Cape aloe
| Cape aloe | ||||||||||||
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Cape aloe ( Aloe ferox ) in South Africa |
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| Aloe ferox | ||||||||||||
| Mill. |
The Cape Aloe ( Aloe ferox ) is a plant from the genus of aloe ( Aloe ) in the subfamily of asphodeloideae (Asphodeloideae).
description
Vegetative characteristics
Aloe ferox grows tree-shaped with simple trunks and reaches heights of up to 3 (rarely up to 5) meters. The trunk is sometimes obscured by dead leaves. The 50 to 60 lanceolate, sword-shaped leaves are arranged in close rosettes on the trunk. Their leaf blades , which are up to 100 centimeters long and 15 centimeters wide , are dull green and sometimes tinged with reddish. The bare leaf surface is covered with a few to many spines . At the edges there are about 6 millimeters long, reddish to reddish-brown teeth at a distance of 10 to 20 millimeters.
Inflorescences and flowers
The inflorescence is branched five to eight times and carries very dense, cylindrical racemose partial inflorescences 50 to 80 centimeters long and 9 to 12 centimeters wide, which are slightly tapered and about 6 centimeters wide at the tip. The buds are horizontal. The ovate-pointed bracts are 8 to 10 millimeters long and 3 to 5 millimeters wide. The scarlet, sometimes orange flowers sit on 4 to 5 millimeter long peduncles . The 33 millimeter long flowers are slightly bulbous and club-shaped. They are rounded at the base, expanded above the ovary and slightly narrowed at the mouth. Your outer tepals are not fused together over a length of 22 millimeters. The stamens and the pen stand 20 to 25 millimeters out of flowering.
genetics
The chromosome number is .
Systematics and distribution
Aloe ferox is widespread in Lesotho and in the South African provinces of the Western Cape , Eastern Cape , Free State and KwaZulu-Natal in the dry bushland.
The first description by Philip Miller was published in 1768.
A nomenclature synonym is Pachidendron ferox (Mill.) Haw. (1821). Carl von Linné introduced this species in 1753 in Species Plantarum as Aloe perfoliata var. Γ and Aloe perfoliata var. Ε . Further synonyms are Aloe socotorina Masson (1773), Aloe perfoliata Thunb. (1785), Aloe perfoliata var. Ferox Aiton (1789), Aloe perfoliata var. Ζ Willd. (1799), Aloe muricata Haw. (1804), Aloe supralaevis Haw. (1804), Pachidendron supralaeve (Haw.) Haw. (1821), Aloe pseudoferox Salm-Dyck (1817), Pachidendron pseudoferox (Salm-Dyck) Haw. (1821), Aloe subferox Spreng. (1826) Aloe ferox var. Subferox (Spreng.) Baker (1880), Aloe ferox var. Incurva Baker (1880), Aloe ferox var. Hanburyi Baker (1880), Aloe galpinii Baker (1901), Aloe ferox var. Galpinii (Baker) Reynolds (1937), Aloe candelabrum A.Berger (1906) and Aloe ferox var. Erythrocarpa A.Berger (1908).
use
Aloe ferox is the official parent plant of aloe , a pharmaceutical drug obtained by evaporation to dryness from the thickened leaf sap of various types of aloe such as Aloe ferox or Aloe perryi at least since the Middle Ages . After knocking off the leaves at the base of the plant, the sap will run out spontaneously. Slow, gentle evaporation in the sun or in a vacuum creates the dull brown aloe hepatica type, and rapid, heavy-duty evaporation creates the deep brown, glassy aloe lucida type with shiny fracture surfaces. High-quality aloe varieties were Aloe cicotrina and Aloe hepatica , while Aloe caballina as inferior (" fake ") varieties . The “Cape Aloe” obtained from Aloe ferox contains the 1,8-dihydroxy anthracene derivative aloin , which is a diastereomeric mixture of aloin A and aloin B. Also characteristic are the 5-hydroxyaloin A (lead substance) and the aloinosides A and B, which have a laxative effect like aloin. The total content of dihydroxyanthracene derivatives is on average 23 to 27%, but at least 18%, and is therefore lower than that of real aloe . The main components are aloeresins (approx. 20% aloeresin A, approx. 15% aloeresin B), which have no laxative effect and which make up the bitter taste of "aloe".
The aloin contained in the aloe has a strong laxative effect, which is why standardized aloe or its preparations can be used for the short-term treatment of occasional constipation . Long-term intake of aloe can lead to disturbances in the water and electrolyte balance, in particular to potassium losses. Protein and blood can appear in the urine ( albuminuria , hematuria ). Overdosing leads to symptoms of intoxication, which manifest themselves in cramp-like pain and severe diarrhea, which can lead to life-threatening electrolyte and water losses. Also kidney infections are described. The therapeutic importance of aloe has declined against the background that there are better tolerated substances.
proof
literature
- Susan Carter , John J. Lavranos , Leonard E. Newton , Colin C. Walker : Aloes. The definitive guide . Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2011, ISBN 978-1-84246-439-7 , pp. 665 .
- Urs Eggli (ed.): Succulent lexicon. Monocotyledons . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3662-7 , pp. 137 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Philip Miller: The Gardeners Dictionary . 8th edition, 1768, without page numbers, number 22 ( online ).
- ↑ Dieter Lehmann: Two medical prescription books of the 15th century from the Upper Rhine. Part I: Text and Glossary. Horst Wellm, Pattensen / Han. 1985, now at Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg (= Würzburg medical-historical research , 34), ISBN 3-921456-63-0 , pp. 145 f.
- ↑ Thomas Gleinser: Anna von Diesbach's Bernese 'Pharmacopoeia' in the Erlacher version of Daniel von Werdts (1658), Part II: Glossary. (Medical dissertation Würzburg), now at Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1989 (= Würzburg medical-historical research. Volume 46), p. 33.
- ↑ Konrad Goehl : Observations and additions to the 'Circa instans'. In: Medical historical messages. Journal for the history of science and specialist prose research. Volume 34, 2015 (2016), pp. 69-77, here: p. 70.
- ^ A b T. Dingermann, K. Hiller, G. Schneider, I. Zündorf: Schneider drug drugs. 5th edition, Elsevier 2004, ISBN 3-8274-1481-4 , p. 159 ff.
- ↑ E. Teuscher: Biogenic Medicines. 5th edition, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1997, ISBN 3-8047-1482-X , p. 218 f.
- ↑ Final community herbal monograph on Aloe barbadensis Miller and on Aloe (various species, mainly Aloe ferox Miller and its hybrids) (PDF; 109 kB) Committee on Herbal Medicines of the European Medicines Agency, October 26, 2006
- ↑ Aloe , Cooperation Phytopharmaka GbR, accessed June 7, 2012
Web links
- Aloe ferox in the Red List of South African Plants