Aloe Vera

Succulent first-aid gel on a windowsill — with a laxative latex regulators pulled from shelves.

Core Principles & Analysis

• The inner leaf gel, rich in polysaccharides like acemannan, is the burn-and-wound folk standby.
• The yellow latex under the rind contains aloin, a stimulant laxative the US pulled from OTC sale in 2002.
• It propagates by offsets so readily that one plant becomes a lineage.

Specifications & Metrics

• ACTIVE COMPOUNDS: Acemannan; aloin (latex)