{"id":4553,"date":"2015-08-28T15:02:18","date_gmt":"2015-08-28T13:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.socialdogcat.spregamore.ddnsfree.com\/magazine-en\/health\/prevention-and-treatment\/aloe-vera-how-do-we-use-it\/"},"modified":"2015-08-28T15:02:18","modified_gmt":"2015-08-28T13:02:18","slug":"aloe-vera-how-do-we-use-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.socialdogcat.spregamore.ddnsfree.com\/en\/prevention-and-treatment\/aloe-vera-how-do-we-use-it.html","title":{"rendered":"Aloe vera: how do we use it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Now a days on TV, in newspapers and on the web there is more and more talking about aloe Vera products, whose properties would be truly excellent for the health of the whole organism. Do you know that the extracts and the juice of this miraculous plant can also be used in the veterinary field for the care of our animals? Here are the beneficial properties of aloe Vera and how it is used in dogs and cats.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Aloe Vera?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Aloe Vera is the common name used in reference to Aloe bardensis<\/em>, a fleshy plant of the Liliaceae family, made up of long, rigid and pointed leaves, which are characterized by the presence of an abundant gelatinous substance, from which we get an excellent juice. This aspect is due to the great ability of the aloe to withstand long periods of dryness, since each leaf is made up of an intricate system of vesicles rich in liquid, essential for ensuring nutrients to the plant even in the absence of water in the soil.<\/span><\/p>\n

The leaves have a thick outer coating, rich in spikes along the lateral edges. This coating, called the cuticle, contains substances belonging to anthraquinones, including aloin, known above all for its laxative effects and for its very bitter taste.<\/span><\/p>\n

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By cutting the cuticle, a rather dense gel comes out immediately, rich in very important sugars, called mucopolysaccharides, such as glucomannans and acemannan, which have immunostimulating, anti-inflammatory and healing properties. The gelatinous substance also contains many vitamins, especially A, B, C, E, but also mineral salts, amino acids, plant hormones, enzymes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The origins of this plant are to be placed in the subequatorial areas, in particular in Africa and in the Middle Eastern countries. It is no coincidence, in fact, that the first historical sources relating to the cultivation of aloe date back to 2000 BC, according to what has been ascertained by some findings dated at this time near the current Baghdad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even the ancient Egyptians used aloe to embalm the dead and we find traces of this tradition even in the Bible, where it is written that the bandages to be applied on the body of Christ were impregnated with aloe and myrrh.<\/span><\/p>\n

The word “aloe”, in fact, derives from the Hebrew term “allal”, but also from the Arabic “alloch”, indicating in both cases the definition of bitter, precisely because the juice of the plant is bitter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite being widely used in the past, its importance has been underestimated for many years, until the 1950s, when Texas pharmacist Bill Coats managed to prevent the rapid deterioration of aloe gel thanks to a series of stabilization processes. Thanks to this discovery, aloe managed to save a large number of people from the very dangerous effects of burns, for which this plant is truly excellent. For this reason, the American government recognized in the same period the effectiveness of aloe Vera in treating burns, as an official remedy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first traces of the use of aloe in the veterinary field date back to the 70s, when Dr. Robert Northway conducted research on dogs, cats and horses suffering from mycosis and treated them with aloe Vera gel. Out of 71 animals, 67 managed to heal with aloe Vera cutaneous administration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, the experiment has also been expanded to treat many other diseases, especially for problems in the muscles, tendons and joints of horses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The properties of Aloe Vera<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to some theories, to obtain the maximum benefits from aloe Vera, every component of the leaf should be used. In reality, due to the bitter taste and the laxative properties of the external cuticle, it is preferred to use only the gel or the juice, equally capable of bringing beneficial effects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the most interesting and proven properties of aloe Vera we find:<\/span><\/p>\n