A CRITICAL REVIEW ON ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF ALOE VERA L.

Medicinal plants form the backbone of traditional system of medicine in India. Biotechnological and Pharmacological studies have acknowledged the value of medicinal plants as potential source of bioactive compounds. Phytochemicals from medicinal plants serve as lead compounds in drug discovery and design. Medicinal plants are rich source of novel drugs that forms the ingredients in traditional systems of medicine, modern medicines, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk medicines, pharmaceutical intermediates, bioactive principles and lead compounds in synthetic drugs. Aloe is a genus containing about four hundred species of flowering succulent plants belonging to Liliaceae family. Aloe vera is as old as civilization and through history it has been used as a popular folk medicine. It is present in the arid regions of India. Aloe vera has valuable medicinal properties and is commercially used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food industries. Since ancient time Aloe vera L. are using in many herbal preparations. The Aloe vera plant contains the important antioxidant components such as vitamins (A, C and E), B ( thiamine), niacin, B2 (riboflavin), B12, choline and folic acid, carotenoids, polyphenolic compounds and flavonoids, which prevent damages caused by free radical, reducing risk of chronic diseases. Antioxidants are the component which works against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress depicts the existence of products as free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are formed under normal physiological conditions but become deleterious when not being eliminated by the endogenous systems. On the other hand microbial resistance to antibiotics is increasingly becoming a concern to public health. The leaf pulp and liquid fraction of Aloe vera act against various microorganisms as well.