The Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal (IRCMJ) is international, open access, peer-reviewed, monthly, and ISI- Journal, affiliated to Iranian Hospital- Dubai, publishes original scientific studies in English that have direct clinical significance on Basic Science, Clinical Medicine, and Disaster Management. The journal strives to release the original articles related to various disciplines of medicine, including Review Articles, Meta-Analysis, Systematic Reviews, Clinical and Experimental Trials, Case Reports, and Letters. All research articles published in the journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees. The journal strives to strengthen connections between research and practice, so enhancing professional development and improving practice within the field of medicine.

Many studies have proved that bioactive components of Aloe vera have an anti-inflammatory effect and support lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, helping to maintain normal sugar and cholesterol levels in blood and normal body weight. When aloe is applied externally, it accelerates the regeneration of the damaged skin. Aloe contains antioxidants, which may increase the shelf-life and nutritional value of food; therefore, it is widely used in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industry. An antioxidant activity was shown for leaf’s skin, flowers and gel of aloe. In this work the future of A. vera as effective antioxidants is primarily discussed and expected trends are summarised. Furthermore, the bioactive components and the health-promoting effects of A. vera are investigated.

Introduction: Pruritus is one of the most common problems in patients with kidney failure. 60-80% of dialysis patients complain of itchy skin for which different therapies have been recommended. Medicinal plants compose a group of these therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of aloe Vera gel on pruritus in ...

Several factors limit the absorption and bioavailability of vitamins. Vitamin C, a commonly used water-soluble supplement reduces the risk of disease. Vitamin B(12) is necessary for the development of RBC, growth, and nervous system. Vitamin B(12) deficiency is common among elderly. Thus, agents tha …

Nowadays, there is great interest in Aloe vera as a potential source of functional food supplements. This could probably be attributed to the presence…

There is a tendency nowadays to encourage the use of natural substances in dentistry. Aloe vera is one of these substances, which has recently gained …

Aloe vera may reduce fasting plasma glucose in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

There are no literature references describing the effect of consumption of Aloe vera liquid preparations on the absorption of water- or fat-soluble vitamins. There is a very large population worldwide which consume vitamins and many people also consume Aloe. Thus we report the effect of Aloe on the …

The nutraceutical properties of Aloe vera have been attributed to a glucomannan known as acemannan. Recently information has been published about the presence of fructans in Aloe vera but there are no publications about acemannan and fructans as prebiotic compounds. This study investigated in vitro the prebiotic properties of these polysaccharides. Our results demonstrated that fructans from Aloe vera induced bacterial growth better than inulin (commercial FOS). Acemannan stimulated bacterial growth less than fructans, and as much as commercial FOS. Using qPCR to study the bacterial population of human feces fermented in a bioreactor simulating colon conditions, we found that fructans induce an increase in the population of Bifidobacterium spp. Fructans produced greater amounts of short chain fatty acids (SCFA), while the branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) did not increase with these polysaccharides. Acemannan increased significantly acetate concentrations. Therefore, both Aloe vera polysaccharides have prebiotic potentials.

The low solubility of traditional herbal products is a major drawback that hinders the efficacy of their use in medicinal products. In this study, a n…

The main effects of different drying procedures: spray-, industrial freeze-, refractance window- and radiant zone-drying, on acemannan, the main bioac…

Introduction and Objectives: Annually one million newborns die due to the umbilical cord infection. Thus, in this study, we aimed toevaluate the effect of topical aloe vera gel on umbilical cord complications. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was performed in maternity ward of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran The samples were selected through convenience sampling and were randomly divided into three groups of aloe vera, control, and placebo. For data analysis, One-way ANOVA test was conducted. Results: Comparison of cord condition between the groups showed significant differences between the three groups. In the placebo group, the number of infants with redness around the cord was significantly higher compared to the control (P=0.002) and aloe vera (P=0.002) groups. In addition, cord swelling was significantly more frequent in the placebo group than the control (P=0.002) and aloe vera (P=0.002) groups. The incidence of cord infection was significantly higher in the placebo group than the control (P=0.000) and aloe vera (P=0.000) groups. The occurrence of infection in the umbilical cord of the newborns in the placebo group was significantly more compared to the control (P=0.000) and aloe vera (P=0.000) groups. Conclusion: Topical aloe vera gel accelerated cord separation and reduced the rates of complications and infections.

Aloe vera is a well known medicinal plant which thrives in varied agro-climates. It was native to Northern Africa, but now it is widely distributed th…

Aloe vera is a well known medicinal plant which thrives in varied agro-climates. It was native to Northern Africa, but now it is widely distributed th…

Administration of 20% acetic acid can induce gastric inflammation, increase leukocyte adherence in postcapillary venule and TNF-alpha level and reduce IL-10 level. Aloe vera treatment can reduce leukocyte adherence and TNF-alpha level, elevate IL-10 level and promote gastric ulcer healing.

Aggregation of proteins is a physiological process which contributes to the pathophysiology of several maladies including diabetes mellitus, Huntingto…

Food industries typically use Aloe vera as concentrated (100× to 200×) and dried powders in their final products. These powders are obtained by extrusion of Aloe inner leaf gel (ILG) or Aloe whole leaf (WLP); the juice is filtered through diatomaceous earth and activated carbon before spray drying at temperatures below 70 °C. In another process, Aloe inner leaf gel was dried at ~80 °C and mashed to a powder rich in high molecular weight fibres and soluble polysaccharides (ILF). In contrast to ILG and WLP, the ILF sample was cytotoxic for the human intestinal cell line Caco-2 (CC50 = 1 g/l), even at concentrations below the recommended dose for human consumption. At lower concentrations (250 mg/l) with LPS challenged macrophage-like THP-1 cells decreased by 40% the release of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, whereas the release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β increased by 35% (compared to untreated but challenged macrophage-like THP-1 cells). Unexpectedly, under the same conditions, the less cytotoxic ILG and WLP, both samples with a lower fibre content, significantly increased (up to 2.4 times) the release of IL-10, while the concentration of IL-1β remained unaltered and of TNFα decreased by 35%. Even more interesting is that a treatment of the ILF sample with activated carbon reduced its cytotoxicity and increased the IL-10 release (3.1 times). Based on these results, we suggest applying an activated carbon treatment on Aloe-starting products, which have high fibre content and have received high temperature treatment, in order to reduce their cytotoxicity and improve their immunomodulatory properties.

The aim of present work was to investigate preventive role of orally administered Aloe vera supplemented probiotic lassi (APL) on Shigella dysenteriae…

Objective: The protective effect of aloe vera is due to its anti-inflammatory properties. This experimental study focused on revealing the effects of aloe vera on antioxidant systems and determining the number of degenerated neurons after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. Methods: Twenty-one rats were divided equally into three groups: group I rats were used as controls; group II rats were fed with standard diet, and group III rats were fed with standard diet plus aloe vera for 30 days. For groups II and III, the right middle cerebral arteries were occluded for 45 min and then reperfused for 24 h. After these procedures, rats in all groups were sacrificed. The levels of malondialdehyde and nuclear respiratory factor-1 and superoxide dismutase activity in the right cerebral cortex were measured. The number of degenerated neurons was counted in histological samples of the right cerebral cortex. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression was examined with immunohistochemical methods. Results: Superoxide dismutase activity and nuclear respiratory factor-1 levels were decreased in group II compared with group I (p