When aloe vera is only present on the label

The world is full of trickery. In November 2016 Bloomberg published findings of four ‘gels with aloe vera on the label’ that they had content-analysed. Contrary to label claims, there was no aloe vera content. When aloe vera is only present on the label, the customer is being conned. Unsurprisingly several class-action lawsuits have been filed since, seeking restitution for all the customers. Aloeride always has warned about trickery like this and always has aimed to help you make an informed choice.

Aloeride exists because of a need in our family. Because we didn’t know what triggered a condition, Aloeride had to be the purest possible. Because we wanted it to overcome a condition, Aloeride had to be the best, most potent possible. Then in 2004, we took Aloeride to the marketplace and shared surprising, independent laboratory findings to allow ordinary people to see behind the labels… We think informed choice serves you best. We can supply you with a multi-laboratory proven better aloe vera at vastly deflated cost because we don’t have expensive offices, we don’t finance a multilevel marketing pyramid, we don’t transport liquid aloe, and we neither seek nor make rapacious profit.

The above product comparative test with a Goliath of an aloe vera producer shows that bigger isn’t per se better. Their Seal of Approval assures less than is perceived. MS/TS measures purity and 3.65% is a far cry from the advertised 100%. The oomph of aloe vera (MeOHPS) measured 2.6 times fewer beta-linked polysaccharides than in Aloeride. At 48.2 ppm the laboratory noted this would cause diarrhoea at manufacturer recommended dosage. The 2.0×10⁶ and 1.0×10⁶ fractions are immune-modulatory and the difference is obvious. The 6.60×10⁴ fraction is anti-inflammatory and there’s a 4.11 times quantity difference. How does this translate into real life? A trial was done with their aloe vera gel on people with refractory Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Unfortunately those suffering from IBS do so in three catagories: diarrhoea-predominant IBS, constipation-predominant IBS and alternating IBS (flitting from diarrhoea to constipation). Rather predictably, their 48.2 ppm negatively affected the trial outcome (aggravating the diarrhoea and alternating group). In 2011 this product measured poorer than it did in 2004, that can be due to climatic factors (e.g. winter harvest) or be a commercial choice… After all, Toblerone (a Goliath amidst confectionery manufacturers) downsized their iconic chocolate bars with the ‘Grocery Shrink Ray’ which invoked protest because people saw triangles missing. There are no such self-evident pointers for aloe vera gel and sadly some see this as an opportunity. Culminating in aloe vera being only present on the label as Bloomberg discovered.

When aloe vera is only present on the label

We are approached by growers trying to sell their aloe vera raw material. One from South Africa not just sent us their best quality samples that we asked for, but also their brochure furnishing us with a list of cosmetics manufacturers using their produce. Many of the big brand names were on that list. What did the independent laboratory make of it? Their methanol precipitated solids tested as 280mg/L with the note that only 140mg/L was aloe vera because cheap methodology (spray drying) had been used. That’s 33.43 times less than the polysaccharides measured in Aloeride! At 168 ppm of polyhydroxyanthraquinones, this produce taken by mouth would have you gallop to the toilet. Fine thing then that it is used only for facial products, shampoo and body lotions. Snag is, one US manufacturer listed makes this into a by-mouth product and their labeling and marketing will blow you away… 140 mg/L and 168 ppm! Caveat Emptor (the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made) tanks when there’s bollocks on the label. This kind of malpractice is what Wal-Mart, Target, CVS and Walgreens may find themselves in court for. This 140 mg/L is perhaps not quite ‘when aloe vera is only present on the label’ but it is not far off.

Knowing your aloe vera onions

Knowing good stuff from not-so-good stuff is difficult at the best of times and so it is in aloe vera. At first glance, the above test shows the oomph (MeOHPS) to be almost as good as Aloeride (3,920 compared to 4,680). It only tells one part of the story. Imagine that you want to fry some chips. You buy an opaque 5kg bag labelled ‘potatoes’… only to find out that the potato diameter is 2.54 centimeters (1 inch). Fat lot of use they are for making chips! In aloe vera sizes matter because different fractions have different functions. In a similar vein, this manufacturer used heat drying on heat-sensitive molecules. That is why most of the fractions are low (0.06, 0.13, 0.47, 1.46) whilst the heat-denatured polysaccharides populate the smaller Dalton section (97.87). This product is predictably not going to do what research shows aloe vera can do. Sure, Bloomberg would have found something, the problem is that this product doesn’t serve you nearly as well as well-made aloe vera could do. Some manufacturers artificially bump up their aloe vera MeOHPS value by adding cheap Konjac glucomannan (konjac has d-glucose and d-mannose joined by β-1,4 glycosidic linkages). This is the good, the bad and the ugly that Dr. Danhof saw in his research laboratory. There is you thinking aloe vera doesn’t help you when it is the cutting-corners-manufacturing that is letting you down.

Do you get what you pay for?

Normally I would say you do, but we do things differently. When in 2011 for greater ease of use, we changed our vegetarian capsule content from 180mg to 426mg, we didn’t fully pass on our cost increase to customers. We continued the buy 5 get 1 free offer and we continued the worldwide free shipping despite postage getting ever more expensive. The contrast with other aloe manufacturers became astronomical with Aloeride aloe vera for horses. Horse owners literally save themselves a few hundred Pound Sterling by buying the better product. Stud Farms and Racing yards save themselves thousands a year that way. Ours is completely the opposite scenario to the Bloomberg findings. Aloeride is best British aloe vera by far, which is why we would never so much as consider ‘shrinkflation’.

We believe that the above comparison is a matter of public interest and constitutes fair comment without malice. We believe that empowering people to make an informed choice is good. All measurements within our website are factual and are quoted verbatim from the reports we receive from accredited, independent laboratories and we retain such supporting evidence to justify that the statistics are representative of the characteristics of the products relevant for a proper comparison. Outcomes are masked because of comparative advertising, product disparagement and trademark constraints.