Effects of low molecular constituents from Aloe vera gel on oxidative metabolism and cytotoxic and bactericidal activities of human neutrophils.

In traditional South-East Asian medicine the therapeutic value of the parenchymous leaf-gel of Aloe vera for inflammatory-based diseases is well-reputed. The aim of this study is to investigate at which level gel-constituents exert their activity. We show here that low -Mr constituents of an aqueous gel-extract inhibit the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by PMA-stimulated human PMN. The compounds inhibit the ROS-dependent extracellular effects of PMN such as lysis of red blood cells. The capacity of the PMN to phagocytose and kill micro-organisms at the intracellular level is not affected. The inhibitory activity of the low-Mr compounds is most pronounced in the PMA-induced ROS production, but is significantly antagonized by the Ca-ionophore A23187. It is shown that the inhibitory effect of the low-Mr compounds is the indirect result of the diminished availability of intracellular free Ca-ions.