Aloe vera
Other plantsThe Eighteen-Metre Scroll
Around 1550 BCE, an Egyptian scribe copied nearly nine hundred medical texts onto an immense scroll. More than three millennia later, in 1873, Egyptologist Georg Ebers bought it in Luxor and carried it to Europe. Aloe was already among the plants recorded there. Preserved today in Leipzig, the Ebers Papyrus measures 18.63 metres: a long strip of fibres bearing one of the oldest written traces of this plant.
Medicinal properties
Clear inner leaf gel
Used topically to help relieve minor burns, including sunburn.
Clear inner leaf gel
Used in herbal medicine to support the healing of minor wounds, such as small cuts and burns, as well as mild skin irritations.
Recipe
Fresh Aloe Gel for Mild Sunburn
- Plant part
- clear inner leaf gel
- Duration
- Use immediately
Ingredients
- 1 section of a mature, clean, correctly identified Aloe vera leaf
- Potable water for rinsing
- A clean spoon and small bowl
- A clean compress, optional
Preparation
- Wash your hands, the leaf, and the utensils thoroughly.
- Cut the leaf section and stand it upright, cut side down, until the yellow liquid stops draining.
- Remove the spiny edges, then completely peel away the green rind with a clean knife.
- Collect only the clear gel. Discard any yellow, greenish, or latex-stained material.
- Rinse the gel pieces thoroughly with potable water, then mash them in the bowl with the spoon.
- Apply a thin layer to a small area of intact skin affected by mild sunburn or minor irritation. A clean compress may help keep the gel in place.
- Use the preparation immediately and discard any remainder.
Sources and references
- Leipzig University Library. The Ebers Papyrus: The Longest Scroll on Ancient Egyptian Medicine.
- Foster M, Hunter D, Samman S. Evaluation of the Nutritional and Metabolic Effects of Aloe vera. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd ed. CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011.
- Health Canada. Natural Health Product Monograph: Aloe - Aloe vera - Topical. August 29, 2025.
- Shoemaker S. How to Make Aloe Vera Gel. Healthline, October 4, 2019. Directions: upright drainage of yellow latex, washing, peeling and collecting the clear gel.
