Aloe Bitter sap or Aloe Yellow Sap or Ale Juice

The aloe bitter is the yellow exudate (also known as the bitter sap or acíbar in the spanish speaking countries), which drains from the outer green skin of the leaves when cut. Usually is called aloe juice (creating confusion with the aloe gel also called aloe juice) or aloe extract.

The aloe yellow sap is found on the aloe leaves, near the epidermis. There, the pericyclic cells contains the yellow juice. This aloe yellow sap or aloe bitter sap exudes when the leaf is cut.

This aloe juice (aloe yellow sap) is then collected and may be sold as crude aloe bitter sap or after a basic processing, as aloe block, also called aloe paste. Such aloe paste is the yellow sap concentrated, either by spontaneous evaporation, or, more frequently, by boiling the liquid sap until it solidifies. In most cases the technology used is very basic and it affects the quality and appearance of the aloe block.

When cooked at higher temperatures without control, it takes a obscure brown to black color dark. When temperatures are controlled and cooking is carefully, final appearance tends to be dark greenish. In every case, the aloin content will have variations when examined under HPLC methods.

Aloin or barbaloin is a main component from crude aloe yellow sap, and is obtained from crude aloe bitter sap or from aloe paste, by different extracting technologies. Aloin levels shows differences because of climate and weather conditions, soil characteristics and varieties of aloes used to collect the sap.