Hello Aloe – Organic Aloe Vera Juice 3 L

What Science Says About Aloe Vera

1. What the gel actually is

The inner-leaf fillet is 98 ± 1 g of water per 100 g, leaving between 0.5 and 1 per cent total solids. [1] [2] In the most detailed analysis of the fresh plant, ascorbic acid was not detected in either the fillet or the mucilage. [1] Aloe is not a vitamin C food, and aloe juice does not reach the EU threshold of 6 mg per 100 ml at which a drink may be called a source of it.

2. Acemannan

The characteristic compound of the gel is acemannan, a β-(1,4)-linked chain of mannose sugars carrying roughly one acetyl group per sugar unit at the C-2 and C-3 positions. Its sugars are 84.9 per cent mannose, 7.2 per cent glucose and 3.9 per cent galactose. [3] Fresh gel has been measured at 107 to 139 mg of acemannan per gram of dry matter. [4] Reported molecular weights span two orders of magnitude, from tens to well over a thousand kilodaltons, depending on how it is extracted — a reminder of how young this chemistry still is. [3]

3. What processing does to it

The acetyl groups are the fragile part. Drying reduced acemannan yield by about 40 per cent and removed more than 60 per cent of the acetylation. [5] Dry heating at 60, 80 and 100 °C for 15 to 20 hours left 86, 53.5 and 39.3 per cent of the fresh gel's acetylation, while a commercially produced inner-leaf product retained 34.9 per cent. [6] When fifteen aloe beverages were analysed in 2023, the eight labelled as more than 99 per cent aloe contained between 10 and 260 mg of acemannan per 100 g, and the seven flavoured ones all fell below 30 mg with no detectable acetylation. [7]

4. Blood sugar

Four meta-analyses of oral aloe in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes point the same way and disagree about the size. Pooling nine trials in 283 people, fasting blood glucose was 46.6 mg/dL lower; pooling five trials in 89 people, HbA1c was 1.05 per cent lower — though the same analysis detected publication bias for the glucose result. [8] A second analysis of five randomised trials in 415 people found fasting glucose 30.05 mg/dL lower with heterogeneity at I² = 100 per cent, and HbA1c 0.41 per cent lower with heterogeneity at zero. [9] A third reported HbA1c 0.99 per cent lower across five trials in 235 people. [10] The most recent assessment, using GRADE, rates the overall quality of this evidence as mostly very low. [11] Four of the five trials in the largest analysis used capsules or dried powder rather than a drink. [9]

5. Blood fats

Here the analyses contradict each other. One found total cholesterol 16.94 mg/dL lower, LDL 13.30 mg/dL lower and triglycerides 43.92 mg/dL lower, but with heterogeneity between 86 and 100 per cent on every measure. [9] The most recent found no significant effect on total cholesterol or LDL at all, and only triglycerides lower, by 0.34 mmol/L. [11] A randomised double-blind trial of 60 people taking 600 mg of leaf gel daily for two months found total cholesterol and LDL improved while HDL and triglycerides did not — the opposite pattern. [12]

6. Irritable bowel syndrome

Three randomised placebo-controlled trials in 151 people were pooled in 2018: the symptom-score difference was 0.41 standard deviations (95% CI 0.07 to 0.75) and the response rate ratio 1.69 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.73), with no heterogeneity between the trials. [13] The trials themselves are less tidy than the pooled figure. One gave 50 ml four times daily to 58 people. [14] The largest randomised 110 but only 47 completed both arms of the crossover, and it found no difference on any measure. [15] The third, a 68-person pilot using tablets, missed its primary endpoint at p = 0.09. [16] This is nonetheless the area where the preparation most resembles a drinking juice.

7. Ulcerative colitis

In the only trial of its kind, 44 people with mildly to moderately active ulcerative colitis took 100 ml of an inner-leaf aloe gel drink twice daily, or placebo, for four weeks. Clinical response — remission or improvement — was reached by 47 per cent on aloe against 14 per cent on placebo (p = 0.048). Remission alone did not reach significance (30 versus 7 per cent, p = 0.09), and neither sigmoidoscopic nor histological remission differed. [17] The authors described the possible benefit as modest and regretted that the trial was not larger. It has not been repeated since 2004.

