giving benefits, according to Gertrude Baldwin in the article of THE BENEFITS OF THE USE OF ALOE VERA IN HERBAL PREPARATIONS.

The benefits 
Aging is a natural process, no one can stop but delay it. Aloe Vera Supplementation has long been promote by cosmetic industrial for reducing the progress of skin aging. The study of 30 healthy female subjects over the age of 45 received 2 different doses (low-dose: 1,200 mg/d, high-dose: 3,600 mg/d) of aloe vera gel supplementation for 90 days. to determine the effect of aloe gel on the clinical signs and biochemical changes of aging skin, researchers found that the facial wrinkles improved significantly (p<0.05) in both groups, and facial elasticity improved in the lower-dose group. In the photoprotected skin, the type I procollagen mRNA levels were increased in both groups, albeit without significance; the MMP-1 mRNA levels were significantly decreased in the higher-dose group. In UVB-Induced Skin Photoaging in vitro, aloe shoot extract (AE), which is from the four-month-old shoots of Aloe vera, have a protective effect on UVB-induced skin photoaging in normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs). As a anti-inflammatory agent,  aloe vera, havs been identified as beneficial in the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

The Side effects
1. Hepatitis
Some researchers concerned that the over use of oral aloe vera may contribute to acute hepatitis, according to the study of "Oral aloe vera-induced hepatitis" by Bottenberg MM, Wall GC, Harvey RL, Habib S., posted in PubMed
2. Diarrhea, caused by the laxative effect of oral use of Aloe Vera
3. oral use of Aloe Vera may cause abdominal cramps and pain
4. It may cause of rheumatoid arthritis symptoms as a result of collagen in the plant, according to the study of "Oral type II collagen in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A six-month double blind placebo-controlled study" by Cazzola M, Antivalle M, Sarzi-Puttini P, Dell'Acqua D, Panni B, Caruso I., posted in PubMed
5. Etc.


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References
(1) Aloe barbadensis Mill. formulation restores lipid profile to normal in a letrozole-induced polycystic ovarian syndrome rat Model (PubMed)
(2)   ALOE VERA by Gertrude Baldwin, http://www.herballegacy.com/Baldwin_Chemical.html
(3) Dietary Aloe Vera Supplementation Improves Facial Wrinkles and Elasticity and It Increases the Type I Procollagen Gene Expression in Human Skin in vivo. by Cho S, Lee S, Lee MJ, Lee DH, Won CH, Kim SM, Chung JH.(PubMed)
(4) A Comparative Study of Baby Immature and Adult Shoots of Aloe Vera on UVB-Induced Skin Photoaging in vitro. by Hwang E, Kim SH, Lee S, Lee CH, Do SG, Kim J, Kim SY.(PubMed)
(5) Innovations in natural ingredients and their use in skin care.

Fowler JF Jr, Woolery-Lloyd H, Waldorf H, Saini R.(PubMed)

(5) Oral aloe vera-induced hepatitis(PubMed)
(6) Oral type II collagen in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. A six-month double blind placebo-controlled study(PubMed)