Rheology of Aloe barbadensis Miller: A naturally available material of high therapeutic and nutrient value for food applications

Due to the potential applications of Aloe barbadensis Miller (Aloe vera) in cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food products, the study of its rheology is important. Recently, many commercial food-product producers have boosted up the usage of Aloe vera gel or juice in one form or the other due to its nutrient ingredients. The present study reports the rheological characteristics of native Aloe gel and juice under dynamic and steady shear. The damping of the elastic moduli and viscous moduli at various temperatures for the Aloe gel under oscillatory shear tests have been reported, for the first time, which were observed due to the presence of weak, fibrous and random structure of polysaccharides in it. The moduli for gel increased with increasing temperature and that for juice decreased with temperature. Prior to attaining the plateau region after certain shear rate, Aloe vera gel and juice exhibited shear thinning behavior. The flow behavior index for Aloe gel samples was found to be 0.1 in the shear thinning region.

► Rheology of Aloe vera gel and juice under dynamic and steady shear were evaluated.
► Damping of the elastic and viscous moduli of Aloe gel reported for the first time.
► Weak, fibrous and random network of polysaccharides resulted in damping of moduli.
► Increase of temperature resulted in increased elastic and viscous moduli of the gel.
► Moduli of Aloe vera juice decreased with increase of temperature.