Aloe Vera: History
Often called "plant miracle" or "light of nature", aloe vera hides many surprises. It grows best in hot and dry climates and many people are confused with cactus, but it really belongs to the family of lilies. Aloe keeps its freshness under conditions where other plants would wither and die by closing their pores to prevent the loss of valuable moisture. There are over 200 varieties of aloe, but the most valuable for humanity is the Aloe Barbadensis Miller (Aloe Vera).
Ancient monuments testify that the properties of aloe vera have been known for centuries. Its therapeutical and healing qualities have survived the test of time over 5000 years. In 1862, Georg Ebers first discovered how much alot was valued since ancient times in Egyptian papyrus. Ancient Greek and Roman healers apply it very successfully as a healing herb. Researchers find that this plant is known in both Chinese and Indian cultures. Egyptian queens use it in their quest to achieve ideal physical beauty, and in the Philippines they mix it with milk to treat kidney infections. Aloe is also mentioned in the Bible, and according to the legend, Alexander the Great conquered the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean because of the aloe that grew there and was needed to treat his wounded warriors. But the rapid progress of documented medicine to the west and the relocation to more temperate climates has led to a decrease in the popularity and use of aloe vera.
Nowadays, although medicine and medicines are effective in the treatment of most illnesses, their prolonged use leads to side effects. That is why many consumers and scientists are returning to more traditional natural therapies that have been neglected for so long. As a result, Aloe Vera again attracts attention, offering its many properties to improve our health and quality of life.
But the popularity of aloe vera in areas where it does not grow is entirely due to a patented process called stabilization. Let's look at a simple example - if you cut an apple and leave it outdoors, the fruit quickly darkens. The same happens with aloe. In nature, the transparent gel inside the leaves is well protected from their flesh, which prevents moisture loss and prevents it from damaging the atmosphere. The oxidation process begins as soon as the leaf is cut off and if not stopped, much of the beneficial properties of the gel are lost. Stabilization is a method of storing the valuable gel in a state as close as possible to the original, without losing its beneficial properties. Without oxidation and oxidation, the gel does not stabilize, even with cooling.
More information about Aloe Vera will be available in my next posts! :)