8. Reflux symptoms

A four-week trial in 79 people compared an aloe syrup standardised to 5 mg of polysaccharide per millilitre, 10 ml daily, against omeprazole and ranitidine. Symptom frequency fell in all three groups, and fewer people withdrew from the aloe arm. [18] The trial was open-label with no placebo group and no endoscopy, a third of the aloe group was missing from the four-week analysis, and the authors describe it as a pilot. It is frequently cited as showing aloe to equal omeprazole; it does not show that.

What has not been studied

Most of the findings above come from capsules and dried gel powder at 0.2 to 3.6 grams a day, not from a glass of juice; the exceptions are the colitis and irritable bowel trials. A double-blind trial of oral aloe to prevent radiation mucositis found no benefit on any endpoint. [19] The widely cited study reporting that oral aloe improves facial wrinkles had no control group, [20] and the randomised trial of aloe sterol tablets for skin elasticity missed its primary endpoint. [21] There is no human trial of ingested aloe for wound healing; that literature is topical. When a systematic review last surveyed the whole field in 1999, it concluded the clinical evidence was insufficient — and the picture has not changed as much since as the category's marketing suggests. [22]

Safety and tolerability

Two-year drinking-water studies in rats found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity for a non-decolourised whole-leaf extract, with tumours in the large intestine; the same studies found no evidence in mice. [23] On that basis the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified whole-leaf extract of aloe vera as Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans, noting that the evidence in humans was inadequate. [24] The material tested contained 14.1 to 15.9 mg of aloin A per gram; a decolourised extract contained 0.06 to 0.2 mg per gram. [23] The industry certification limit for aloin in drinkable aloe is 10 ppm, [25] and validated methods detect it far below that. [26] Aloe drinks are made from the inner-leaf gel, not the latex, for exactly this reason. Oral aloe is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for anyone with unexplained abdominal pain.

