IASC Announces Winner of 10th Annual Yun-Ho Lee Award for Scientific Merit

November 5, 2010 - The International Aloe Science Council (IASC) is honored to present the 10th Annual Yun-Ho Lee Award for Scientific Merit for 2009 to the following researcher for their significant contribution to scientific information on aloe:

Dr. Nuriye Akev, Ph.D. published a total of 7 studies (listed on PubMed) on the pharmacology of aloe vera, dating from 1999 to 2009. The studies have been completed on aloe vera specimens were collected from Kale, Antalya, identified by a taxonomist and grown in the Istanbul University greenhouse. Voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium at the University.

Dr. Akev (1999) began her studies on the properties of lectins isolated from the leaf pulp. This study refuted the then agreed assumption that glucosamine specificity could be a possible marker for aloe vera lectins, when she determined that glycosidase and lectin activities resided in different proteins in the leaf pulp.

The group (2002) then examined the hypoglycemic effect on rats in models of type 1 and type II diabetes. The effects of both the pulp and the gel were examined. The pulp lowered blood sugar in rat models of diabetes but had no effect on normal animals. The gel increased blood sugar levels in the model for type II diabetes. Two papers were published in 2004 regarding the effects of the pulp extract on the liver and on the kidney.

A 2007 paper reported that the leaf pulp, given sc, had an anticancer effect on Ehrlich ascites tumors in mice. The strongest effect was when the preparation was given prophylactically before tumor implantation; however there was also an effect when given at the same time or even after tumor implantation. Several mode of action experiments indicated and immunomodulatory effect.

A 2008 paper reported the results of experiments with aloe gel and aloe leaf pulp on oxidative damage to the skin and the heart in the rat model for type II diabetes. The effects on lipid levels were also measured. Beneficial effects on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, total lipids and atherogenic index were observed for both aloe preparations. Lipid peroxidation in skin tissue was decreased by both aloe preparations, but there was no statistical effect on lipid peroxidation in heart tissue.

A 2009 paper measured antioxidant activity in several in vitro models. In these experiments, the pulp was active but the gel was not. When the pulp was fractionated, the in vitro antioxidant activity correlated with the phenolic and flavonoid content.

"The Council received many excellent nominations for the award in 2009, and it took a substantial amount of time for the expert review panel to determine a winner," said IASC Executive Director Devon Powell. "For the 10th annual award, we are pleased to recognize Dr. Nuriye Akev for her outstanding body of scientific research on aloe vera."

The 11th annual award submission cycle (2010) was opened on October 1. Submissions must be received by December 1 to be eligible for consideration. Details on submission requirements and rules can be found at the IASC website. Powell further noted, "The body of research on aloe continues to develop, and IASC sincerely thanks Dr. Akev and all those who submitted their scientific research for their efforts and good work on this widely used botanical. We expect to see even more submissions for the Yun Ho Lee Award in 2010 and the available pool of research on aloe vera continue to grow."

The Yun-Ho Lee Award for Scientific Merit is named in honor of Aloecorp-founder and former-IASC Chairman, Mr. Yun-Ho Lee.

For more information contact:

Devon Powell
Executive Director, IASC
dpowell@iasc.org
Phone: 301.588.2420 x102
Cell: 240.398.8018
8630 Fenton St., Ste. 918 | Silver Spring, MD | 20910