Cats Claw - Medical & Other Uses

Medical & Other Uses

Cat's Claw (una de gato) is used to treat gastric ulcers and tumours, dysentery, joint and muscular pain, intestinal disorders, and cancer. The herb cleanses the intestinal tract, and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties.

Cat's Claw is understood to have anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulating effects. It is also reported to protect cells from oxidative stress, and the herb is often used for treating gastrointestinal disease and arthritis. But according to study results presented at Federation of Societies for Experimental Biology, Cat's Claw may block the formation of a key component of Alzheimer's disease. In their studies, researchers found that Cat's Claw inhibited the formation of beta-amyloid protein in rats. Beta-amyloid is an abnormal arrangement of amyloid precursor protein and is what actually forms the amyloid plaques that occur alongside neurofibrillary tangles in the brains of Alzheimer's patients

Researchers note that in laboratory studies, the effects of Cat's Claw increased when combined with ginkgo, rosemary, and gotu kola. Although still in experimental stages, it is planned that human clinical trials on mild-moderate Alzheimer's patients will commence in the near future.

This would give Alzheimer's patients another herbal extract to look to for help. Many already use a standardised extract of ginkgo, and according to research presented in Washington late last year, a special extract from the popular herb Cat's Claw (Uncaria tomentosa) may prove to be helpful as well.

Cat's Claw: Medicinal properties Of This Amazon Vine
by phillip N. Steinberg, C.N.

From the rainforests of the peruvian Amazon comes a remarkable "new" herb known commonly in English as cat's claw or in Spanish as Una de Gato. According to Ramon Ferreyra, ph.D., a Harvard-educated botanist and professor at San Marcos University in Lima, peru, there are twelve different herbs known in peru as Una de Gato.

Within the last year and a half, one of these twelve has captured the interest of both the natural products industry and alternative practitioners throughout the United States. This herb is scientifically known as Uncaria tomentosa.

Traditional Use And Harvesting practices

Uncaria tomentosa is a woody vine that can grow to more than 100 feet in length as it winds itself upward around trees in the highlands of the peruvian rainforests. Hooks like thorns are located on the stems of the leaves, which resemble the claws of a cat; hence the name cat's claw.

For hundreds of years the indigenous people of peru have used both the inner bark and root of this vine to prepare a decoction to treat a variety of illnesses. Recently, however, the peruvian government passed legislation banning use of the root, proclaiming that the inner bark contains all the medicinal properties. The government action was taken in part to protect the species, because the world-wide demand for the herb has grown dramatically over the last several years.

Reputable companies harvest Uncaria tomentosa by chopping the vine approximately three feet above the ground, leaving the root undisturbed. The inner bark is then removed and offered for sale both in peru and on the international market. This harvesting practice is designed to ensure that the vine will grow back, reach maturity and again be ready for harvesting in approximately four years.

pharmacies in peru offer Una de Gato in tea, capsule and extract forms. Labels written in Spanish state that "Una de Gato is a medicinal herb native to the central jungles of peru whose curative properties are almost unlimited." Its clinical applications, labels say, have included use in gastritis, ulcers, cancer, arthritis, rheumatism, irregularities of the female cycle and acne. It has also been used for treatment of organic depression. In external application, it is often applied for the treatment of wounds, fungus, fistulas and hemorrhoids.

In a recent article in the journal The Business of Herbs, James A. Duke, ph.D., economic botanist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, speaks about cat's claw's ability to help diabetics.1 He also mentions an account of two peruvians reportedly cured of terminal cancer as a result of consuming the herb in tea form. Other healings are reported in Nicole Maxwell's book Witch Doctor's Apprentice published in 1990.2 According to Ferreyra, Uncaria tomentosa is also used in peru to treat prostate problems.

Scientific Studies And present-Day Research

In 1974 Klaus Keplinger, an Austrian scientist, began conducting extensive research on cat's claw. As a result, he and his colleagues were able to obtain two U.S. patents, one in 1989 and another in 1990, for isolating some of the herb's main components--known as oxindole alkaloids.

Of the six alkaloids isolated by Keplinger and his associates, four have been found in laboratory testing to have a pronounced en-hancement effect on the ability of certain white blood cells to perform phagocytosis, the process of engulfing potentially harmful microorganisms and other substances. These four alkaloids are known as isopteropodine, pteropodine, isomitraphylline, and isorynchophylline.3,4,5 The two remaining alkaloids are known as mitraphylline and rynchophylline.

Rynchophylline is also found in another Uncaria species native to the far east, and it has been studied at the Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. According to the Chinese findings, this alkaloid displays an ability to inhibit platelet aggregation and thrombosis. This suggests that ryncho-phylline may be useful in the prevention of stroke and in reducing the risk of heart attack by lowering blood pressure, increasing circulation and inhibiting both the formation of plaque on the arterial walls and the formation of blood clots in the vessels of the brain, heart and arteries.6

On Nov. 28, 1988, and June 17, 1993, articles about Uncaria tomentosa appeared in El Comercio, a major metropolitan newspaper in Lima. The first article stated that Uncaria tomentosa had been proven to be effective in the treatment of allergies and neurobronchitis. The article then detailed Keplinger's success in using Uncaria tomentosa to treat genital herpes and herpes zoster and also in trials with seven AIDS patients who displayed various progressions of the disease. According to the article, Keplinger was not able to help two of these patients using Una de Gato; however, the well-being of the other five improved to such an extent that their symptoms disappeared.7

The second article described how Immodel, a laboratory in Austria under Keplinger's direction, is using a medicine extracted from Uncaria tomentosa along with AZT to impede the multiplication of the HIV virus in the blood, to activate the cells of the immune system and to stop the development of cancerous cells. Immodel has commercialized this medicine under the name "Krallendorn" and has been using it successfully for the past six years to treat people infected with the AIDS virus. According to Immodel, very few patients not showing symptoms of the disease have progressed from being HIV positive to having AIDS symptoms. patients who had the first symptoms of AIDS showed an improvement in blood analysis and a disappearance of clinical symptoms within the first year.

