Aloe vera

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Aloe veraUpdated: Aug 01, 2003 The aloe vera is a succulent plant long used to

heal burns and cuts. Today an extract from the leaves is used as the basis of

many cosmetics, especially to soothe sunburnt skin.

 

Aloe vera juice and a freeze-dried extract from the plant, acemennan, have both

been used by HIV-positive people in the United States.

 

Aloe vera has been investigated widely in the US and Russia in an attempt to

discover which chemical constituents have made it such a useful medicine to

herbalists. Investigators have noted high levels of anti-inflammatory and

antiseptic compounds, as well as pain killing and wound healing constituents.

 

Aloe vera also contains chemicals active against parasites and (contains)high

levels of minerals, vitamins and amino-acids. The plant also contains high

levels of a polysaccharide, acemennan, which has been shown to inhibit HIV

replication in the test tube, stimulate macrophages and boost the anti-viral

effects of a combination of AZT and acyclovir in the test tube (McDaniel).

Acemennan is also known by its trade name, Carrisyn.

 

Most aloe vera products contain such low concentrations of juice from the plant

that it is doubtful that any of the potentially beneficial substances are

present in high enough concentrations to inhibit viruses or kill bacteria. Aloe

products using only the juice (the water stored in the leaves) are much less

potent than those containing the sap (the bitter yellow resin) and the best

extracts of aloe vera are likely to be those which are heat-processed extracts

of the whole leaf.

 

No processed aloe vera extracts are likely to have the dramatic wound-healing

powers of the leaf, which is often applied to cuts and burns with speedy results

in areas where the plant grows wild. This is because the enzymes which

accelerate healing are destroyed by all processing methods. If not processed,

aloe vera extracts can cause severe diarrhoea.

 

Purified acemennan is produced by a number of processes; some AIDS treatment

publications have suggested that it may enhance the effectiveness of anti-viral

drugs such as AZT and reduce their toxicities. However, a Canadian

placebo-controlled study showed no benefit (Singer).

 

Carrington Laboratories, a manufacturer of acemennan in the United States,

presented data at the Ninth International AIDS Conference which provided

follow-up information on participants in a 1986 trial of acemennan. Those who

had maintained a daily intake of 500-800mg of acemennan over six years had an

average CD4 count of 346, almost identical to their average CD4 count on entry

to the trial in 1986. The average CD8 count had risen from 359 to 1395. In

contrast, those who had not maintained acemennan intake had died (although the

report does not provide clear information on how many individuals were recruited

to the original trial, so we cannot be certain that everyone who ceased

acemennan therapy subsequently died).

 

The authors suggest that the survival of these patients may be explained by the

very high levels of CD8 cells, and that acemennan may activate CD8 cells, as

previously demonstrated in laboratory studies.

 

The report does not give any details of other treatments received during the six

year follow-up, nor of any symptoms reported during the follow-up period

(McDaniel). On the basis of this report alone it is difficult to be certain

whether or not acemennan provides long term benefit and more rigorous trials are

needed.

 

References

 

McDaniel HR et al. In vitro studies on polymannoacetate (Carrisyn) for antiviral

effect. American Society of Clinical Pathologists Scientific Assembly, New

Orleans, 1987. Abstract P-121.

 

Singer J et al. A randomised placebo-controlled trial of oral acemennan as an

adjunctive to anti-retroviral therapy in advanced HIV disease. Ninth

Interntional AIDS Conference, Berlin, abstract B28-2153, 1993.

 

 

 

 

 

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