Many plant species have been used as food, medicine, clothing, shelter, tools and other effects to better our lives. In many cultures, certain plant species are believed to have mystical value. Historically, plants have been used for medicinal purposes around the world. They may also be appreciated aesthetically, providing pleasure, and be related to the cultural values of people in their native country. Overtime, the usage of plants for medicinal purposes has decreased due to the rapid development of pharmaceuticals. Yet, many plant species remain essential to cultures worldwide. Today, one of the most used plant species in the world including the Dominican Republic is Aloe Vera. The Dominican Republic plantation alone is more than 12 million aloe Vera plants, each continually producing fresh aloe Vera for the best, naturally potent aloe Vera juice and skin care in the world. The plant species Aloe Vera has become one of the most marketable and profitable natural products in the Dominican Republic and worldwide. .
Materials and Method.
The semi-tropical plant, Aloe Vera, has existed since the beginnings of our first civilizations, dating back to biblical times. Most of the information that is known about the history of Aloe Vera depicts how ancient civilizations used Aloe as a medicinal herbal supplement. At first glance, Aloe appears to be a member of the Cactus family due to its thick, tapered, spiny leaves ( Vassani, 2008). The reality is that Aloe Vera is a member of a lily tree family known as Aloe Barbadensis. Other plants that are related to the Barbadensis family as onion, garlic and turnip families, all of which have been scientifically proven to carry great health benefits. Techniques based on DNA comparison suggest Aloe vera is relatively closely related to Aloe perryi, a species endemic to Yemen ( Vassani, 2008). Similar techniques, using chloroplast DNA sequence comparison and ISSR profiling have also suggested it is closely related to Aloe forbesii, Aloe inermis, Aloe scobinifolia, Aloe sinkatana, and Aloe striata ( Hamman , 2008).