A joint work of the Technological Institute of Renewable Energies (ITER) of the Cabildo de Tenerife and of the University of La Laguna (ULL) allows the use of the DNA of the Canarian aloe to avoid fraud caused by the sale of the imported plant as if it were from here. The scam is estimated at 21 million euros at the regional level. The investigation opens the door to a possible denomination of origin of the crop that certifies the authenticity and the geographical area. The project, called Aloecan, consists of a traceability study that has a budget of 474,694 euros and will be carried out over 36 months.
Aloecan is part of the line of research on agri-food traceability that the ITER Environment Area has been developing for the last five years and aims to protect producers and consumers from potential fraud.
The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, points out that “this study will help to establish a denomination of origin for the aloe vera that is cultivated on the islands.” In addition, he values, “it will protect both producers and consumers against million-dollar fraud related to the product.”
«Agri-food research is an outstanding value of ITER» indicates Martín to add that «the production in Canary Islands of the aloe vera plant and its properties, so in vogue, will have with this study a certified quality guarantee from the scientific point of view”.
Transformation.
The president points out that scientific production at ITER “has increased by 115 percent in this mandate.” He considers that “we are in a process of transformation of the entity that is beginning to bear fruit with research and studies that have an impact on the common good.” All this, he emphasizes, “is part of the objective of updating it and getting it out of the paroxysm situation in which it found itself.” Martín also adds that “public institutions are in charge of ensuring the authenticity of the products on the market and, in this case, it is the first step towards a designation of origin for the aloe vera that is grown on the islands. and it is of very high quality.” The fraud of aloe and its derived products sold as canaries currently reaches 21 million euros, according to data from the Government of the Canary Islands.
“This study will be a guarantee of quality from the scientific point of view”
About a hundred hectares.
According to data from the National Association of Aloe Entrepreneurs (ASOCIALOE), the total Spanish production of aloe is around 24,000 tons, coming from between 400 and 500 hectares of cultivated area throughout the Spanish territory, with special incidence in the Canary Islands as well as in I raised. Some 105 hectares are cultivated in the Archipelago, mainly in Lanzarote. In Tenerife, between 9.5% and 10% are accounted for, in greenhouses and irrigated land, according to data from the Map of Crops of the Island in the period 2015-2021.
The geographical traceability of aloe vera is of vital importance for its future in the Canarian countryside. It is essential to establish valid scientific protocols capable of tracking the origin of the product grown in the Archipelago and its derivatives, which enjoy excellent quality, clearly differentiating them from those that can be introduced from other regions. This high quality is the result of a privileged climate and a volcanic soil very rich in minerals that make the Canary Islands one of the best places to grow this plant.
The work of ITER and the ULL will evaluate the use of natural isotopes of strontium and specific organic compounds, existing in aloe plants, as potential fingerprints of the one cultivated in the Canary Islands and its derived products. The Aloecan project is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the State Research Agency and by the European Union within the framework of the Recovery Plan of the European Union Next Generation EU and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of Spain ( PRTR).
Plant.
Aloe vera or aloe vera (Aloe Barbadensis Miller) belongs to the Liliaceae family. It is not endemic to the Canary Islands, but it has found the ideal conditions for its cultivation and growth in this part of the world. For this reason it has been present for centuries, in fact there is evidence in pre-Hispanic civilizations of its use for medicinal purposes. This small perennial plant that is harvested all year round, and that reaches a height that goes from 30 cm to just over a meter, is subjected to the usual tasks of organic farming: free of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. For this reason, not only its topical, healing or protective properties against solar radiation and burns are used, but it is also consumed orally, since it reduces the level of cholesterol and glucose in the blood, and regulates blood pressure. In addition, its numerous properties have been endorsed in recent years by scientific publications, which speak, for example, of its protective action on the gastrointestinal tract.
Rising demand.
The growing demand for high quality and safe agri-food products in Europe has promoted the development of rigid control laws to certify authenticity and geographical origin in order to protect producers and consumers from potential fraud. Among these products is the allo of which more than 200 potentially active compounds have been reported in its solid fraction, among which are vitamins, minerals, anthraquinones, polysaccharides, etc. Guaranteeing the Canarian seal of quality is the objective of this study.