Quality control of Aloe vera beverages

Aloe vera beverages have to be produced exclusively using material of the plant species Aloe barbadensis MILLER. Commercial material was reported to be frequently adulterated by artificial preservatives or to lack significant amounts of Aloe ingredients. HPTLC and HS-SPME/GC/MS methods to assess the authenticity of Aloe vera beverages were developed in this study, allowing to differentiate between authentic and adulterated products. In one case a commercially available Aloe vera juice could be proven to be exceedingly watered down. Parallel to the authenticity control, the HS-SPME method employed in this work allowed to detect the preservatives benzoic acid, sorbic acid and pHB-esters. In 17 of 24 (71%) currently available Aloe-food products an illegal addition of preservatives of up to 1000 mg/l could be ascertained. The presented analyses of Aloe vera beverages lead to the conclusion, that this product line does not give any cause for hygienic but rather legal concerns: controls have to be intensified to ensure sufficient product quality with regard to preservatives.