Before Acemannan Had a Name: The Early Aloe Studies That Started It All

Ever heard of Acetylated Polymannose? Probably not, but that is the initial scientific name for Acemannan, (Acetylated Polymannose) the active component in the inner leaf gel of the aloe vera plant. Much Acemannan research has taken place in modern times, including studies completed and published in the early 1980s. In those early days Acemannan had not yet been stabilized like we understand it today. It had not even yet been isolated or identified. So let’s take a look at a couple of those early studies just now for some more insight.

In 1981 a study called Effects of Aloe Extracts on Human Normal and Tumor Cells in Vitro. And at that point researchers still had not yet determined exactly what the active ingredient in Aloe consisted of. But by testing fresh aloe leaves they discovered that they were more effective at stimulating cells in a petri dish culture than did preserved commercial aloe products taken from the store shelves. The wording used in the study to describe the commercial aloe products was cytotoxic. Cytotoxic means toxic to cells. Now, I don’t think that is the bottom line on Aloe products, and I am not wanting to take anything from any nutritional value they may contribute, and the reason I say that is that the next study I’m going to mention done two years later revealed that the reason for the cytotoxic activity could very well have been the preservatives that were added to control microbial growth in the aloe products and that those preservatives were the reason for the death of cells in that petri dish culture. But as we take this study at face value the comparison in the study between fresh aloe and commercially bottled aloe and its impact on cells in that petri dish is pretty clear. This would go along with my video titled: Acemannan Demystified: Separating Aloe Facts from Marketing Fiction where I provided information for consumers not to expect Acemannan to be present in Aloe Vera products sold at the health food store unless you are okay with an Acemannan that is less than 1% classification. That’s code for “Acemannan is probably not present.”

And before I move on, this study also found that the outer rind of the aloe plant called Aloin was not conducive to cell growth or function.

And then this second study from 1983 resulted in that same conclusion about the outer rind. Let’s now take a look at this 1983 study called Stabilized Aloe Vera: Effect on Human Skin Cells. They concluded , not unlike the 1981 study, that the aloin (the outer rind) was extremely cytotoxic to human skin fibroblasts. What are fibroblasts? Fibroblasts are a type of cell found in connective tissue that plays a crucial role in wound healing and tissue repair. Sounds important, right. But before I go on, let’s take another look at the title of this study. Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Stabilized Aloe Vera: Effect on Human Skin Cells. If you’ve been taking in my videos, you know that the use of the term “stabilized aloe vera” is much different than “stabilized acemannan.” That difference would be later clarified as researchers began to understand more about Acemannan. But remember, this is the early 80’s and they were still yet to determine that Acemannan was the active component that made the aloe plant the healing powerhouse of history. Only after that then, in 1985, did they discover Acemannan. However, what made these experiments successful in the early 80s, since at that point they had not yet identified Acemannan, is that they used fresh aloe gel from the inner leaf. Very important! This meant that the Acemannan, not yet officially isolated or identified as the active ingredient and not yet officially stabilized, was nonetheless present to do its work. At that point, Acemannan was undercover but, in this scenario, not to be underutilized.

PLUS, one of the authors of this study, Bill McAnalley, would later clarify the difference between “Stabilized Aloe” and “Stabilized Acemannan” in his book, The Science Behind Aloe, published in 2009. Of course, by then the science behind aloe had advanced significantly. And the focus shifted to this new discovery and multiple application of stabilized Acemannan.

So here are some results from an experiment performed in this 1983 study. By incorporating radioactive-labeled thymidine. Explaining this process could get us off in the weeds, so let me generalize: Radioactive-labeled thymidine incorporated into experiments on skin cells helps with quantitative measurements. It provides a direct and sensitive method to study how cells behave and interact under specific experimental conditions. When tests are done using radioactive-labeled thymidine this creates a highly sensitive environment to provide precise measurements of cellular activity.

So, utilizing this method to create precise measurements, let me explain what they did.

First, they tested various concentrations of Aloin (the outer rind of the aloe plant). At 1% concentration Aloin was found to enact instant death upon fibroblasts in the skin. As the graphic points out Total Kill. So, it remains that all the other concentrations of Aloin at 10%, 15%, and 30% that the same would be true.

Then they used Fresh Inner Leaf Gel of Aloe. This is where the Acemannan would be present. They found that a 1% concentration of Fresh Inner Leaf Gel would increase fibroblast growth by 233%. When they used the 10% concentration, it resulted in a fibroblast growth of 650%. Then they used 15% concentration. the fibroblast growth was 795%. When they used 30% concentration of the Fresh Inner Leaf Gel, and the fibroblast growth measured in as 882%.

The researchers noticed that the inner leaf gel component (the fraction of which would later be identified as Acemannan) stimulated cell response in a dose-dependent manner. In other words, in this case, the more fresh inner leaf gel applied/ingested the better the results.

Conclusion: These two studies from 1981 and 1983 point to the healing properties of Aloe that resides in the fresh inner leaf gel somewhere. It would be a couple of years before they would isolate and identify it and give it its new name: Acetylated Polymannose, also known as, Acemannan. The drama continues.

Every research study that is published here drives home the market ownership our mission-based Social Business 3.0 enjoys. Our best-in-class Acemannan, and other technologies, are the proprietary products we take to market. Then we match the nutrition advantaged by our consumers and send life-saving Acemannan to nurture medically fragile children globally. Join us and let’s do this together.

And I hope that you will always be careful to maintain good works to meet urgent needs and become heroes to your generation.