Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology 2345-5004 4 3 2015 07 01 Effect of Aloe vera on some indicators of cell damage after a period of aerobic exercise in male athletes 85 88 EN Amir-Hosein Barati Faezeh Fazeli Mehdi Lotfipour Journal Article Introduction: Aloe vera is a medicinal plant with antioxidant activity. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Aloe vera on some indicators of cell damage after a period of aerobic exercise in male athletes of 15-18 years old. Methods: In this clinical trial study, 20 male students with average weight of 64.85 ± 51 and height of 172.05 ± 6.4 were randomly assigned to 2 groups of Aloe vera supplement (n = 10) and placebo (n = 10). Then aerobic training was conducted for 4 weeks. The supplemented group took 3 capsules, each capsule contains 2 g of dried Aloe vera and placebo group took 3 capsules/day containing dextran after every meal. To determine the index of cell injury markers creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and reactive protein C (CRP) were determined and blood samples were collected 24 hours before and after each test. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and independent t test. Significance level was considered as P ≤ .05. Results: The use of Aloe vera during aerobic exercise significantly reduced LDH (P = .006) in the supplement group (15% reduction) compared to placebo group and CRP with 11% reduction in the supplement group compared to placebo (P = .008). There was no significant reduction in CK. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that Aloe vera reduces cell damage and inflammation indicators. This result may reflect the role of Aloe vera as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent.