Vogler, B. K., & Ernst, E. (1999). Aloe vera: a systematic review of its clinical effectiveness. British Journal of General Practice, 49, 823–828.
To summarize all controlled clinical trials on aloe vera preparations to provide evidence for or against its clinical effectiveness.
Databases searched were MEDLINE, EMBASE, Biosis, and Cochrane Library.
Search keywords were complementary medicine, aloe vera, and review.
Experts working in the area were contacted and asked for published and unpublished controlled clinical trials and their own papers and files. All databases were searched from their inception to May 1998.
Studies were included if they were controlled clinical trials.
Studies were excluded if they were not performed on aloe vera mono-preparation and if they were designed only on a certain pharmacologic constituent of the aloe vera plant.
Data were extracted in a predefined fashion, and the methodologic quality of the study was assessed using the Jadad scoring system.
Ten trials met the inclusion criteria and were included. Three clinical studies were excluded because of not being performed on aloe vera mono-preparation or use of only a constituent of the plant. No unpublished studies were found.
No firm conclusions were drawn from the review because of multiple methodologic studies. It was concluded that topical application does not seem to prevent radiation-induced skin damage. No statistical significance findings from studies were reported.
The authors only included abstracts of controlled trials but then drew no conclusions about these findings because they were only abstracts.
More and better clinical trial data are needed to define the clinical effectiveness of this remedy.