This invention relates to process for extraction of nutritious Aloevera juice from Aloe Barbadensis plant with reduced content of toxins such as Aloins and Anthraquinones. More particularly, the invention relates to process for extraction of Aloevera juice with improved color and taste and with reduced content of toxins such as Aloins, Anthraquinones and certain phenolics.
Background and prior art:
Aloe vera is a plant species of the genus Aloe. Aloe vera grows wild in tropical climates around the world and is cultivated for agricultural and medicinal uses. Aloe is also used for decorative purposes and grows successfully indoors as a potted plant. There is large-scale agricultural production of Aloe vera in countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, Cuba, China, India, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Mexico Jamaica and USA, for the purpose of catering to the cosmetics/nutraceutical industry.
There are as many as 200 different types of molecules in aloe vera. The aloe vera leaf gel contains about 98% water with the total solid content of 0.66% within which the soluble solids are 0.56% with some seasonal fluctuation. On dry matter basis aloe gel consists of polysaccharides (55%), sugars (17%), minerals (16%), proteins (7%), lipids (4%) and phenolic compounds (1%).
Anthraquinones are the phenolic compounds present in the sap or yellow exudates
of leaf or aloe vera latex. Aloe latex contains a series of glycosides known as
anthraquinones, the most prominent being aloin A and aloin B. The bitter aloes
(dried yellow exudates) consists of free anthraquinones and their derivatives i.e.
barbloin-IO-( 1151 -anhydroglucosyl)-aloe-emodin-9-anthrone, isobarbloin,
anthrone-C- glycosides and chromones which exerts a powerful purgative effects when ingested in large amounts.

The cultivation of Aloe is influenced by a number of factors. Approximately 95% of the gel consists of water and hence sufficient irrigation is required in good climatic conditions and the soil has to be properly fertilized.
In conventional method of processing of the leaves for the extraction of juice, the leaves will be washed and disinfected. There are two basic methods of processing, which include, 1) processing the entire leaf including the shell containing aloin and 2) separating the leaf from the gel before processing. The separation method-2 yields good quality gel when compared to whole Leaf method-1, which leads low quality gel.
In the separation method the bottom of the leaf is cut off and the leaves are left to "bleed" so that the aloin leaks out of the leaves. Aloin is known for its bitter taste and for its laxative effect. Therefore, it is important that aloin has to be eliminated to obtain a quality product.
After the removal of aloin, the prickly edges will be removed with a sharp knife or any suitable equipment. After that gel is separated from the leaf, which is filtered, homogenized, pasteurized, concentrated and stabilized.
There is ample literature available on processes for preparing extracts of aloe vera. US 3878197 disclose a process for extracting and stabilizing juice from leaves of the aloe vera plant. The process comprises removal of gel by trimming the rind and aloin layer from the leaf and the gel thus obtained is digested under ultraviolet radiation at ambient temperature to produce a biologically sterile and chemically stable extract of composition having characteristics similar to fresh aloe vera juice. EP0328775 describes a process for extracting the active chemical substance of the aloe plant, comprising steps of: (a) obtaining aloe juice having solubilized matter; (b) adding a water soluble, lower aliphatic polar solvent to the aloe juice to precipitate the active chemical substance and thereby to form a heterogeneous solution; (c) removing the water soluble, lower aliphatic polar solvent and the

solubilized matter from the heterogeneous solution to isolate the precipitated active chemical substance; and(d) drying the precipitated active chemical substance.
EP2206509 and EP1952817 describes a method of producing an Aloe vera extract comprising: preparing powdery Aloe vera mesophyll by removing water from a mesophyll part excluding leaf skin of Aloe vera by freeze-drying or hot-air drying; and extracting Aloe vera extract from the resultant powdery Aloe vera mesophyll by a supercritical fluid extraction method based on the following conditions (a) to (e): (a) the extraction solvent is carbon dioxide; (b) the extraction temperature is 50 to 69°C; (c) the pressure is 15 to 60 MPa; (d) no entrainer is used; and (e) the extraction time is 50 to 70 minutes.
US5356811 describes a process for extracting aloe vera gel from the leaf of aloe vera without the application of heat, the process comprising the steps of:(a) mechanically slicing and grinding whole aloe vera leaves;(b) mixing the ground aloe vera leaves in the presence of approximately 20 grams per 55 gallons of a cellulose dissolving compound comprising cellulase to form a mixture of aloe vera gel, aloin and aloe vera leaf pulp;(c) removing the aloe vera leaf pulp by extruding the mixture through at least one filter to obtain an aloe vera gel and aloin mixture;(d) adding approximately two pounds of activated powdered carbon per 50 gallons of aloe vera gel and aloin mixture obtained in step (c) to absorb the aloin; (e) removing the aloin laded activated powdered carbon to obtain aloe vera gel having an aloin content of less than about 1 ppm;(f) extruding the aloe vera gel obtained in step (e) through at least one filter that removes carbon material from the mixture down to a size on the order of 10 microns; (g) mixing the aloe vera gel obtained in step (f) with a solution of glucose oxidase and catalase in a ratio of about 3.8 glucose oxidase units to about 1 catalase unit and with approximately 12.8 ounces of sodium benzoate per 100 gallons of the mixture; (h) exposing the aloe vera gel obtained in step (g) to ultraviolet light radiation having an approximate wavelength of 254 nanometers for approximately 10 minutes; and (i) extruding the aloe vera gel obtained in step (h) through at least one organic filter.

