Abstract for Aloe Vera Processing

This abstract contains basic informationfor Aloe Vera cultivation, processing andmarket aspects

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ALOE VERA - INTRODUCTION

INVERT SUGAR ABSTRACTThe food and drink industry depends heavily on enzymes. Enzymes produced by yeast have been used for thousands of years in brewing and baking. Invert sugar (IS) contains fructose and glucose in roughly equal proportions. The Invert sugar is greater in demand than pure glucose as food and drink sweeteners, because fructose is sweeter than glucose.Main consumers of Invert Sugar are the baking, beverages, canning, confectionery and dairy industries. In addition, high fructose syrup is used in

The Aloe plant is considered to beout of Liliaceae and Aloeaceaefamily, which consists of numerousdifferent species. Among thesespecies, there is only one varietythat has a legendary medicalreputation dating back thousands ofyears. It’s the “Aloe Vera” plant,often named with it´s botanicdesignation “Barbadensis Miller”.Aloe is supposed to be derived fromArabic “alloeh”, meaning “bitter”because of the bitter liquid found inthe leaves. “Vera”, which means“true” in Latin, has been added tothis particular specimen in order todistinguish its primacy among thealoe plants. Only the authentic“Aloe Vera” provides the potenttherapeutic effects, which naturehas built in it. Aloe is native to thedrier parts of

Africa, especially South Africa'sCape Province and the mountainsof tropical Africa. It also grows inother subtropical and tropicallocations, including South Americaand the Caribbean. It needs thiswarm climate as it cannot survivefreezing temperatures.Aloe Vera obtains it´s cactus-lookdue to the dry area it grows in.Because of the long periods withoutrain and strong sun shine it needsto build up her own water- andnutrition storage in order to assurea proper supply.

According to a report on aloeworldwide cultivation published byIASC (International Aloe ScienceCouncil), there are approximately23,600 hectares of aloe beingcultivated at worldwide level,whereas 19,100 of them are locatedin the Americas.

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ALOE VERA – INTRODUCTION

This report gives the pole positionin 2004 data to Mexico with 10,700hectares, then to DominicanRepublic with 3,500 and after that,Venezuela with 3,400 hectares. Butnumbers are growing at aninteresting pace.

Aloe Vera-Botanical AspectsAloe grows to the height of 60 to 90cm / 1,5 m. Almost everything areleaves that sit on a strong fibrousroot close to the ground. Her 40 to60 cm long, pale green, fleshy, thick,elongated and spiny leaves build aleaf rosette and are 6 to 10 cm wideat the sprout. The connection to theTree Lilly does go unnoticed duringthe springtime, when aloe plantsblossom with beautiful tubularshaped yellow to purplish droopingflowers.

The fruit is a triangular capsulecontaining numerous seeds. AloeVera can be harvested by hand,with the leaves cut off at the baseof the plant.You can usually harvest aloe plants4 times per year. You should takearound three leaves per plant. Thismakes a total of 12 leaves per plantper year. At an average weight of 1kg you can expect an annual returnof 60,000 kg of aloe leaves per acre.This depends on whether you arehand filleting, the skill of youremployees, whether you are usingan automated extraction machine,however you should yield at least43 to 45 percent from a 1 kg aloeleaf.

Aloe vera ProcessingAccording to the favored end differ-

ent steps can be chosen or added.One benefit of Aloe processing is thatyou can begin with a cost efficientproduction line which can beextended easily in regards to capacityand product options (aloe powder,aloe drinks, aloe tablets etc.)

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ALO VERA PROCESSING

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ALO VERA PROCESSING

Basic requirements▪ A soaking tank to loosen the

dirt from the leaf.▪ An aloe leaf washing machine

or hand washing station towash each individual leaf.

▪ A sanitizing rinse to sterilize theleaves.

▪ Trimming the aloe leaf toremove the ends and sides(Filet only).

▪ Filleting of aloe leaf to removethe gel (Filet only).

▪ Grinding to liquefy the gel.▪ Pulp separation to remove the

cellulose pulp.▪ Stabilization of aloe gel to

achieve microbial protection.▪ Charcoal decolourization to

remove colour and odour.▪ Filtration to remove charcoal.

Aloe Vera ApplicationAs already mentioned before AloeVera is found to have variousmedical and cosmetic properties.Nowadays, a lot of Aloe Veraproducts are available and becauseof it´s multiple features Aloe Veracan be processed into various andproducts.In order to get a good overview, theproducts can be divided into threegroups:

1. Health/ Medical Products:You can find Aloe Vera as aningredient in many differentpharmaceutical products formany different treatments. ButAloe Vera is also an extraordinaryand a valuable food supplement.▪ Pharmaceutical products▪ Tonic▪ Tablets / Capsules / Fizzy

tablets

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ALOE VERA APPLICATION

2. Cosmetics products:Aloe Vera products are consideredto be real oases of liquidity. Theyprovide the skin with the neededliquidity and coolness. Below, youcan find only a few examples of thewide pallet of cosmetical products:▪ Shampoo▪ Hair conditioners / Masks▪ Hair tonics, Dressings etc▪ Eyeliner▪ Sun blocker cream / lotion /

spray

3. Food: The benefits of Aloe Vera can alsobe experienced by drinking tea ordrinks with different flavour▪ Instant drink powder (different

flavours.▪ The benefits of Aloe Vera can

also be experienced

by drinking tea or drinks withdifferent as well)▪ Tee▪ Drinks (with different flavours)

Aloe Vera MarketThe world wide cultivation ofAloe Vera is estimated to have avolume of 23,589 ha. Theindustry size for Aloe Vera rawmaterial is estimated to be about$125 million dollars. The volumeof the industry for finishedproducts containing Aloe Vera isalleged to be about $110 billion.The number of suppliers anddistributors has grownsignificantly in the past fewdecades. And many of thempublish quite good sales growth.World market prices for raw AloeVera products differ extremelyaccording to the application andquality. Although Aloe Veraprocessing industry isconcentrated in the middle and

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ALOEVERA MARKET

south of the American continent,1 kg spray-dried Aloe Vera powder200x (used as benchmark) of thatregion costs up to 90 $. As anexample for the rapid growth pleasehave a look at the graphic wherethe tremendous increase of theAloe Vera market in Germany isshown.The rapidly and constantly growinghealthcare market especially theself treatment sector based onherbal medicine and cosmetics,leads to a rising demand of AloeVera products.

Botanical Extract Demand in Cosmetic and Toiletries from 1989 to 2008:

ItemDemand Value (Million US $)

1989 1993 1998 2008

Aloe Extract 38 46 63 115

Revenue in Mio. €

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