Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Aloe is a thick, spiky succulent plant grown across warm parts of the world. Yoruba speakers in West Africa call it eti erin. One leaf gives two very different products.
The inner part is a clear gel. It is used on skin and also sold as juice, capsules and creams. Just under the leaf skin sits a bitter yellow sap called latex, rich in aloin.
Aloe latex is a harsh laxative and the risky part of the plant. Swallowed whole-leaf extracts carry the same concern. Most of the safety warnings on this page are about those products, not about gel on skin.
Aloe has a long record of use in West African home care and in many other traditions. Long use is not proof that something works. It is not proof that it is safe either.
Here is the short verdict. Gel on minor burns and small skin problems has modest human support. Taken by mouth, the evidence is thin, and the latex is a real hazard.
The two parts of the leaf seem to act in different ways.
Aloe latex holds anthraquinones (plant laxative compounds) such as aloin. In the gut these pull water into the bowel. They also speed up the squeezing that moves stool along.
That laxative effect is well described in people. It is also what causes the cramping, the fluid loss and the drop in potassium.
The gel is mostly water. It also holds long sugar chains called polysaccharides, plus plant sterols and enzymes.
In cell and animal studies, these gel compounds appear to hold water in the skin. They also appear to calm inflammation (swelling, heat and redness). Small human trials on burns and mouth ulcers point the same way.
What aloe gel does when you swallow it is much less clear. Small trials in type 2 diabetes suggest a modest drop in fasting blood sugar. The trials are few, small and weakly designed, so this is not settled.
Aloe is sold in several forms. Risk depends heavily on which one you pick.
Put on the skin or in the mouth:
- Fresh leaf cut open at home, with the gel scooped out and the yellow sap drained away. - Gel, creams and after-sun lotions for skin. - Mouthwashes and gels for the inside of the mouth.
Swallowed:
- Drinking juice, usually filtered so that aloin is removed. - Capsules and tablets of dried gel or whole leaf. - Dried latex, sold as a laxative and restricted in several countries.
Labels are often vague. If a product does not say it is aloin-free, assume it is not.
Aloe has been grown and used in West Africa for centuries. Yoruba speakers know it as eti erin, meaning elephant's ear, after the broad leaves.
Healers in the region applied the fresh gel to burns, cuts, boils and rashes. The bitter sap was used as a purge for the bowels and in cleansing mixes. It also appeared in hair and scalp preparations.
Aloe travelled widely and shows up in Egyptian, Arab, Indian and European records. Caribbean and African American home care kept the same two uses: gel on skin, sap for the bowels.
These records tell you what people did. They do not tell you that it helped, and they do not tell you what dose was safe.
Stop using aloe and see a doctor if any of these happen.
- Cramping or diarrhoea that lasts more than two days. - Muscle weakness, cramps or an irregular heartbeat. These can signal low potassium. - Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine, or pain under your right ribs. These can signal liver trouble. - A rash that spreads, or swelling of the lips, tongue or throat. - A burn or wound that is getting worse, oozing, or more painful after a few days.
Call emergency services for swelling of the throat, trouble breathing, fainting or a racing heart.
Aloe gel is sold freely as a cosmetic, food and supplement in the UK, EU, US and much of West Africa. In 2002 the US FDA removed aloe from over-the-counter laxative products, citing missing safety data. Since 2021 the EU has banned aloe-emodin, aloin and whole-leaf aloe extracts in food.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
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