Two awards presented at a recent seminar held by the International Aloe Science Council (IASC) highlighted the work of individuals who have contributed to the development and promotion of aloe as a booming health ingredient.
Yun Ho Lee, who served as chairman of the board of the Namyang Aloe family of companies in Seoul, Korea before his passing in November 1996, received the IASC 'Hall of Fame Award' posthumously.
The award, one of only nine presented tooutstanding individuals in the world of aloe by the IASC during its22-year history, recognised the significant contributions made as a result of Lee's pioneering vision and commitment to quality.
"It was the late chairman Lee's passion and vision that accounted for scientific developments in Aloe vera as one of the most popular natural ingredients with seemingly infinite health benefits," said IASC managing director Gene Hale.
Dr Yawei Ni, an adjunct faculty member of Texas A&M Universityand research scientist for Texas-based Carrington Laboratories and DelSite Biotechnologies, received a merit award and prize of $10,000 for his research in better defining the characteristics of Aloe vera's inner gel, which may aid Aloe vera suppliers in developing more refined and controlled methods for its processing.
Through a number of processes such as homogenization, low-speed centrifugation, light and electron microscopy, and alcohol precipitation, Ni was able to better define the composition of the pulp (inner gel), helping raw material suppliers retain specific bioactive components in their Aloe vera raw materials.
Aloecorp's Mick Anderson, newly elected IASC president, called Ni's contribution "the sort of research that provides the industry with innovative tools for producing high-quality, efficacious aloe".
The awards were presented at a banquet dinner held during the annual IASC scientific seminar in Las Vegas, Nevada last week.