Industry Calls for Aloe Study Clarification

SILVER SPRING, M.D.Industry organizations are reacting to a 2012 research article they said misrepresents aloe vera and may mislead consumers. The American Herbal Products Association's (AHPA) chief science officer, Steven Dentali, Ph.D., issued an advance-access letter responding to the inadequate description in the National Center for Toxicological Research at the Food and Drug Administration study. Dentali is also science advisor of the International Aloe Science Council (IASC).

The FDA article said "Aloe vera whole-leaf extract" is an intestinal irritant in rats and mice and a carcinogen of the large intestine in rat, according to AHPA and IASC.

"At issue for AHPA is that the article omits a vital test-material qualifier from the title and throughout the article," Dentali said in his letter to the editor. "The research was conducted on nondecolorized aloe vera whole leaf extract, and inclusion of the term nondecolorized in the description of the tested plant material is essential to ensure that it is accurately identified. ... Failure to disclose this important distinction in the identity of the tested ingredient is simply inaccurate and grossly misleading."

Devon Powell, IASC executive director, said the organization only certifies products for oral consumption if they are low in aloin.

"Unfortunately, the researchers of the original article failed to recognize the likelihood of consumers and consumer organizations mistakenly thinking this research applies to the aloe vera products typically consumed by the general public," he said. "This is regrettable for publicly funded research, and is a disservice to consumers of safe, decolorized aloe vera products."