And when we say, old as time, we mean it.

我們說亙古不變，並非誇大其辭。

Humans have been using aloe vera medicinally for thousands of years.

幾千年以來，人們都將蘆薈作為藥物使用。

But does the slimy gel actually have skin-healing properties?

但是這種黏稠的凝膠真的能夠使皮膚癒合嗎？

Well, the research is surprisingly scarce, but it seems like it may help boost your skin's natural healing process.

相關的研究出奇地少，但它似乎有助於促進皮膚自然癒合的過程。

Sunburns themselves really aren't that different than burns from a campfire, a curling iron or stepping on a George Foreman grill.

曬傷與篝火、捲髮器或踩在喬治福爾曼燒烤機中造成的燒傷差異不大。

So studies looking at burn-healing, tend to lump them together.

所以有關燒傷癒合的研究經常將它們混為一談。

And there is some evidence that applying the mucus innards from aloe plants, helps you heal faster after a burn.

有一些證據顯示，塗抹蘆薈植物的黏液可以加速曬傷癒合。

A review from 2007 in the journal, Burns, found that in 127 burn victims, those who used aloe healed almost 9 days faster on average than those in control groups.

根據 2007年《Burn》雜誌中的一篇文章，在 127 名燒傷患者中，使用蘆薈的患者，其傷口癒合速度比對照組平均快 9 天。

But what aloe actually does is a little less clear.

但是蘆薈的具體功效較不明確。

In general, there are three main concerns when treating burns: reducing pain, actually healing the wound and preventing infection.

整體而言，治療燒傷主要涉及三個層面：減輕疼痛、治療傷口和預防感染。

Aloe's anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activities are well documented, so it might simply help because it keeps pesky microbes at bay.

蘆薈的抗菌和抗真菌功效是有據可查的，所以它的作用可能是抑制討厭的微生物。

But ask just about anyone who slathers on the aloe after a sunburn and they'll swear it's an analgesic, meaning that it reduces pain.

但如果去問那些曬後塗抹蘆薈的人，他們會信誓旦旦地說它是鎮痛劑，這代表它能緩解疼痛。

And that might be because it reduces inflammation. Your body's immune response that makes things like sunburns all red and painful.

這可能是因為它能緩解發炎現象，身體的免疫機制會讓曬傷的肌膚變得紅腫疼痛。

For example, an experiment in 1993 was able to isolate an enzyme in aloe that breaks down bradykinin, an inflammatory substance linked with pain.

舉例來說，1993 年的一項實驗從蘆薈中提取出可以分解緩激肽的酶，緩激肽為觸發痛覺的致炎因子。

But there's not all that much clinical research on aloe's pain-killing effects, so the jury is still out on whether they're real, or just acting as a placebo.

但是，關於蘆薈止痛功效的臨床研究並不多，所以是否真有其事或純粹是安慰劑效應，至今還沒有定論。

There's a bit more evidence that it boosts skin healing.

還有更多的證據表明它的促進皮膚癒合。

Studies in rats have shown that aloe extract helps new skin cells move into burned areas, so they can rebuild the damaged tissue.

對老鼠的研究顯示，蘆薈萃取物有助於新的皮膚細胞進入燒傷區域，重建受損的組織。

And the gooey gel in aloe vera contains a large amount of glucomannan, a fiber comprised mostly of the sugar mannose, which stimulates the production of fibroblastic growth factor.

蘆薈的黏稠凝膠含有大量的葡糖甘露糖膠，一種主要由甘露糖組成的纖維，它能刺激成纖維細胞生長因子生成。

It helps stimulate the formation of collagen and new blood vessels, which speed up how quickly the skin heals.

它有助於促進膠原蛋白和新血管生成，從而加速皮膚癒合的速度。

That said, human studies to date are kind of flimsy.

話雖如此，迄今為止人類研究還很薄弱。

A 2012 Cochrane review noted that the few trials that have been conducted aren't high quality.

2012 年 Cochrane 的一則評論指出，少數已經完成的臨床試驗質量不高。

They're all small, and their results are potentially biased by things like patients or caregivers knowing that aloe is being used.

它們的規模小，而且由於患者和護理人員已預先知道會使用蘆薈，其結果可能存在偏差。

So it might work, or it might just be that people think it will work.

所以它可能是真的有效，也有可能只是人們本來就認為它會有效。

And when it comes to your over-the-counter sunburn gel, it might not even be the aloe itself.

說到開架式曬傷凝膠，其功效可能不是來自蘆薈本身。

Researchers have found that it can speed up the absorption of vitamins and drugs through the skin.

研究人員發現它可以加速皮膚對維生素和藥物的吸收。

So if your aloe gel also contains things like Vitamin E, or some other anti-inflammatory drug, that substance gets into your skin faster.

所以如果你的蘆薈凝膠中也含有維生素 E 或其它消炎藥，這些物質就能更快地被皮膚吸收。

But whether aloe works or not, I think we can all agree it's just better to avoid needing it.

但無論蘆薈是否有效，我想我們都同意，最好是不需要使用它。

So if you're going to spend some time in the sun this summer, maybe take steps to avoid overexposure instead of relying on aloe to soothe your beet-red skin afterwards.

所以，如果今年夏天你打算享受日光浴，應採取防護措施以免過度曝曬，而不是靠蘆薈舒緩如甜菜根般火紅的曬後肌膚。

Thanks to Joelle and Brianna Beecher for asking, and to all of our patrons who voted for this question in our poll.

謝謝 Joelle 和 Brianna Beecher 的問題，也感謝投票支持這個問題的人。

If you want to ask us questions like this and help decide which of them we answer, or just get a bunch of awesome rewards you can't get anywhere else, you can head on over to Patreon.com/SciShow.

如果你想問類似的問題、協助我們挑選問題或獲取與眾不同的獎勵，請前往下列網站：Patreon.com/SciShow。