Aloe vera is used in traditional medicine as a multipurpose skin treatment. In Ayurvedic medicine it is called kathalai, as are extracts from agave.[56]:196 for aloe:117 for agave Early records of Aloe vera use appear in the Ebers Papyrus from the 16th century BC,[17]:18 and in Dioscorides' De Materia Medica and Pliny the Elder's Natural History - both written in the mid-first century AD.[17]:20 It is also written of in the Juliana Anicia Codex of 512 AD.[47]:9 The plant is used widely in the traditional herbal medicine of many countries