US7329421 describes a process for manufacturing aloe vera juice from the leaves of the Aloe vera plant, comprising the following steps: a) cleaning each Aloe vera leaf; b) hand filleting each aloe leaf to separate the internal gel and leaving behind leaf residue; c) collecting the internal gel in a stainless steel container; d) milling the internal gel in a multi mill to obtain a gel having particle size less than 1.5 mm; e) adding charcoal in the range of 1% of the mass of the gel in step d), wherein the charcoal has a particle size of greater than 1.5 mm and mixing the contents well; f) heating the mixture obtained in step e) to about 70 to 75° C. for about half an hour to convert the gel into a juice; g) filtering the mixture obtained in step f) to separate the juice and the charcoal; h) adjusting the pH of the juice obtained in step g) to about 3.5 to 4 using lemon juice; i) filtering the pH adjusted juice obtained in step h) using a filter bed to remove trace fibers and obtain a fiber-free juice; j) filling the fiber-free juice obtained in step i) in sterilized bottles and air tight sealing of the bottles; k) autoclaving the sealed bottles in an autoclave at about 121° C. for about 30 minutes.
An article titled 'clear evidence of carcinogenicity' concludes that the presence of anthraquinones and certain phenolics in the whole leaf aloe juice developed tumors in various parts of the intestine of lab rats, when they ingested the drinking water spiked with 1.5% aloe juice of whole leaf.
As is evident from the cursory review of the prior arts, ingestion of Aloevera juice as such is not safe in view of the multiple undesired chemical agents such as aloin, anthraquinones and certain phenolics associated with many health risks. Moreover, subjecting the aloe gel to various sterilization techniques such as ultraviolet light radiation, autoclave, charcoal treatment, as reported in the prior art process are neither safe nor industrially feasible and moreover escalates the cost of the process economics.

Therefore, there remains a need in the art to provide cost effective and industrially feasible process for preparation of aloe juice that is safe and fit for long term consumption without any side effects.
Objective of the invention:
It is an objective of the invention to provide a simple and efficient process for the preparation of leaf extract of aloe vera plant, which is devoid of aloin, anthraquinones and certain phenolics, thereby making the juice safe for consumption.
Summary of the invention:
In line with the above objective, the invention provides a novel and efficient process for the preparation of leaf extract of aloe vera plant, which is devoid of aloin, anthraquinones and certain phenolics, thereby making the juice safe for consumption.
According to an aspect, the invention provides a process for the preparation of leaf extract of aloe vera plant, which process comprises:
a) Extracting the gel from the washed and peeled leaves of Aloe vera;
b) Sorting the Alovera gel to remove foreign particle and washing the gel with water;
c) Soaking the gel in saline water for 25-30 min;
d) Subjecting the saline soaked gel to sugar treatment for 25-30 min;
e) Crushing the material of step d) with self-made special type of crusher having 8-10mm sieve size for better mouth feel and to delay dissolution of Aloe vera gel into juices;
f) heating the crushed gel at 65 degree centigrade for 4-5 minutes to avoid lump formation in aloe gel.

In an aspect, soaking of the aloe vera juice with saline solution followed by sugars for a period of 1 hr substantially reduces the aloin and anthraquinone content and improves the aesthetic appearance and taste of the gel.
In another aspect, the invention provides process for preparation of aloevera mixed fruit juice which process comprises;
a) mixing and homogenizing all ingredients including fruit pulp, sugar syrup, flavor, Colour, Stabilizer, acidity regulator, water and preservatives in a tank and made up volume as desired; and
b) Transferring the homogenized mixture into the blending tank containing the heated Alovera juice followed by homogenizing and sterilizing the juice at 95°C prior to filling at 72°C into the containers.
Detailed description of the invention:
The invention provides a novel and efficient process for the preparation of aloe vera juice, which is devoid of aloin, anthraquinones and certain phenolics, thereby making the juice safe for consumption.
According to an aspect, the invention provides a novel and efficient process for the preparation of leaf extract of aloe vera plant, which process comprises:
a) Extracting the gel from the washed and peeled leaves of Alovera;
b) Sorting the Alovera gel to remove foreign particle and washing the gel with water;
c) Soaking the gel in saline solution for 25-30 min;
d) Subjecting the saline soaked gel to sugar solution treatment for 25-30 min;
e) Crushing the material of step d) with self-made special type of crusher having 8-10mm sieve size for better mouth feel and to delay dissolution of Aloe vera gel into juices; and
f) heating the crushed gel at 65 degree centigrade for 4-5 minutes to avoid lump formation in aloe gel.

