A newly developed Smart Pouch with enclosed biomaterial (Aloe vera and coconut husk powder) has been experimented for elimination of heavy metals i.e. (Pb2+, Cu2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+) from wastewater. The effect of concentration, pH, temperature, contact duration etc. was investigated using batch experiments which resulted that the Pouch may be accepted for convenient, efficient and low-cost accumulation of several heavy metals simultaneously from waste water. The maximum Pb removal was 99.99%, 93.21% for Cu, and for Ni, it was 91.97% whereas for Zn, 86.41% was obtained and also, the uptake capacity of pouch was quite sensitive towards initial metal concentration in the studied range of 10-200mg/L present in wastewater. The findings were further interpreted by quantum chemical study as theoretical support, various adsorption isotherms, FTIR, SEM, XRD, and physiochemical properties of metal ions to justify the synergized performance of new Pouch. A good correlation was found between experimental methods and theoretical findings.

Pregnancy and feto-gestational toxicities on exposure to fluoride and its possible amelioration on co-administration with aloe vera were studied in pregnant Swiss albino mice. Once the confirmed pregnancy was tested, animals were equally divided into four groups as follows: group I was given no treatment and served as control, and groups II and III were administered with 100 and 300 ppm sodium fluoride, respectively, while group IV was co- administered aloe vera (300 mg/kg bw) along with sodium fluoride (300 ppm) daily for 14 days prior to gestation and continued till the 18th day of gestation. Animals were sacrificed on the 19th day of gestation for prenatal observations. Maternal body weight, the gravid uterine weight, number of corpora lutea in both the ovaries, number of implantations and resorptions, number of live (mature and immature) fetuses, and number of dead fetuses were examined in each dam. The treatment continued in another set of animals till the completion of the weaning period to observe postnatal changes due to test substances on the mother and pups. Sodium fluoride–treated animals showed morphometric and skeletal changes which were more pronounced in the high-dose group showing significantly decreased body weight gain in pregnant mothers and dead/immature fetuses. Morphometric changes included open eyelids, limb defects, wrinkles on the whole body, anophthalmia, pulmonary edema, enlarged esophagus, and decreased body weight of fetuses and pups. Alizarin-prepared skeletal structures of fetuses of such female mice showed delayed ossification or bending in the number of bones of skull, thoracic, and limb regions. However, concomitant exposure to sodium fluoride and aloe vera in treated animals led to a marked improvement in all the prenatal and postnatal variables. The study suggests that sodium fluoride at high concentrations may be teratogenic while co-administration of aloe vera during fluoride exposure might be beneficial in reducing these toxic effects. The use of aloe vera as a preventive agent or as a complimentary agent is thus recommended following fluoride exposure through the oral route.

Improving poultry production, increasing poultry immunity, and reducing the disease spreading can be achieved by adding various potentially valuable ingredients to the feed or drinking water of poultry flocks. Because of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in animal nutrition were prohibited. Additionally, consumer preferences tend towards purchasing products from livestock raised without antibiotics. Therefore, there is a critical need to find effective growth promoter alternatives and treatment methods for common poultry diseases. Some spice plants play important roles in improving the taste, aroma, and color of human food and their positive effects on human and animal health. The current review aimed to provide a broader perspective on some spice crops which can be effective alternatives to antibiotics in organic poultry production. These spices were including Thymus vulgaris, Cichorium intybus, Coriandrum sativum, Aloe vera, Heracleum persicum, Curcuma longa, and Glycyrrhiza glabra.

Diabetic wounds are characterized by a delayed closure rate due to the excess inflammation and the inhibition of angiogenesis. Natural products derived from Aloe vera have shown great promise due to their healing magnificent properties. Olive oil is another natural product with anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties that may contribute to the healing process. In the present investigation, we tried to evaluate the efficacy of topical application of Aloe gel and/or olive oil in the enhancement of diabetic wounds using histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Excisional wounds were created on the back skin of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Topical treatments of Aloe gel and/or olive oil were applied separately and in a combination (AVO) daily for experimental groups. Macroscopic and microscopic observations of the excision wounds were monitored at time intervals (3, 6, 9, 14 days) post-wounding. Macroscopic observations of the AVO group exhibited almost complete healing at day 14, while other groups were still in progress. Similarly, immunohistochemical analysis of the AVO group showed a mild expression pattern of NF-κB.. While, the cell proliferation (Ki-67), and angiogenesis (CD34) markers were upregulated. Conclusively, the obtained results showed that the AVO combination effectively improved the healing process in diabetic excisional wounds with significant differences in the healing kinetics compared to wounds that received Aloe gel or olive oil separately.

Nowadays, the sunscreen creams are composed of mostly synthetic chemicals and other organic compounds which were found to enter into the blood stream on topical application raising concerns in the scientific community. The scientific community has now shifted their attention to herbal formulations due to toxicity of these synthetic molecules. Aloe vera is a xerophitic plant having excellent anti-oxidant properties. The permeation effect and drug stability of the drug candidate can be significantly enhanced by formulating it into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN). The main objectives of the study were to formulate and evaluate Aloe vera-loaded SLN sunscreen cream and to determine its photoprotective potential. The Aloe vera-loaded SLNs were formulated by microemulsification technique. The developed SLNs were studied for its entrapment efficiency, poly dispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, particle size, and other characterization techniques. Finally, the optimized SLNs were incorporated into the sunscreen cream and evaluated for its spreadability, viscosity, extrudability, drug content, in vitro drug release, ex vivo permeation, determination of sun protection factor (SPF), skin irritation test, and accelerated stability studies. The in vitro SPF was found out to be 16.9 ± 2.44 and the in vivo SPF observed to be approximately 14.81 ± 3.81, respectively. Stability studies were performed under accelerated conditions and no appreciable changes in the parameters were noticed. The solid lipid nanoparticles of Aloe vera were incorporated into a cream and the SPF of the resultant sunscreen cream was found to be on par with the sunscreens that were currently available in the market.

Fifteen plant species—Alternanthera bettzickiana, Drimiopsis botryoides, Aloe vera, Chlorophytum comosum, Aglaonema commutatum, Cordyline fruticosa, Philodendron martianum, Sansevieria hyacinthoides, Aglaonema rotundum, Fittonia albivenis, Muehlenbeckia platyclada, Tradescantia spathacea, Guzmania lingulata, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, and Cyperus alternifolius—were evaluated for the removal efficiency of xylene from contaminated air. Among the test plants, Z. zamiifolia showed the highest xylene removal efficiency. Xylene was toxic to Z. zamiifolia with an LC₅₀of 3,464 ppm. Higher concentrations of xylene exhibited damage symptoms, including leaf tips turning yellow, holonecrosis, and hydrosis. TEM images showed that a low concentration of xylene vapors caused minor changes in the chloroplast, while a high concentration caused swollen chloroplasts and damage. The effect of photosynthetic types on xylene removal efficiency suggests that a mixture of Z. zamiifolia, S. hyacinthoides, and A. commutatum which represent facultative CAM, CAM, and C₃plants, is the most suitable system for xylene removal. Therefore, for maximum improvement in removing xylene volatile compounds under various conditions, multiple species are needed. The effect of a plant’s total leaf area on xylene removal indicates that at lower concentrations of xylene, a small leaf area might be as efficient as a large leaf area.