Aloe macroclada from Madagascar Triggers Transient Bone Marrow Stem Cell Mobilization

Abstract

AbstractObjective: Aloe has been used for the treatments of various ailments dating back almost 6000 years. There are more than 450 species of aloe coming from various parts of Africa and South America, and from the island of Madagascar that contains unique species endemic to the island. One such species is Aloe macroclada that has been used for centuries by the local residents as a remedy for a wide variety of ailments. We investigated whether the mechanism of action behind the wide-ranging health benefits of A. macroclada could be mobilization of bone marrow stem cells. Methods: A. macroclada was prepared into small spherical pellets by Malagasy healers using traditional methods of fabrication. The traditional dose of three pellets was fed to 4 volunteers and the number of circulating stem cells was quantified 1, 2 and 3 hours after consumption using flow-cytometry.Results: The usual dose and preparation of A. macroclada traditionally used in Madagascar triggered a significant increase (up to 53%) in the number of circulating CD45dim CD34+ and CD34+ CD133+ stem cells within 2 hours of consumption. This increase lasted more than 3 hours and was significant after 120 and 180 minutes of consumption. Conclusion: Consumption of A. macroclada has been credited with significant improvements in a wide variety of health conditions. This data suggest that stem cell mobilization may be an important mechanism of action behind the health benefits of A. macroclada.spectra of health benefits were shown to act at least in part by supporting the mobilization of bone marrow stem cells into the peripheral blood circulation [5,6], thereby increasing the number of circulating stem cells available to participate to the process tissue repair [7]. In this study we investigated the effect of A. macroclada on stem cell mobilization, which would provide a mechanism of action for the various health benefits associated with A. macroclada. MethodsReagentsPhosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.4), sodium azide, and bovine serum albumin were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). The following monoclonal antibodies were purchased from Becton-Dickinson (San Jose, CA, USA): CD31-fluorescein isothiocyanate, CD34–peridinin-chlorophyll-protein complex (PerCP) and CD184 (CXCR4)-brilliant violet 421 (v421). The monoclonal antibody CD45-pacific orange (PO) and Cal-Lyse Lysing solution was purchased from Life Technologies (Carlsbad, CA, USA). The monoclonal antibody CD133-PE was purchased from Miltenyi Biotec (San Diego, CA, USA).