Aloe Vera’s Antioxidant Power
Aloe Vera is an extremely hard plant that has a medicinal value. It has a very short stem and a succulent plant that grows to 60-100 cm tall. It spreads by offset. Its leaves are fleshy and thick. Its margin is serrated and has small white teeth. It has flowers that are produced in summer. There are many studies that used this plant as herbal medicine. Ancient people knew about this. During the Ancient Greece, doctors and scientists prescribed it. It was first used as healing agents for blisters and wounds. Its antibiotic and antiseptic properties allow its use to be more effective in more severe skin problems like second degree burns.
Don’t you know that Aloe Vera has an antioxidant power? Antioxidants are our body’s defense system against free radicals that are toxics inside the body. We can get free radicals from environmental pollution, cigarette smoking, and exposure to sunlight, consuming alcohol and others. These bad radicals are responsible for the progression of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Scientists said that higher levels of free radicals associate with a shorter life expectancy. That is why having adequate antioxidant protection is very important for good health.
Studies show thatAloe Vera has antioxidant property that can fight infections. Scientists in Spain believe that Aloe Vera can be used as a natural preservative for fresh fruits and vegetables. Its capability as an antioxidant was demonstrated by them. It was Dr. Daniel Valero, Ph. D. of the University of Miguel Hernandez in Alicante, Spain and with his many associates who conducted the study. He used red seedless table grapes. He used grapes because these were perishable. If the aloe gel is able to preserve grapes then it will work on other fruits and vegetables as well. The researchers dip a group of grapes in an aloe gel while the others were not dip. The untreated grapes appeared that they deteriorate quickly for about seven days. The grapes that were coated with the Aloe gel survived until 35 days with the same experimental conditions.
There was also a research in Egypt wherein its objective was to evaluate the role of aloe Vera on its antioxidant role when exposed to radiation. The researchers experimented on the tissue. There were these tissue papers that were group into two. The other was treated with Aloe Vera while the other one was not. After exposing to radiation, the tissue that was treated exhibited less free radical activity and more antioxidant protection when compared with the untreated one. They ended up with a conclusion that the "synergistic relationship between the elements found in the leaf of the Aloe Vera could be useful adjunct for maintaining the integrity of the antioxidant status.