An experimental study to test the haemostatic effect of Aloe vera

ABSTRACT

Background: Blood clotting is a process which prevents blood loss during injuries. Blood clots even when it is coming out from the blood vessels. Aloe vera is a perennial plant found all over India. It is commonly used in traditional system of medicine for treatment of wound healing, mouth ulcers, constipation, skin wrinkles and diabetes mellitus It is also used as antioxidant and antimicrobial agent. As it is used in traditional system of medicine for wound healing, this study was under taken to test the possible haemostatic effect of aloe vera.Methods: 12 rats were divided into two groups (control and test) with 6 rats in each group. Determination of Bleeding Time (BT), rat tail was warmed for one minute in water at 40?C and then dried. A small cut was made in the middle of the tail with a scalpel. In test group, a drop of aloe vera leaf extract was applied on the injured area immediately after making the cut in the middle of the tail, where as in the control group nothing was applied, and BT estimated. Determination of Clotting Time (CT), 12 test tubes were arranged in water bath at 37?C. Control Group 0.4 ml of blood was collected from each rat in the control group and added to 6 test tubes kept in the water bath. Test group For the remaining 6 test tubes 0.1 ml of aloe vera leaf extract was added. 0.4 ml of blood collected from the test group was added to these test tubes. The CT was estimated for both control group and test group.Results: The results were statistically analyzed by using unpaired t-test. The reduction in BT and CT for test group was statistically highly significant (p<0.001) compared to control group.Conclusions: In this study aloe vera leaf extract significantly reduced both BT and CT in the test group.