Absence of genotoxicity of purified Aloe vera whole leaf dry juice as assessed by an in vitro mouse lymphoma tk assay and an in vivo comet assay in male F344 rats

Evaluation of 90-day repeated dose oral toxicity of an aloe vera inner leaf gel beverage

Despite its popularity along with many proposed therapeutic applications, the safety profile of Aloe vera gel beverages remains unsettled. The putative toxicology concern has focused on the hydroxyanthraquinone derivatives (HADs) found in the latex portion of the Aloe leaf. Despite harvesting and processing designed to eliminate or significantly reduce these compounds, certain HADs, such as aloin, may be present and have been associated with carcinogenicity in non-decolorized whole leaf extract containing approximately 6400 ppm aloin A and 71 ppm aloin-emodin. Sprague Dawley rats had free access to drinking water or a commercially and widely available Aloe vera gel beverage (Forever Living Products) prepared from the inner leaves of Aloe barbadensis Miller containing 3.43 ppm total aloin for 90 days. Under the conditions of the study and based on the toxicological endpoints evaluated, there were no adverse test substance-related findings, including altered thyroid hormones. No histologic differences or histopathological changes were detected in the multiple tissues and organs examined. The Ki-67 proliferation assay demonstrated no increased cell proliferation in the liver, lungs, kidneys, or urinary bladder, which might have been attributed to the dietary administration of the Aloe vera gel beverage via drinking water for 90 days. These data lend increasing confidence regarding the safety of appropriately processed Aloe vera gel beverages, such as the beverage tested in this study.

Influences of l-ascorbic acid on cytotoxic, biochemical, and genotoxic damages caused by copper II oxide nanoparticles in the rainbow trout gonad cells-2

In parallel with the raising use of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) in various industrial and commercial practices, scientific reports on their release to the environment and toxicity are increasing. The toxicity of CuO NPs is mostly based on their oxidative stress. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the efficacy of well-known therapeutic agents as antioxidants against CuO NPs damage. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of this damage and to display whether l-ascorbic acid could preserve against the cell toxicities induced by CuO NPs in the rainbow trout gonad cells-2 (RTG-2). While CuO NPs treatment significantly diminished cell viability, the l-ascorbic acid supplement reversed this. l-ascorbic acid treatment reversed the changes in expressions of sod1, sod2, gpx1a, and gpx4b genes while playing a supportive role in the changes in the expression of the cat gene induced by CuO NPs treatment. Moreover, CuO NPs treatment caused an upregulation in the expressions of growth-related genes (gh1, igf1, and igf2) and l-ascorbic acid treatment further increased these effects. CuO NPs treatment significantly up-regulated the expression of the gapdh gene (glycolytic enzyme gene) compared to the control group, and l-ascorbic acid treatment significantly down-regulated the expression of the gapdh gene compared to CuO NPs treatment. The genotoxicity test demonstrated that l-ascorbic acid treatment increased the genotoxic effect caused by CuO NPs by acting as a co-mutagen. Based on the findings, l-ascorbic acid has the potential to be sometimes inhibitory and sometimes supportive of cellular mechanisms caused by CuO NPs.

The absence of genotoxicity of Aloe vera beverages: A review of the literature

Aloe has a long history of topical and systemic use with testimonials of countless health benefits and is one of the most popular botanical medicines in the world for the management of a wide variety both of benign and serious ailments including irritable bowel syndromes, osteoarthritis, Type II diabetes mellitus, and viral respiratory illness. The human consumption of Aloe vera extract in beverage form has substantially grown over the last several decades, in no small part, due to the increased consumer interest in alternative approaches to health benefits. The principal aim of the present paper is to characterize the research to date that has explored the genotoxic potential of Aloe vera inner leaf gel extract and decolorized whole leaf extract used in commercially available food-grade drinkable products which contain no more than 10 ppm aloin. Despite prevailing public health opinion, especially in Europe, the consensus of the reviewed studies retrieved from the peer-reviewed literature together with a mutagenic evaluation of an Aloe vera whole leaf decolorized spray-dried powder is that these products are not genotoxic.

Aloe arborescens: In Vitro Screening of Genotoxicity, Effective Inhibition of Enzyme Characteristics for Disease Etiology, and Microbiological Activity

The present study assessed the genotoxicity, the possibility of inhibiting selected enzymes, and the microbial activity of lyophilisate from 3-year-old A. arborescens leaves obtained from controlled crops. The lyophilisate from 3-year-old A. arborescens leaves was standardized for aloin A and aloenin A content. Moreover, concentrations of polyphenolic compounds and phenolic acids were determined. The first stage of the research was to determine genotoxicity using the comet test, which confirmed the safety of A. arborescens. Assays of enzymatic inhibition were performed for hyaluronidase (IC50 = 713.24 ± 41.79 µg/mL), α-glucosidase (IC50 = 598.35 ± 12.58 µg/mL), acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase (1.16 vs. 0.34 µM of eserine/g d.m., respectively). The next stage of the research was to determine the ability of the healing properties using the scratch test, which showed a positive response using the extract. Microbial activity was evaluated and obtained against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and yeasts. We concluded that A. arborescens leaf gel meets the important conditions for plant raw materials to obtain semi-solid forms of herbal medicinal products.

Lack of in vivo genotoxic effect of dried whole Aloe ferox juice

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Dried Aloe juice hazard identification.

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Dried Aloe juice is not genotoxic in in vivo Comet rodent assay.

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Dried Aloe juice is safe in food supplements and herbal medicinal products.

Aloe ferox Mill is widely used as a traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of a broad spectrum of illnesses given its laxative, anti-inflammatory, bitter tonic, anti-oxidant, antimicrobial and anti-cancer properties.

Using the in vivo alkaline comet assay in animals (OECD 489), this study investigated the potential in vivo genotoxicity of dried Aloe ferox juice at dose levels of 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg/day in mice. Aloe ferox showed no genotoxic activity in preparations of single cells from the colon of the treated Hsd:ICR (CD-1) male mice. No statistically significant increase in DNA migration over the negative control was observed by analysis of variance for both comet parameters, tail moment and tail intensity, apart from the positive control ethyl methanesulphonate that induced clear and statistically significant increases in DNA migration parameters over the concurrent controls. The new reported scientific evidence unequivocally demonstrates that dried Aloe ferox juice containing hydroxyanthracene derivatives does not induce DNA damage in preparations of single cells from colon in in vivo comet genotoxicity studies. This suggests that the hyperplastic changes and mucosal hyperplasia observed after long-term administration of Aloe vera non-decolourised whole leaf extract may be attributed to an epigenetic effect of the material under investigation.