சோற்றுக்கற்றாழை செடிகளை வளர்ப்பது எப்படி ? - HOW TO GROW ALOE VERA AT HOME ?

HOW TO GROW HERBS AT HOME – வீடுகளில் மூலிகைச்செடிகளை வளர்ப்பது எப்படி ?

சோற்றுக்கற்றாழை செடிகளை வளர்ப்பது எப்படி ? -  HOW TO GROW ALOE VERA ALIAS SOTRU KATRAZHAI AT HOME ?

TAMIL NAME : SOTRU KATRAZHAI - சோற்றுக்கற்றாழை

COMMON NAME : GHIRI KUMARI

 BOTANICAL NAME : ALOE BARBADENCES

FAMILY : ASPHODELACEAE

USES

This could be used as a herb, to cure  several diseases as follows, as as a traditional medicine for several centuries around the world, especially  in India and China.

1.Reduce blood sugar.

2.Make good the digestion.

3.Cure constipation.

 

4. Could be used as a moisturizer in the face to avoid dryness of the skin.

5.  Reduce the variety of breast cancers.

6. Being used for better hair growth, toning of skin and weight loss. 

7. Will protect skin from the gamma rays of the sun light, from  X rays ,and enhances the tone of the skin.

DESCRIPTION

Will grow to an average height of  1 to 1.5 meters, the plant is stem-less, the leaves are linear in shape, the leaf length is 25 to 30 cm., leaves are succulent thick and brittle, the leaves are arranged in whorls, the matured and older leaves are found in the outer whorl, the leaf  surface bears lot of small short hairs which gives a smooth feeling, the thickness of the leaves are more at the base and less at the tip, the inner-side of the leaves will bear the Aloe – gel, and the Aloin liquid, Both Aloe – Gel and Aloin are used in making medicines cosmetics and cleaning materials. The flowers are either yellow or red in color, It will be arranged in a long stem, it will stand above the rosette of leaves, there are three varieties of aloe vera,  one is the Aloe barbadens, Aloe ferox and the third one is Aloe perryi.

PHYTOCHEMICALS

Aloin, Glucomannans and Salicylic Acid are the primary phytochemicals found in Aloe Vera,

it is advised to harvest  aloe vera leaves from  the outer whorl, remove the short thorns present in the leaf margins, remove the upper skin, then you can see an yellow liquid oozing out just beneath the skin of the leaves, that yellow liquid is called as Aloin, you can collect the Aloin if you are in need of it, then remove the skin fully well manually, you can see the Aloe Gel which is jelly like gelatinous matter available in the midst of the leaves, collect the Aloe Gel and use it as it is needed, the process of manual extracting the Gel is referred as  Filleting.

 MANAGEMENT

Aloe Vera can be grown as an indoor plant,  maybe in  moderate pots,  it needs a bright sunlight,  so the pot may be placed  accordingly, excessive water provision may spoil the plant growth, the dampness and stagnation of water, in the pot will create water spots in the leaves, then you can either drain the excessive water,  or stop watering for 2 to 3 days continuously, while filling the pot mixture put some small Bubbles may be put in the pot at the bottom as first layer, this will facilitate proper drainage, in total we can say the pot mixture prepared for planting Aloe Vera must be sandy by nature

PROPAGATION

in new and baby suckers could be used to plant as a new plant remove the baby plants by means of a short knife when it is a ground 2 to 3 inches height, the other means of propagation are not that much easy.

REMARKS

Aloe vera has been used in many countries around the world as medical plant in the respective native Medical Systems, it is like Siddha, Ayurveda and Yunani in India, there is an interesting piece of history related to Aloe Vera and Alexander, the teacher Aristotle convinced Alexander to capture Socotra Island, so that they can get more Aloe Vera which are abundant in Socotra, the Guruji Aristotle wanted to give treatment to the wounded soldiers, to make them ready for Alexander’s next invasion fight,   the Socotra Island is located in the Indian Ocean, actually Aloe Vera is a native of North Africa.

 Note: It is always a better to consult a doctor before using Aloe vera in  any form of its use.

 D.GNANA SURIA BAHAVAN