Pharmaceutical Name:

Aloe

Botanical Name:

Aloe vera L.
Aloe ferox Mill.

Common Name:

Aloes

Source of Earliest Record:

Yaoxing Lun

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The leaves are gathered all year round.  The juice is squeezed out of the leaves, boiled until it makes a thick soup and then put into a container and stored in a cool place.

Properties and Taste:

Bitter and cold

Meridian:

Liver and large intestine

Functions:

To purge feces
To clear heat in the liver
To kill worms

Indications and Combinations:

1.     Constipation accompanied by excessive fire in the liver meridian manifested as constipation, dizziness, headache and irritability.
*Use with Chinese gentian (Long dan cao), Capejasmine (Zhi zi), Natural indigo (Qing dai) and Chinese angelica root (Dang gui) in the formula Danggui Luhui Wan.

2.      Abdominal pain caused by accumulation of worms manifested as sallow complexion and emaciation.
*Use with herbs that kill worms, in a formula such as Feier Wan.

Dosage:

1-2 g

Cautions:

This herb is combined with other herbs in pills or powder, but should not be used in a decoction.  It is contraindicated during pregnancy and in cases with weakness of the spleen and stomach manifested as poor appetite or diarrhea.