References

1. Añibarro-Ortega M, Pinela J, Barros L, et al. Compositional features and bioactive properties of Aloe vera leaf (fillet, mucilage, and rind) and flower. Antioxidants. 2019;8(10):444. doi:10.3390/antiox8100444
2. Hamman JH. Composition and applications of Aloe vera leaf gel. Molecules. 2008;13(8):1599–1616. doi:10.3390/molecules13081599
3. Qian W, Wang H, Shan D, et al. Extraction, purification, structural characteristics, biological activities and pharmacological applications of acemannan. Molecules. 2019;24(8):1554. doi:10.3390/molecules24081554
4. Rodríguez-González VM, Femenia A, González-Laredo RF, et al. Effects of pasteurization on bioactive polysaccharide acemannan and cell wall polymers from Aloe barbadensis Miller. Carbohydr Polym. 2011;86(4):1675–1683. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2011.06.084
5. Minjares-Fuentes R, Femenia A, Comas-Serra F, et al. Effect of different drying procedures on the bioactive polysaccharide acemannan from Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller). Carbohydr Polym. 2017;168:327–336. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.03.087
6. López Z, Femenia A, Núñez-Jinez G, et al. Dry but not humid thermal processing of Aloe vera gel promotes cytotoxicity on human intestinal cells HT-29. Foods. 2022;11(5):745. doi:10.3390/foods11050745
7. Comas-Serra F, Estrada P, Minjares-Fuentes R, Femenia A. Evaluation of acemannan in different commercial beverages containing Aloe vera gel. Gels. 2023;9(7):552. doi:10.3390/gels9070552
8. Dick WR, Fletcher EA, Shah SA. Reduction of fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c using oral aloe vera: a meta-analysis. J Altern Complement Med. 2016;22(6):450–457. doi:10.1089/acm.2015.0122
9. Zhang Y, Liu W, Liu D, Zhao T, Tian H. Efficacy of aloe vera supplementation on prediabetes and early non-treated diabetic patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients. 2016;8(7):388. doi:10.3390/nu8070388
10. Suksomboon N, Poolsup N, Punthanitisarn S. Effect of Aloe vera on glycaemic control in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2016;41(2):180–188. doi:10.1111/jcpt.12382
11. Pang AJ, Badrul Hisham MD, Toh JY. Effect of aloe vera on metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. In: Studies in Big Data, vol. 189. Springer; 2026. doi:10.1007/978-3-032-18881-6_19
12. Huseini HF, Kianbakht S, Hajiaghaee R, Dabaghian FH. Anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hypercholesterolemic effects of Aloe vera leaf gel in hyperlipidemic type 2 diabetic patients: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Planta Med. 2012;78(4):311–316. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1280474
13. Hong SW, Chun J, Park S, Lee HJ, Im JP, Kim JS. Aloe vera is effective and safe in short-term treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2018;24(4):528–535. doi:10.5056/jnm18077
14. Davis K, Philpott S, Kumar D, Mendall M. Randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of aloe vera for irritable bowel syndrome. Int J Clin Pract. 2006;60(9):1080–1086. doi:10.1111/j.1742-1241.2006.00980.x
15. Hutchings HA, Wareham K, Baxter JN, et al. A randomised, cross-over, placebo-controlled study of Aloe vera in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. ISRN Gastroenterol. 2011;2011:206103. doi:10.5402/2011/206103
16. Størsrud S, Pontén I, Simrén M. A pilot study of the effect of Aloe barbadensis Mill. extract (AVH200®) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. J Gastrointest Liver Dis. 2015;24(3):275–280. doi:10.15403/jgld.2014.1121.243.sst
17. Langmead L, Feakins RM, Goldthorpe S, et al. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral aloe vera gel for active ulcerative colitis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2004;19(7):739–747. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2036.2004.01902.x
18. Panahi Y, Khedmat H, Valizadegan G, Mohtashami R, Sahebkar A. Efficacy and safety of Aloe vera syrup for the treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: a pilot randomized positive-controlled trial. J Tradit Chin Med. 2015;35(6):632–636. doi:10.1016/S0254-6272(15)30151-5
19. Su CK, Mehta V, Ravikumar L, et al. Phase II double-blind randomized study comparing oral aloe vera versus placebo to prevent radiation-related mucositis in patients with head-and-neck neoplasms. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2004;60(1):171–177. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2004.02.012
20. Cho S, Lee S, Lee MJ, et al. Dietary Aloe vera supplementation improves facial wrinkles and elasticity and it increases the type I procollagen gene expression in human skin in vivo. Ann Dermatol. 2009;21(1):6–11. doi:10.5021/ad.2009.21.1.6
21. Tanaka M, Yamamoto Y, Misawa E, et al. Aloe sterol supplementation improves skin elasticity in Japanese men with sunlight-exposed skin: a 12-week double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2016;9:435–442. doi:10.2147/CCID.S118947
22. Vogler BK, Ernst E. Aloe vera: a systematic review of its clinical effectiveness. Br J Gen Pract. 1999;49(447):823–828.
23. National Toxicology Program. Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of a nondecolorized whole leaf extract of Aloe barbadensis Miller (Aloe vera) in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice (drinking water study). NTP Tech Rep Ser. 2013;(577).
24. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Aloe vera. In: Some Drugs and Herbal Products. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Volume 108. Lyon: IARC; 2016.
25. International Aloe Science Council. Processing methods for Aloe vera leaf: position statement on decolorization. 31 May 2016.
26. Lee I, et al. Determination of aloin A, aloin B, and aloe-emodin in raw materials and finished products using HPLC: multilaboratory validation study, AOAC 2016.09, Final Action. J AOAC Int. 2025;108(3):449–471. doi:10.1093/jaoacint/qsae070