Aloe has been used for many centuries in various cultures to treat skin conditions as well as muscle problems. Early records of Aloe vera use appear in the Ebers Papyrus from the 16th century BC,[15]:18 and in Dioscorides' De Materia Medica and Pliny the Elder's Natural History – both written in the mid-first century AD.[15]:20 It is also written of in the Juliana Anicia Codex of 512 AD.[48]:9 The plant is used widely in the traditional herbal medicine of many countries.