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Please keep in mind. there is no such thing as a cure-all or magic bullet when it comes to the subject of nutrition. It is important to look at the ingredients individually to gain more understanding of their content. First and foremost, Aloe Vera was used as food and medicine in various cultures as far back as history is written. Some biblical scholars equate tree gums with Manna from heaven. Natural Gums such as Acacia, Ghatti and Tragacanth were used by indigenous people of many cultures and they were commonly extracted from the mucilage or the root, using various techniques. Even the Apes are known to peal away bark of certain tree's when they are in bloom and consume the highly nutritious bark and sap that is filled with glycans. Sea vegetables have also been valued for thousands of years as a source of nutrition by many people. Certain fresh water Algae and Bacteria, such as Spirulina are full of nutrients beneficial to mammals. So, this form of nutrition is nothing new and easily verifiable with a little research. There are exceptions in formulating glyconutrients with individual sugars such as the monosaccharide called Glucosamine, an amino sugar, as it is often mixed with other glycans to make food supplements. In its nearly pure form of HCL, N-acetyl and as a sulfate, it is often combined with chondroitin or MSM as a food supplement. Mannose and fucose are also purified to variable standards for a more concentrated "glyconutrient" by some manufacturers. Standardized ingredients vary considerably in quality and do not always guarantee the content or effectiveness of food supplements. The discovery of individual monosaccharides goes as far back as 1888 when Emil Fischer performed significant work in chemistry to identify many saccharides (sugars) and established the relation between glucose, fructose and mannose. He went on to identify the stereo-chemical configuration of all the known sugars and exactly foretold the possible isomers known today.
Although, some monosaccharides are contained in the Aloe Vera, Tree Gums and various other glyconutrients, the effects of these "sugars" are best understood by studying the digestive process as described below. Microbiologists are closely studying the effects of synbiotics. A few interesting articles are listed below as an example and can be found in most search engines. Do you want to know more about the history of Aloe Vera, Gums and Algae? We highly recommend InnVista as a comprehensive reference. This article is periodically updated, please check back often!
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