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From Websettler.com, written by Diana Deone, http://www.websettler.com/DianaDeone/why.html
 The
History of Aloe Vera
One of the earliest books on the subject of natural
medicine (the only kind known at the time) was the Rig Vede, compiled
in India sometime between B.C.E. 4500 and B.C.E. 1600. While it lists
hundreds of plants deemed useful in medicine and is the logical
starting point for any discussion of alternative medicine, it does
not specifically mention Aloe Vera. Many believe that a Sumerian clay
tablet, found in the city of Nippur, written around B.C.E. 2200, was
the first document to include Aloe Vera among plants of great healing
power. The first detailed discussion of Aloe's medicinal value is
probably that which is found in the Papyrus ebers, an Egyptian
document written around B.C.E. 1550. This document gives twelve
formulas for mixing Aloe with other agents to treat both internal and
external human disorders. The first milestone in Western man's
detailed understanding of medicinal plants is the work of Hippocrites
(460B.C.- 375B.C.), the father of modern medicine (doctors today
still take the Hippocratic Oath). His Material Medica makes no direct
mention of Aloe, but during that same period, the plant, according to
Copra's Indigenous Drugs of India, had come into widespread use.
Interestingly, Copra writes, "The use of Aloes, the common
musabbar, for external application to inflamed painful parts of the
body and for causing purgation [internal cleansing] are too well
known in India to need any special mention."
In Greek pharmacology, the plant was first mentioned
by Celsius (B.C. 25-50 A.D.), but his comments were limited to its
power as a purgative. The first Western benchmark in man's
understanding of Aloe is the Greek herbal of Dioscorides (41 A.D.-68
A.D.). This master of Roman pharmacology developed his knowledge and
skill as he traveled with that great empire's armies. Dioscorides
gave the first detailed description of the plant we call Aloe Vera,
and attributed to its juices "the power of binding, of inducing
sleep." He noted as well that it "loosens the belly,
cleansing the stomach." He further added that this
"bitter" Aloe (the sap) was a treatment for boils; that it
eased hemorrhoids; that it aided in healing bruises; that it was good
for the tonsils, the gums, and all general mouth irritations; and
that it worked as a medicine for the eyes. Dioscorides further
observed that the whole leaf, when pulverized, could stop the
bleeding of many wounds.
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