I have bought some Aloe Vera plants that I would like to use the sap for eating (for health).

My problem is that I was not able to find Aloe Vera specifically marked for eating/medical purposes. So I bought some which are I suppose marked for "decorative purposes".

Obviously these Aloe Vera's could have been treated with some pesticides which are dangerous - especially since I suppose insecticides could have been used which are allowable for non-edible plants.

So, now my question? How do you think I could detox these plants so that they will be safe to eat? It is impossible to know what chemicals have been used or their half-life or if any systematic chemicals were used. Do you think these plants could ever be detox'ed and be grown organically now?

Thanks

Their grown is surprisingly dependent on soil moisture, and I've doubled the growth rate of my plants by putting the pots (1 - 5 gal) in 3" deep saucers, and fill these saucers with water every time I remember.

There are hundreds of types of Aloe and only one of them is the Aloe Vera that we know for medicinal purposes and is edible though it doesn't taste good.

I grow lots of Aloe (the medicinal kind) and many of my plants will send out pups (small offshoot plants from the roots) that can be separated from the parent plant and re-potted. Those young plants will be relatively free of residues.

If you wash your plants off and don't expose them to chemical residues they will be relatively residue free. Aloe are generally not bothered by pests so there is little reason that they would be sprayed with chemical pesticides.

It is perhaps possible that the plants you bought were fertilized with non-organic fertilizers but if you keep them for some time and don't use chemicals, the amount of fertilizer residue left in them is going to be quite small.

If you are really worried about it, you may want to simply keep these original aloe plants as your parent breeding stock and grow the pups for juicing.

I live in a subtropical climate so most of my aloe are outdoors in a mostly shady location. I put them all in terra cotta pots and they are placed where they get watered by micro sprinklers a few times a week. They are really easy plants to keep and the only ones I've ever seen killed were done in by either cooking them or top watering them every day. (putting an aloe in a closed car all day in the sun can kill it as will letting your room mate water it every day.)

There are hundreds of types of Aloe. There is a good chance the ones you have are the correct type but you should be able to get some good pictures by doing an internet search so you can look and compare.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe
I know there are plenty more out there and If I already had the pictures of my aloe uploaded to the net, I'd link them for you.

The greater concern is for scraping or cutting out those yellow veins of latex on the inside surface of the leaves while you're trying to get the gel out. That stuff can be a very powerful, even painful, laxative (but it'll sure detox your a$$ if you're worried about something you et).

To remove the gel I split the leaf open lengthwise and scrape the gel out gently with a table spoon, being careful not to get into the yellow veins.

I find it's easy to drink if I mix it with citrus juice. Most citrus juice, including lemonade and certainly all those so-called "sports drinks", are too acidic for my stomache so mixing in aloe juice cuts the acidity and make the aloe drinkable. I always use aloe juice when making lemonade.

My Aloe-ade recipe
1/2Q (16oz) Lemon Juice
2Q (1/2Gal or 64Oz) Aloe juice
1 cup sugar
1-1/2Q (approx) water to make up to 1 Gallon Aloe/Lemonade

I'm referring to the name shown on the plant label.

Thanks!