AloeVera Polymer Useful for Hemorrhagic Shock

A fluid derived from aloe vera has shown the potential to save the lives of patients and wounded soldiers with massive blood loss, according to the results of an animal study published in the August 2004 issue of Shock.

In the animal study, rodents given a very small amount of an aloe vera-derived drag reducing polymer (DRP) had significantly longer survival time and increased systemic whole body oxygen consumption, even without resuscitation with blood or other fluids, compared to animals not receiving DRP. The central ingredient of the fluid comes from the slick substance inside the leaves of the aloe vera plant. It is a mucilage, rich in polysaccharides and has a high molecular mass and specific viscoelastic properties that allow it to reduce resistance to turbulent flow when added to a fluid in minute concentrations.

"Soldiers wounded in combat often lose significant amounts of blood, and there is no practical way to replace the necessary amount of blood fast enough on the front lines,” said senior author Mitchell P. Fink, M.D., professor and chair, department of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (PA, USA; www.medschool.pitt.edu). "Medics would need only to carry a small amount of this solution, which could feasibly be administered before the soldier is evacuated to a medical unit or facility.”




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