In an aspect, the concentration of saline solution is 0.3 to 0.6% w/w.
In another aspect, the concentration of sugar solution is in the range of 0.3 to 0.6%w/w.
In a further aspect, the ratio of saline solution to aloe vera gel is in the range of 1: 50 to 1:100. For example, in one litre of water, 25% of aloe gel and 0.3 to 0.6gm of salt or sugar are taken for the respective treatments.
The saline treatment and sugar treatment of the gel can be carried out conveniently at room temperature.
In an aspect, soaking of the aloe vera juice with saline followed by sugars for a period of 1 hr eliminates or substantially reduces the aloins and anthraquinone content and improves the aesthetic appearance and taste.
Also, the treated aloe juice as per the improved method comprises improved protein, calcium, iron, sodium content in addition to reduced contents of aloin/anthraquinone. Further, the pale yellow colour of the aloe juice becomes colour less after the treatment as per the present invention, in addition to the improved taste.
The constituents and quantity of the aloe juice obtained with the inventive saline and sugar treatment and without the treatment is produced herein below in table 1. Table 1

Sr.No Name of the constituent (Per cent by mass) Quantity of the constituents in treated aloe juice by conventional method Quantity of the constituents in treated aloe juice as per the invention
Colour of the juice Pale yellow colour Colourless
1 Total fat NIL NIL
8

2 Protein 0.15 0.17
3 carbohydrate 0.25 0.13
4 Total sugar NIL NIL
5 Dietary fibre 0.21 0.13
6 Total energy 1.6Kcal 1.2Kcal
7 Iron 4.18 6.06
8 calcium 6.30 7.31
9 Sodium 11.75 13.7
10 Vitamin A ND ND
11 Vitamin C NIL NIL
12 Cholesterol ND ND
13 Aloin 0.063 0.041
15 polysaccharides NIL NIL
16 Organic acids NIL NIL
17 Total ash content 0.29 0.32
As is shown in the above table, the saline and sugar treatment of the aloe juice reduces the aloin content further and improves the quality and storability of the juice. Also, the juice obtained by the process of the present invention does not form any lump thereby effectively improves the storability.
In another aspect, the invention provides process for preparation of aloevera mixed fruit juice which process comprises;
a) mixing and homogenizing all ingredients including fruit pulp, sugar syrup, flavor, Colour, Stabilizer, acidity regulator, water and preservatives in a tank and made up volume as desired; and
b) Transferring the homogenized mixture into the blending tank containing the heated Alovera juice followed by homogenizing and sterilizing the juice at 95°C prior to filling at 72°C into the containers.
9

The fruit pulp may be selected from the group consisting of apple, lemon, orange, guava, etc.
The following examples, which include preferred embodiments, will serve to illustrate the practice of this invention, it being understood that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purpose of illustrative discussion of preferred embodiments of the invention.
Examples
Example 1
400gm of Aloe leaf has taken from farms and subjected to proper washing with water to completely remove the foreign particles. After washing, the leaves were cut from all the sides and edges with the help of stainless steel knife to obtain the leaf mass of approximately 350gm. After this, the cut leaves were peeled from upper and bottom sides to obtain the aloe gel (170gm).
The gel thus obtained was sorted out for any foreign matters such as leaf part. After that the gel was poured into 0.34% concentrated saline water and soaked at room temperature for 25-30 mins. After saline treatment, the soaked gel was isolated from saline solution and poured into 0.34 % concentrated sugar solution and soaked at room temperature for about 25-30 mins. After that, the soaked gel from sugar solution was isolated, crushed using self-made special type of crusher having 8-10mm sieve size for better mouth feel and delay dissolution of Alovera gel into juices. The crushed Alovera gel was heated at 65 degree centigrade for 4-5 minutes to obtain the gel 149gm. The heating of the gel for a short time resist the lump formation of aloe gel when added into to fruit juice.
During the treatment of the present invention, a loss of 10-12% in gel weight was observed.
10

