Chemistry of Aloe species

The genus Aloe (Asphodelaceae), with nearly 420 species confined mainly to Africa, has over the years proved to be one of the most important sources o f biologically active compounds. Over 130 compounds belonging to different classes including anthrones, chromones, pyrones, coumarins, alkaloids, glyc oproteins, naphthalenes and flavonoids have so far been reported from the g enus. Although many of the reports on Aloe are dominated by A. vera and A. ferox, there have also been a number of fruitful phytochemical studies on m any other members of the genus. In this review an attempt is made to presen t all compounds isolated to date from Aloe. The biogenesis and chemotaxonom ic significance of these compounds are also discussed.