Aloe gel for Colitis

Aloe vera is one of the Latin names for this species, which also goes by the name A. barbadensis as well as several other names.  Aloe gel is used in many consumer products, including beverages, skin lotion, cosmetics or for minor burns and sunburns. In fact, two substances are prepared as herbal medicine from Aloe leaves – the clear gel which can be scraped from the inner part of the leaf and a yellow latex from the outer part. The latex, sometimes called Bitter Aloes is a strong laxative, which finds application for constipation, but it is important to make sure that the latex is not included when harvesting the gel. Aloe gel was traditionally used to make topical preparations for inflammatory skin conditions, such as burns, wounds, and frostbit and, indeed, anti-inflammatory effects of Aloe gel have been demonstrated in laboratory studies.

For many years Aloe gel was used orally by patients with inflammatory bowel disease following word-of-mouth advice, despite a lack of clinical evidence that it worked. Then in 2004 a study was published of 44 hospital out-patients with mild-to-moderate colitis (PMID: 15043514), - an inflammatory condition of the bowel. Colitis causes bouts of diarrhoea, abdominal pain and sometime even blood in the stool. The patients in the study were given 100 ml of either Aloe gel or a placebo to drink twice-a-day for 4 weeks. They were asked to fill in a specially designed questionnaire for colitis symptoms, which showed, at the end of the trial, that scores in the questionnaire decreased significantly during treatment with Aloe gel, but not for those taking placebo. At the same time, biopsy samples taken during endoscopy showed normalisation of the appearance of the cells in those taking Aloe gel, which did not happen with the placebo group. This was a relatively small study, but it was useful in supporting self-care for inflammatory bowel disease, with or without modern drugs.

Ann Walker PhD FCPP MNIMH RNutr, Herbal Practitioner and Nutritionist, Course Director, Discovering Herbal Medicine course: www.newvitalitytuition.com