The below table 2 exemplifies various embodiments of the invention by showing the input and output and the loss of mass at various stages for example, the losses occurred at various stages such as during cutting, peeling and post saline and sugar treatment.
Table 2
Example 2

Weight of aloe Weight after side Weight of peeled gel Weight
leaf cutting after treatment
400gm 350gm 169gm 149gm
350gm 300gm 155gm 137gm
400gm 350gm 159gm HOgm
500gm 400gm 172gm 152gm
300gm 250gm 112gm 99gm
250gm 200gm 90gm 80gm
400gm 350gm 162gm 143gm
300gm 250gm HOgm 97gm
300gm 250gm 115gm 102gm
300gm 250gm 117gm 103gm
Preparation of aloe vera mixed fruit juice
All ingredients including fruit pulp, sugar syrup, flavor, Colour, Stabilizer, acidity regulator, water and preservatives were added into pulp dumping tank and made up the volume as desired with water for standard batch in blending tank and send to homogenizer for proper homogenization. After homogenization, the homogenised batch was transferred to the ready beverages tank and mixed with the heated Alovera juice (170gm) and homogenized the aloe and fruit juice mix properly.
11

After homogenization of the blend, the blended sample was taken from sampling point and checked for chemical & physical tests i.e. acidity, pH, brix, appearance, taste and colour. After that the blend was transferred into pasteurizer and sterilized the juice mix at 95°C. Finally the sterilized juice was transferred into filling machine @ 70°C- 72°C with the help of special type of filling nozzles and van tubes for easy filling of Alovera mixed fruit juice.
The blending of aloe juice with fruit juice may be at different ratios, for example, aloe juice can be added to apple juice at a concentration of 15% to 30%. Similarly, aloe juice can be added to guava juice at a concentration of 15% to 30%.
Example 3
Blending ratio of guava fruit juice
Alovera juice and pulp 15%
Guava pulp 15%
Cane sugar 10%
Water Q.S
Other ingredients include acidity regulator (E330); class 2 preservatives (E211), (E202); Permitted food Colour (E122) (El 10) and Nature identical guava flavour.
Example 4
Blending ratio of orange fruit juice
Alovera juice and pulp 12%
Orange pulp 15%
Cane sugar 10.5%
Water- Q.S
Other ingredients include acidity regulator (E330); stabilizer (E440); class 2 preservative (E211), (E202); Permitted food Colour (El 10); Nature identical orange flavour.

We claim,

A process for preparation of aloevera mixed with fruit juice which process comprises;
a) Extracting the gel from the washed and peeled leaves of Alovera;
b) Sorting the Alovera gel to remove foreign particle and washing the gel with water;
c) Soaking the gel in saline for 25-30 min;
d) Subjecting the saline soaked gel to sugar treatment for 25-30 min;
e) Crushing the material of step d) with self-made special type of crusher having 8- 10mm sieve size for better mouth feel and delay dissolution of Aloe vera gel into juices; and
f) heating the crushed gel at 65 degree centigrade for 4-5 minutes to avoid lump formation in aloe gel.
g) mixing and homogenizing all ingredients including fruit pulp, sugar syrup, flavor, Colour, Stabilizer, acidity regulator, water and preservatives in a tank and made up volume as desired; and
h) Transferring the homogenized mixture into the blending tank containing the heated Alovera juice followed by homogenizing and sterilizing the juice mix at 95°C prior to filling at 72°C into the containers. . The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the fruit pulp is selected from the
group consisting of apple, lemon, orange, guava, etc. , The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the soaking of the aloe vera juice
with saline followed by sugars for a period of 1 hr eliminates or substantially
reduces the aloins and anthraquinone content and improves the aesthetic
appearance and taste. . The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the aloe vera juice as in step f)
which process comprises:
a) Extracting the gel from the washed and peeled leaves of Alovera;
b) Sorting the Alovera gel to remove foreign particle and washing the gel with water;

c) Soaking the gel in saline for 25-30 min;
d) Subjecting the saline soaked gel to sugar treatment for 25-30 min;
e) Crushing the material of step d) with self-made special type of crusher having 8-10mm sieve size for better mouth feel and delay dissolution of Aloe vera gel into juices; and
f) heating the crushed gel at 65 degree centigrade for 4-5 minutes to avoid lump formation in aloe gel.
The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the concentration of saline solution
is 0.3 to 0.6% w/w.
The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the concentration of sugar solution
is 0.3 to 0.6%w/w.
The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the ratio of saline solution to aloe
vera gel is in the range of 1: 50 to 1:100.
The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein, saline treatment and sugar treatment
of the gel can be carried out conveniently at room temperature.