Cultivation, Phytochemical Studies, Biological Activities and Medicinal Uses of Aloe ferox, Grandfather of Aloes an Important Amazing Medicinal Plant

Aloe ferox is an ethnomedicinal and economic plant in India and worldwide. It is a common ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine. To date, many scientific studies have been carried out but a comprehensive review on this plant is lacking. This review aims to cover the cultivation practices and biological activities, the active compounds derived from Aloe ferox. Literature survey revealed that the pharmacological effects of Aloe ferox range from anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration to anti-cancer property. Over 130 biological active compounds consisting of fatty acid, sterols, sesquiterpene lactones, flavonoids and carbohydrates have been identified from different parts of the plant. Aloe ferox is similar to Aloe vera but it has 20 times more nutritional activities. Many of these active compounds were derived from the leaf gel and have been evaluated for a number of biological activities. Despite the encouraging results demonstrated by these studies and the traditional use as nutraceutical agent, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, immune modulator, anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, antifungal, antiviral and toxicity of Aloe ferox leaf extracts or its derivatives are absent. Thus, a systematic documenting review would provide more insights and spur further research that would lead to production of safer and economical alternative medicine from Aloe ferox. In this review we briefly introduced its phytochemical, biological activities, medicinal uses and cultivation practices which can be useful as a potential drug in pharmaceutical industry. The propagation of medicinal plant Aloe ferox is vital for sustainable uses in modern world.