How Acemannan Enhances Drug and Supplement Absorption: A Scientific Dive (Part 1)

Our journey into all things Ace Manon continues. As a reminder, Acemannan is the stabilized active ingredient of the aloe plant that makes aloe vera what it’s been for millennia. Our team endorses the most potent and efficacious stabilized Acemannan on the market today. Though traditionally it’s been known as a wound healer, the hundreds, literally hundreds of peer-reviewed studies in these modern times expose Acemannan as much, much more. And it’s my joy to expose those studies to you.

As I put my first slide up, we will begin in this first episode of a four-part series to unearth studies that reveal how aspects of aloe vera inner leaf gel, where Acemannan is found, contributes measurably to increased absorption and permeability of other substances you and I may decide to put in our bodies, like medications and nutritional supplements. And then you’ll see why this is important.

The first study that primed my attention is this one from 2008 called Composition and Applications of Aloe Vera Leaf Gel by Josias H. Hammond. To compose and publish this study, Dr. Hammond displayed his due diligence by referencing 52 additional studies. I’ll start with this study and then bring to the forefront some other studies that he references as we consider the results that aloe vera and by implication Acemannan contributes to increased absorption of drugs, medicines, and nutritional supplementation.

Let’s first look at a synopsis of the abstract of this study called Composition and Applications of Aloe Vera Leaf Gel. An abstract is a brief summary of a scientific study that gives readers a quick understanding of the research question, the methods used, key findings, and conclusions. You’ll notice that the very first sentence points to Acemannan. Here’s a synopsis of that abstract:

Aloe vera is known for its many health benefits, which mostly come from special sugars found in the gel inside its leaves. Of course, if you’ve been following my videos or have any knowledge at all of the special sugars in aloe, you know that Acemannan is the kingpin of polysaccharides or sugars that exist in aloe vera. It is the active ingredient discovered in 1985. Continuing with the abstract, these benefits include:

• Helping wounds heal faster
• Fighting fungus
• Lowering blood sugar
• Reducing inflammation
• Modulating the immune system

Some studies also suggest it may help protect the stomach and fight cancer. And then there’s this final sentence in the abstract that provides us a main focus. Scientists have found that aloe vera gel might help the body absorb medicine better and allow helpful substances to pass through the skin more easily.

Of special note is that the author of this study mentions Acemannan 12 different times in the course of the study and even provides the chemical structure of Acemannan as a graphic portrayed at figure 2 on page 6. The fact is that the efficacy of aloe at its highest potential is not possible without Acemannan in the picture. Not that aloe in general is without any value propositions. You’ve heard me say that before. But take Acemannan out of the equation and there would be very little results to talk about.

An interesting perspective exists from a study called An Evaluation of the Biological and Toxicological Properties of Aloe Barbadensis Miller Aloe Vera. Aloe Barbadensis is the scientific name for aloe vera. And Miller represents Philip Miller, a botanist who classified the plant initially. The perspective of which I speak here is that this study reveals the remarkable amounts of water versus nutritional compounds that exist in the raw pulp of aloe vera. The raw pulp contains 98.5% water while the gel, the mucilage, consists of about 99.5% water. So the remaining 0.5% to 1.5% solid material consists of a range of compounds including water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins, minerals, enzymes, polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, which are natural chemicals found in plants that have antioxidant properties, and organic acids. Some people refer to Acemannan as miraculous, and perhaps the miracle is the most obvious when we consider that less than 1% of the gel is where that Acemannan is located.

And then from another study called Fractionization of Aloe Vera L Inner Gel Purification and Molecular Profiling of Activity, it has been hypothesized that this composition characterized by a mixture of visibly different components contained in the aloe vera pulp may contribute to the diverse pharmaceutical and therapeutic activities which have been observed for aloe gel products. Though this study represents a wider sweep to affirm aloe gel products in general, a section of this study provided a drill down into the chemical analysis of Acemannan in particular. Simply stated, and you’ll hear me talk about it through these videos, scientists who study aloe cannot leave the active ingredient Acemannan out of the discussion.

We’re going to place a cap on part one of this focus on aloe vera as an absorption enhancer by looking at a second study that Dr. Hammond was a part of with two other doctors. It’s called Drug Absorption Enhancing Properties of Aloe Vera Across Intestinal Epithelium. To repeat, we’re still looking at the idea of absorption enhancement using aloe vera gel.

But what is the epithelium? Epithelium is a type of tissue that lines the surfaces and cavities of the body. It acts as a protective barrier and helps in absorption, secretion, and sensation. However, we’re focusing here on the digestive tract where the epithelium serves as the lining in the stomach and the intestines and where absorption of nutrients takes place.

First, this experiment was in vitro in a test tube-like environment outside of the human body. The authors of this study used Caco- 2 cell monolayers of human cells that scientists use in labs to study how substances like drugs pass through the intestines. These cells behave like the cells that line the small intestine. Because of this, researchers use them to test how well medicines and nutrients can be absorbed in the digestive system before testing on animals or humans.

Why use Caco-2 cells? Well, when grown for several weeks in lab conditions, they naturally transform into cells that look and act like the cells lining the small intestine. And they form tight junctions like real intestinal cells and develop enzymes and transporters that help absorb nutrients and drugs. Scientists use them to study how medicines and nutrients are absorbed in the intestines. These cells are just a useful lab model that mimics healthy intestinal cells.

This particular study is a focus on insulin, providing information about the effect of aloe vera gel on the transport of insulin across the intestinal cells. Part of the study included an insulin control model, meaning that this was only insulin and no aloe gel was used in this model. Then in the other five models, they included, along with the insulin, various concentrations of aloe gel at the following concentrations:

1. 0.1%
2. 0.5%
3. 1%
4. 2.5%
5. 5%

They then took various measurements along the way with a final measurement at the four-hour mark or 240 minutes. The insulin did its thing in the control model and organically transported across the intestinal cells. We would expect as much. And though it certainly proved its bioavailability without the presence of aloe gel, such bioavailability was much less than the insulin enhanced with aloe gel. And to the degree that the concentrations of aloe gel were higher is the degree to which the transport ratio across the intestinal lining was higher still. Besides the obvious results demonstrated here is that this is another study that confirms what we have discovered in some of the other studies. That increased doses of aloe gel in some situations, or at least increased concentrations in this study, might mean that better results are often dose-dependent. A toxic medication could not accomplish this because a toxic substance would soon hit a threshold of inefficiency potentially producing side effects.

And though Acemannan is also subject to a threshold in the natural order of things, that is, its efficacy, though measurably robust, has an organic limit. If Acemannan were toxic, this would be a significant concern. But because it is not toxic, then health professionals and their clients may find an ally in aloe gel and Acemannan, among other recommendations they might have for their clients.

Be sure and access more of this emphasis on absorption enhancement using aloe vera. Meanwhile, this is Tony McWilliams. I hope you will always be careful to maintain good works to meet urgent needs and become heroes to your generation.