| Standard name | Aloe socotrina |
|---|---|
| Other names | Aloes |
| Erroneous names | Aloe soccotrina |
| Standard abbr. | Aloe |
| Other abbr. | |
| Scientific name | Aloe perryi Baker |
| Other scientific names | |
| Common names | Socotrine Aloes; Turkish Aloes; Indian Aloes |
| Substance description | Original provings were made from trituration or solution in alcohol of the gum of Aloe socotrina. |
| Distinctness | DISTINCT (but generally prepared from various Aloe species, see notes) |
| Classification | Organism – Plantae – Magnoliophyta – Liliopsida – Asparagales – Xanthorrhoeaceae – Aloe |
The remedy you buy from your homeopathic pharmacy may be different from the one used in the provings – it may not work even if properly selected.
There is a lot of confusion regarding the identification of Aloe socotrina (not only) in homeopathic literature. Most authors are content with a name Aloe socotrina (which is not a recognized scientific name, hence close to useless), some that do provide a scientific name, mostly provide an incorrect one (Aloe vera, Aloe barbadensis or Aloe spicata – all incorrect). Only Vermeulen seems to have identified the correct name of the source plant Aloe perryi. Some pharmacies seem to prepare the remedy from Aloe ferox (Boiron))). The French and German pharmacopeias allegedly advice to use different species and hybrides of Aloe. Historical remedy kits (such as Fincke's) may contain the remedy prepared from the same substance as used in original provings.
According to Vermeulen: “The German homoeopathic pharmacopoeia is strict in its directions for the preparation of Aloe: the remedy should be made from the dried and concentrated juice of various species of Aloe, in particular Aloe ferox Miller, known in commerce as Cape Aloes. Pharmacists are advised against the use of Barbados Aloes [A. barbadensis Miller]. Interestingly, this 'forbidden' variety currently is immensely popular under the name Aloe vera.”
In Hering's Amerikanische Arzneiprufungen, Aloes (translated by T.F. Allen), we find: “For my own experiments I succeeded in obtaining the really genuine Aloes from the Island of Socotra. When the United States Government dispatched a man-of-war to the Sultan of Muscat, on behalf of commercial interests, the ship's surgeon had an interview with the private physician of the Sultan, and received from him a piece of the genuine pure Aloes, such as had been prepared in Socotra for the Sultan. This rarity was transferred to the collection of the Pharmacological Institute of this place (Philadelphia), and a trustworthy friend succeeded in breaking therefrom a good piece, which he brought to me in triumph. This Aloes has on its fractured surface a fiery red golden glitter, and its bitterness is rather more aromatic.”
Dunham writes: “It has various names denoting the origin of the specimen. 1. Socotrina, the finest kind, called also Turkish or Indian Aloes, of a garnet red color with a golden or yellow red when powdered. 2. Hepatic, similar but less brilliant. 3. Cape Aloes, the most abundant, derived from the Cape of Good Hope, greenish and dull. 4. Barbadoes Aloes, strong, dark brown, used for horses.”
According to botanical.com1): “Socotrine Aloes is prepared to a certain extent on the island of Socotra, but probably more largely on the African and possibly also on the Arabian mainland, from the leaves of A. perryi (Baker). It is usually imported in kegs in a pasty condition and subsequent drying is necessary. It may be distinguished principally from Curacoa Aloes by its different odour. Much of the dry drug is characterized by the presence of small cavities in the fractured surface, but the variety of Socotrine Aloes distinguished as Zanzibar Aloes often very closely resembles Curacoa in appearance and is usually imported in liver-brown masses which break with a dull, waxy fracture, differing from that of Socotrine Aloes in being nearly smooth and even. When it is prepared, it is commonly poured into goat skins, which are then packed into cases.”
All standard homeopathic remedy names are listed in the Official Remedy Name List. Extended Remedy Name List includes all known naming variations (homeopathic names only). The Complete Remedy Name List includes all homeopathic names and all common names. This page is a part of ongoing Project Remedies.