354
tis, stabilization of metastatic cancer and laxative effect (Ulbricht et al. 2008).
Conversely, long term consumption of the latex or gel is unsafe as it can lead to
allergic reactions, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration and diarrhoea. Individuals
should follow the recommended dosing mentioned on package labelling before
using the Aloe products. There is a need to understand in detail optimal dosage and
of Aloe plant’s preparations in the treatment of definite disorders.
18.5 Pharmacotherapy
Worldwide, traditional healers from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic group use
members of genus Aloe for a broad range of medicinal purposes. In different parts
of the world mostly in Asia (India and Nepal) and Africa maximum Aloe plants are
used. The different parts of Aloe plants are used traditionally in the treatment of
various ailments.
18.5.1 Antimicrobial Activity
Recent researches reported that different Aloe species possess antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities. The leaf extract of four different Aloe species A. barbadensis, A. rupestris, A. juvenna and A. maculata var. pulchra showed varied levels
of antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria Bacillus cereus (Sonam and
Tiwari 2015). Water, petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts of leaves, young
bark, roots and upper stem of South African species A. barberae exhibit antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative (Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli) and
Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) bacteria (Ndhlala et al.
2009). In vitro studies have shown that acetone extract of A. vera shows strong
activity against E. coli, S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes compared to ethanol and aqueous extracts. Antibacterial activity of leaf
extract from Calotropis procera, Pongamia pinnata, Aloe vera, Lantona camara,
Datura stromonium were studied by Johnson et al. (2011). In a separate studies,
Adetunji et al. (2011) evaluated the effect of aqueous extracts and ethanolic extract
obtained from Aloe vera leave extracts against some pathogenic microorganism of
clinical origin. The result obtained shows that the ethanolic extract exhibited a
higher antibacterial activity against all the tested isolates. The high antimicrobial
activity might be linked to the presence of phytochemical constituents available in
the Aloe vera plant such as phenolics, tannins, alkaloids and saponin and cardiac
glycosides. The antimycobacterial potential of Aloe vera were Aloe vera by
Chandran et al. (2017) against Mycobacterium smegmatis. The result shows that
C. Egbuna et al.
tis, stabilization of metastatic cancer and laxative effect (Ulbricht et al. 2008).
Conversely, long term consumption of the latex or gel is unsafe as it can lead to
allergic reactions, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration and diarrhoea. Individuals
should follow the recommended dosing mentioned on package labelling before
using the Aloe products. There is a need to understand in detail optimal dosage and
of Aloe plant’s preparations in the treatment of definite disorders.
18.5 Pharmacotherapy
Worldwide, traditional healers from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic group use
members of genus Aloe for a broad range of medicinal purposes. In different parts
of the world mostly in Asia (India and Nepal) and Africa maximum Aloe plants are
used. The different parts of Aloe plants are used traditionally in the treatment of
various ailments.
18.5.1 Antimicrobial Activity
Recent researches reported that different Aloe species possess antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities. The leaf extract of four different Aloe species A. barbadensis, A. rupestris, A. juvenna and A. maculata var. pulchra showed varied levels
of antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria Bacillus cereus (Sonam and
Tiwari 2015). Water, petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts of leaves, young
bark, roots and upper stem of South African species A. barberae exhibit antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative (Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli) and
Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) bacteria (Ndhlala et al.
2009). In vitro studies have shown that acetone extract of A. vera shows strong
activity against E. coli, S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pyogenes compared to ethanol and aqueous extracts. Antibacterial activity of leaf
extract from Calotropis procera, Pongamia pinnata, Aloe vera, Lantona camara,
Datura stromonium were studied by Johnson et al. (2011). In a separate studies,
Adetunji et al. (2011) evaluated the effect of aqueous extracts and ethanolic extract
obtained from Aloe vera leave extracts against some pathogenic microorganism of
clinical origin. The result obtained shows that the ethanolic extract exhibited a
higher antibacterial activity against all the tested isolates. The high antimicrobial
activity might be linked to the presence of phytochemical constituents available in
the Aloe vera plant such as phenolics, tannins, alkaloids and saponin and cardiac
glycosides. The antimycobacterial potential of Aloe vera were Aloe vera by
Chandran et al. (2017) against Mycobacterium smegmatis. The result shows that
C. Egbuna et al.