Aloe vera gel powder and extract in mice on a high-fat diet
What it found
In mice given a chemical that causes colon growths, aloe vera gel powder and extract reduced the number of early abnormal spots in the colon.
The study was done in animals, not people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Early colon growths
Mice given 3% aloe vera gel powder had 43% fewer early abnormal spots in the colon than mice on the high-fat diet alone. Mice given the high dose of aloe vera gel extract had 26% fewer spots than mice on the high-fat diet with solvent alone.
Cell growth in colon
The high-fat diet increased a marker of cell growth in the colon lining. Both aloe vera gel powder and extract lowered this marker, with the high dose of extract lowering it by 22% compared to the high-fat diet with solvent alone.
Colon crypt length
Crypts in the colon were longer in mice on the high-fat diet than in mice on the normal diet. The lengths were slightly shorter in mice given aloe vera gel powder or extract, but the difference was not significant.
Liver enzyme mRNA
The mRNA level of a liver enzyme called glutathione S-transferase was 1.61 times higher in mice given the high dose of aloe vera gel extract than in mice given the high-fat diet with solvent alone. No difference was seen for another liver enzyme, CYP2E1.
Active ingredient
The concentration of Aloe-sterols was similar between the 3% aloe vera gel powder and the high dose of aloe vera gel extract. The authors suggest Aloe-sterols were the main active ingredients in this experiment.
What the authors conclude
“These results suggest that both AVGP and AVGE may have chemopreventive effects on colorectal carcinogenesis under the HFD condition.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that both aloe vera gel powder and extract suppressed the formation of early abnormal spots in the colon of mice fed a high-fat diet.
- They say that the inhibition of cell growth in the colon and increases in a liver enzyme may be partly responsible for this effect.
- They suggest that both aloe vera gel powder and extract may have chemopreventive activity on colorectal cancer under high-fat diet conditions.
How it was done
The authors previously found that aloe vera gel extract reduced intestinal polyps in mice fed a high-fat diet. They wanted to test whether aloe vera gel powder and extract could also reduce early colon growths caused by a chemical.
Male mice were fed a normal diet, a high-fat diet, or a high-fat diet with different amounts of aloe vera gel powder or extract. All mice were given a chemical called azoxymethane to cause early colon growths, and the number of these growths was counted after 12 weeks.
What it can’t tell you
- These are animal studies. They can't show what happens in people.
- The study used a chemical to cause early colon growths, so it doesn't show whether aloe vera prevents colon cancer in people eating a high-fat diet.
- The findings are from mice, so the doses and effects may not be the same in humans.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Fujita Health University, Japan E-mail :
The paper
- Title
- Dietary aloe vera gel powder and extract inhibit azoxymethane- induced colorectal aberrant crypt foci in mice fed a high- fat diet
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Chihara T, Shimpo K, Kaneko T, et al (2015). Dietary aloe vera gel powder and extract inhibit azoxymethane- induced colorectal aberrant crypt foci in mice fed a high- fat diet. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention. doi:10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.2.683Free full textPubMed 25684508DOI
Summary written 29 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error