The truth about Aloe Ferox

by Joe
(Birmingham, UK)

aloe ferox example

Hello,
You may remember me from my recent post asking a question about my "Aloe Alin" kit, that had Aloe Ferox in it. Now, after some research, it seems that Aloe Ferox is, indeed, stronger than Aloe Vera. It contains many times the amount of vitamins and minerals, and 2 times the amount of amino acids and polysacharides. Also, when harvesting Aloe Vera, you may notice that the gel decolourizes, and loses it's viscosity. The rate at which this happens is alot slower in the Aloe Ferox Plant.

The only drawback, in my opinion, is the look. Aloe Ferox is a lot more spiky, and requires much more sun. As well as that, it grows much much taller and wider, and they are more like trees, in South Africa.

Seeing this information made me think why they don't commonly use Aloe Ferox, and why Aloe Vera is the one which is so famous. One reason, may be that it produces 20 times as much bitter sap (the part which has a laxative effect), than the Aloe Vera. In fact, it was used for centuries, and dates back long before Aloe Vera does, with it's uses, but mainly it's use, is for the bitter sap.

Luckily, I have both, but I recommend that you try out the Aloe Ferox as well. Just remember not to put it into too big a pot, because, although mine have just sprouted at the moment, from what I have read, they grow massive.

I got most of the information from the site below, but I did use various other sources as well.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_Aloe_Ferox_and_Aloe_Vera_and_where_can_you_get_Aloe_Ferox_products

All the best,
Joe