Herb library · Herb · Aloe vera (also Aloe barbadensis, A. africana, A. arborescens)
Aloe vera
A succulent whose inner-leaf gel is used on the skin and whose bitter outer-leaf juice (latex) was once a laxative. Small studies suggest the gel on the skin may help burns and acne; taking aloe by mouth carries real safety concerns.
Serious warning
Taking aloe by mouth is the risky use. In 2002 the FDA required aloe latex to be removed from over-the-counter laxatives for lack of safety data, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies whole-leaf aloe vera extract as a possible human carcinogen, and oral aloe leaf extracts have been linked to cases of acute hepatitis (NCCIH).
Traditional use
Aloe was used in ancient Greece, Rome, Babylonia and China, historically for skin conditions, wounds and even to hold off graying hair. Products are made from three different parts of the leaf: the gel from the inner leaf, the latex from the outer layer, and the whole crushed leaf. Today the gel is sold for acne, psoriasis, burns and radiation skin damage, and oral aloe for weight loss, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease.
What studies show
- Limited
Burns: clinical research suggests aloe gel on the skin may help burns close faster and reduce burn pain.
- Limited
Acne: two small studies suggest aloe gel on the skin, alongside other acne care, may help.
- Limited
Other skin and mouth conditions (genital herpes, lichen planus, psoriasis, oral submucous fibrosis, radiation skin damage, denture sores): only a small amount of research, suggesting it may help.
- Limited
Blood sugar and weight: a small amount of research suggests oral aloe may lower blood sugar and HbA1c in people with diabetes, and one small study of a specific aloe gel product found modest weight and fat loss in adults with overweight and diabetes or prediabetes.
- Insufficient
Eczema, diabetic foot ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis: there isn't enough reliable information to say whether aloe helps.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteAloe gel on the skin is generally well tolerated, though burning, itching, rash and eczema have occasionally been reported. Short-term oral use of the gel, up to 42 days, appears safe in research studies.
- NoteOral aloe latex can cause abdominal pain, cramps and diarrhea. Oral aloe leaf extracts, taken for as little as 3 weeks or as long as 5 years, have been linked to cases of acute hepatitis.
- InteractionOveruse of aloe latex may raise the risk of side effects from heart medicines called cardiac glycosides, such as digoxin.
- PregnancyAloe taken by mouth, in gel, latex or whole-leaf form, may be unsafe during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
From the old books
What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.
“The mucilaginous juice expressed from the parenchymatous tissue of the leaves has no remedial influences; but only that which is procured by incising the air-ducts of the leaves transversely, so that the juice may flow from them”
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred Roman pounds.
Almost certainly not aloe vera. Tristram (1898) took the aloes of these verses to be the fragrant wood of an Indian tree, eaglewood (Aquilaria agallocha), traded as a perfume, and wrote that the aloes of Scripture has nothing to do with the aloes of medicine. H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (1898), p. 333 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Aloe Vera: Usefulness and Safety (opens in a new tab) · NCCIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.