quotes Rufus of Ephesus in his own work. Both physicians studied anatomy at Alexandria.
Rufus of Ephesus used Aloe to treat various illnesses such as glaucoma, cataracts, melancholy and the plague. He also recommends its use in poor digestion and constipation, and points out that it modifies the secretion of bile, slows haemorrhages and is effective against ‘rebellious ulcers’.5
Around the 2nd century AD extensive work was carried out by an unknown Syriac physician, probably a Nestorian, who studied medicine in Alexandria and compiled an extensive Materia Medica called The Book of Medicines (also known as Syrian Anatomy, Pathology and Therapeutics). This physician was clearly a learned and distinguished man, a follower of Hippocrates who wrote clearly and simply. He drew strongly on Dioscorides’ work and the Papyrus Ebers. Some of the text was written originally in Greek and the first section is a series of lectures, to which is added the most detailed prescriptions, one of which is known as the Pills of Galen.
This remarkable work contains some of the most extensive early remedies using Aloe in medicine, and are too numerous to mention here in detail. They range from Aloe being used as a purgative to treating eye, ear and throat infections, stomach disorders, haemorrhaging, chest infection, liver and spleen diseases, menstrual disorders, inflammation, paralysis, pain and abscesses. Aloe is used in combination with a number of other ingredients.
By the end of the 2nd century AD, the plant then had become an established part of the European pharmacopoeia. Not only Galen but also other physicians such as Antyllus, Aretacus and others purported to use Aloe in their healing repertoire. It is recognized that the period between the time of Hippocrates and that of Galen heralds one of the biggest advances in European medicine, covering a period of 500 to 600 years.
It was largely thanks to the Jesuit priests of Spain that the use of Aloe spread throughout the Western world during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Jesuits were highly educated physicians and scholars and their knowledge of the classics was unsurpassed. They were familiar with the Greek and Roman medical texts and therefore were fully conversant with the medicinal and pharmacological properties of the Aloe plant. Furthermore, the Jesuit Fathers were ever practical. As Aloe grew with such ease in Spain and Portugal, they simply took the plant along with them as they accompanied explorers on their colonial expeditions, and planted it wherever they settled. It was an extremely useful plant as it was so hardy and adaptable. If Aloe did not grow locally, they planted it. Such was the high esteem in which they held the plant.
In this way, Aloe was transported to places as far afield as Jamaica, Haiti, Antigua, South and Central America through the spread of missionary establishments. It settled easily into hot semi-tropical climates, and was also grown on plantations by traders aware of its medicinal and commercial value for the European market. In some areas where it grew naturally, like Curaçao and Florida, the Jesuit priests expanded local knowledge of its medicinal uses by drawing on their classical understanding.
With the conquest of the Aztec empire by the Spaniards, the missionaries introduced their knowledge of the healing plant to the Indians of Central America and Mexico.
Aloe was introduced into the island of Barbados at the end of the 16th century (1596), probably by the Jesuits, or possibly by African slaves. It is this Aloe which bears the name Aloe barbadensis, formerly the accepted nomenclature for Aloe vera. Here, the commercial plantations of Aloe turned into a major industry for the medical market.
As the Jesuits had spread Aloe vera throughout the New World, and rumour has it that this was as far afield as the Philippines, so it was the Dutch who capitalized on the use of Aloe for medicinal purposes in Africa. Before the end of the 17th century, the Aloe had already been taken back to Holland by Dutch traders, and Cape Aloes were being cultivated in some of Europe’s finest gardens. At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch colonists had laid out a garden for weary voyagers en route to India or China. The Jesuit Father Guy Tachard wrote in 1685 that this was one of the ‘most beautiful and curious gardens’ he had ever seen.6 It included at least 20 varieties of Aloe. It was nearly 100 years later that the British took to Importing Aloe sap from South Africa.
In the colonial rush to acquire good natural resources for medical plants, Britain undoubtedly was eclipsed by both Spain and Holland. Instead, it looked to the British colony of Georgia, now an American state, for medicinal plants. An Apothecaries Company had been set up with the aim of supplying drugs and other materials to Britain. In the Caribbean, however, the British were not so fortunate and were blocked by the Spanish in their search for medicinal plants, including Aloe vera.
As a result of their shortage of a natural Aloe source, it was the traders in the Cape who sold Aloe juice to the Dutch East India Company, who then exported it to Britain. In the first year of commercial production in 1761, over 90 kg (200 lb) of Aloe sap were sent to Britain. Unfortunately, South African Aloe was not considered as good as the Aloe from Barbados and Socotra. Its main use in South Africa was for rubbing into sprains, and easing rheumatic pain and sciatica. By contrast, in Europe it was used traditionally for the skin and as a digestive aid for the stomach.
The therapeutic and commercial worth of Aloe ferox is noted by Sir Joseph Hooker in the London Journal of Botany (1842–4). Hooker received his information from Charles Bunbury, FLS, who had accompanied the Governor of the Cape, Sir George Napier, on a journey from Cape Town through to Grahamstown, Fort Beaufort and back to Cape Town. Bunbury mentions that ‘Aloe ferox is the most important medicine plant of the Colony’ and that ‘exports of Aloes in one year amounted to £2,794’.7
As the commercial value of Aloe was being realized by merchants and traders, so there was added interest in the plant by the great collectors and botanists of Europe. These were frequently aristocratic or rich families who could indulge their collecting passion. Among these number the Prince of Salm-Dyck (1773–1861), who kept the finest collection of succulent plants in Europe, including Aloes. He also wrote a monograph of the Aloe family which appeared in seven parts. In Britain, many landed families had their own greenhouses and exotic plant collections. Both the Dukes of Devonshire and Bedford had especially fine collections.
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