Aloe for coughs

This succulent plant is known for its medicinal properties and is used as an anti-inflammatory, [ 1 ] antioxidant, [ 2 ] regenerating [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [ 5 ], [ 6 ] and biostimulating agent. Aloe can also be used for coughs and sore throats.

Indications Aloe for coughs

Although in most cases folk recipes with aloe for cough do not specify what kind of cough they are recommended for (obviously relying on the unconditional benefits of the juice of this plant), indications for the use of aloe leaves for cough include dry (unproductive) cough - with acute respiratory viral infections, flu, bronchitis. [ 7 ]

Aloe can also be used for coughs in adults with dry allergic coughs and smoker's coughs; when irritation of the mucous membrane of the pharynx and cough are associated with pharyngolaryngeal reflux, and also if a sore throat cough without sputum is caused by helminthiasis (ascariasis, toxocariasis or giardiasis).

Pharmacodynamics

Aloe does not have mucolytic properties and does not facilitate the discharge of sputum, but its medicinal properties of aloe for cough are provided by the action of two hundred potentially biologically active substances contained in the juice of its leaves. [ 8 ]

The active components with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity are phenolic compounds, phytohormones (gibberellins and auxins), triterpene compounds campesterol and lupeol, glycoside C-glucosyl-7-hydroxychromone (C-glucosylchromone), sulfur, cinnamic and salicylic acid. Veracyl glucan B and veracyl glucan C, two maloylglucans isolated from aloe vera gel, have shown potent anti-inflammatory activity in vitro. [ 9 ], [ 10 ]

The complex polysaccharides acemannan and lentinan act as immunostimulants, that is, they activate macrophages and T cells, increasing cellular and humoral immunity and helping the body fight bacterial and viral infections. [ 11 ], [ 12 ]

In dry cough, especially of allergic origin, the triterpene lupeol and phenolic compounds aloin and emodin, present in aloe juice, reduce pain in the laryngopharynx, which often bothers with such cough. In addition, β-phenylacrylic (cinnamic) acid and glycoprotein alprogen contained in aloe leaves inhibit the synthesis of histamine.

Dosing and administration

How to make aloe for cough? First, use the lower leaves of a plant that is at least three to five years old. Second, do not water the plant for ten days before cutting the leaves. Third, wrap the cut leaves in food foil (insulating from light) and place them at the bottom of the refrigerator for several days. And only after that – in any convenient way – squeeze out the juice.

The simplest recipe is aloe with honey for cough. The first option: mix 100 ml of aloe juice and one or two teaspoons of honey (take a teaspoon two or three times a day). The second option: aloe juice and honey are mixed in a 1:1 ratio.

Aloe, honey and lemon for cough: mix a tablespoon of aloe and honey and add the juice of half a lemon; single dose - a teaspoon, the number of doses per day - no more than three.

Aloe, honey and oil for cough: two tablespoons of aloe juice, the same amount of honey and a teaspoon of olive oil; take as in the previous recipe.

Cahors, honey and aloe for cough see – Aloe with honey and Cahors for cough

A mixture of aloe, honey and vodka for coughs is prepared and used in the same way as the mixture with Cahors wine.

A mixture of aloe, honey, cocoa butter for cough should be taken by adding a teaspoon to 150 ml of warm milk. And the proportions of the ingredients are as follows: a tablespoon of aloe juice and honey and a teaspoon of cocoa butter.

Read also – Treatment of bronchitis and cough with honey, milk, aloe, onion and radish

Use Aloe for coughs during pregnancy

Use of aloe vera as a laxative during pregnancy may result in potential teratogenic and toxicological effects on the embryo and fetus.

Oral use of aloe for cough during pregnancy is considered unsafe due to its content of immune-stimulating compounds, steroids and sterols, as well as the risk of stimulating the muscles of the uterus. [ 13 ]

During lactation, taking aloe juice internally may cause intestinal upset in the child.

Contraindications

Among the contraindications to the use of aloe juice (and, therefore, various mixtures in which it is included) are:

• the presence of an allergy to plants of the lily family;
• acute gastrointestinal disorders;
• chronic intestinal diseases (ulcerative colitis, granulomatous enteritis, etc.);
• bleeding;
• severe arterial hypertension;
• cardiovascular diseases;
• inflammation of the gallbladder;
• hepatitis, especially in acute form;
• hypothyroidism (as aloe may reduce serum levels of triiodothyronine and thyroxine).

It is not recommended to use aloe for coughs internally for children under 12 years of age.

Side effects Aloe for coughs

To date, there are no published controlled in vivo toxicology studies of aloe vera in humans (Steenkamp and Stewart, 2007)

Oral use of aloe juice - either on its own or in cough mixtures - may cause side effects such as:

• allergic reaction; [ 14 ]
• increased intestinal peristalsis and diarrhea;
• stomach cramps and abdominal pain; [ 15 ]
• lowering blood sugar levels;
• hypokalemia (decreased potassium levels in the blood);
• muscle weakness;
• renal failure and liver dysfunction; [ 16 ]
• hypothyroidism; [ 17 ]
• Henoch-Schonlein purpura; [ 18 ]
• photosensitization (increased sensitivity of the skin to ultraviolet rays). [ 19 ]

Interactions with other drugs

Potential interactions have been suggested for aloe vera and drugs that may alter electrolyte balance such as thiazide diuretics and corticosteroids. Possible hypokalemia-associated arrhythmia suggests a potential drug interaction with cardiac glycosides. Caution should be exercised in patients taking hypoglycemic drugs as drug interactions with aloe vera have been reported (Boudreau and Beland 2006). [ 20 ] There is a case report of a 35-year-old woman who lost 5 L of blood during surgery as a result of a possible drug interaction between aloe vera and sevoflurane, a thromboxane A 2 inhibitor (Lee et al. 2004). [ 21 ]

Aloe vera has been shown to improve the bioavailability of vitamin C and E in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial (Vinson, Al Kharrat, and Andreoli 2005). [ 22 ] The authors suggest that aloe vera protects against the degradation of vitamins in the intestinal tract and that the polysaccharides in the gel may bind to the vitamins and thereby slow their rate of absorption.

Aloe vera has been shown to significantly increase insulin transport in a cell model, and limited information suggests that when co-administered it may also enhance intestinal absorption of other poorly absorbed drugs (Hamman 2008).[ 23 ]