The article also mentioned that Krallendorn has been effective in decreasing the unpleasant side effects of both AZT and radiation cancer therapy.8

Additional international studies have determined that Uncaria tomentosa contains a wealth of other potentially beneficial phytochemicals including: quinovic acid glycosides,9,10 triterpines,11,12 polyphenols, proanthocyanidins13 and plant sterols.14 The presence of these compounds may further explain the adaptogen, anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties attributed to the herb.15,16

Experience Of physicians In The United States

In the United States, Brent W. Davis, D.C., has been working with Uncaria tomentosa since 1988. In his article titled "A New World Class Herb For A.K. practice" he refers to Uncaria tomentosa as "the opener of the way" because it seems to have the ability to cleanse the entire intestinal track and break through severe intestinal maladies. In working with approximately 150 patients over a four-year period, Davis observed that cat's claw is an effective treatment for parasites, inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal flora imbalance (dysbiosis). He also mentions results described at a 1988 international congress on traditional medicines held in Lima, where Uncaria tomentosa was discussed by medical doctors as one of a number of different herbs used to consistently cure cancer and other serious disorders.15

In Healthy and Natural Journal (Oct. 1994), Donna Schwontkowski, D.C., asserts that Uncaria tomentosa is the most powerful immune-enhancing herb of all herbs native to the Amazon. In an article titled "Herbal Treasures from the Amazon," she reports that preliminary studies suggest that the herb has an ability to stop viral infections in early stages, help patients who are chemically sensitive, enhance emotional stability even in the midst of extreme stress, fight infections in AIDS patients and decrease the visible size of some skin tumors and cysts within two weeks. Schwontkowski also reports that Uncaria tomentosa has been linked with the remission of brain and other tumors as well as providing relief from the side-effects of chemotherapy.17

Satya Ambrose, N.D., co-founder of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, recently began using Uncaria tomentosa with some of her patients. She is seeing significant improvement in patients suffering from Crohn's disease, ulcers, asthma, arthritis, iritis, shingles, dysbiosis and chronic fatigue syndrome. Ambrose also states that she has been able to eliminate the use of many Chinese herbs because Uncaria tomentosa, in many instances, seems to be more effective. She has observed that cat's claw seems to enhance overall immunity while increasing stamina and energy in patients who suffer from physical and mental exhaustion due to an overactive or stressful lifestyle.

Much of what Ambrose, Keplinger and others claim about the medicinal properties of Uncaria tomentosa is based on anecdotal evidence. However, there is certainly enough of this evidence, added to peruvian traditions, to warrant further investigation by the scientific community. NSN

phillip N. Steinberg, C.N., a graduate of The Nutritionists Institute of America, has been researching and disseminating information on Uncaria tomentosa for two years and recently began publishing his own bimonthly newsletter, Cat's Claw News, in Washington, Mo.

References

Duke, J. "Una de Gato," The Business of Herbs, 15:12-13, May-June 1994.

Maxwell, N. Witch Doctor's Apprentice, 3rd ed.: 376-81. New York: Citadel press, 1990.

Keplinger, Wagner, & Kreutzkamp. "Oxindole alkaloids having properties stimulating the immunologic system," United States patent No. 4,844,901, July 1989.

Keplinger, Wagner, & Kreutzkamp. "Oxindole alkaloids having properties stimulating the immunologic system," United States patent No. 4, 940,725, July 1990.

Wagner, Kreutzkamp, & Juric. "The alkaloids of Uncaria tomentosa and their phagocytosis-increasing effect," planta Medica, 51:419-23, May 1985.

Chen, Jin, Li, Zhong, Yue, Chen, & Zhou. "Inhibitory effect of rhynchophylline on platelet aggregation and thrombosis," Acta pharmacologica Sinica, 13:126-30, 1992.

"Success achieved with Una de Gato in the fight against AIDS in Austria," El Comercio, Lima, peru, Nov. 28, 1988.

"peruvian plant being used in Austria to treat AIDS," El Comercio, Lima, peru, June 17, 1992.

Aquino, De Simone, & pizza. "plant metabolites. Structure and in vitro antiviral activity of quinovic acid glycosides from Uncaria tomentosa," Journal of Natural products, 52: 679-85, July-Aug. 1989.

Cerri, Aquino, De Simone, & pizza. "New quinovic acid glycosides from Uncaria tomentosa," Journal of Natural products, 51:257-61, Mar.-Apr. 1988.

Aquino, De Feo, De Simone, Vincirri, & pizza. "plant metabolites. New compounds and anti-inflammatory activity of Uncaria tomentosa," Journal of Natural products, 54:453-9, Mar.-Apr. 1991.

Aquino, De Simone, & Vincirri. "New polyhydroxylated triterpenes from Uncaria tomentosa," Journal of Natural products, 53:559-64, May-June 1990.

Monache, Ferrari, Bettolo, & de Matta. "Alkaloids and procyanidins of an Uncaria sp. from peru," Il Farmaco, 31:7, 1976.

A. Senatore, et al. "phytochemical and biological research on Uncaria tomentosa," Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper, 65:517-20, 1989.

Davis, B. "A new world class herb for A.K. practice," phytotherapy Research Laboratories, Summer 1992.

Rizza, Re, Bianchi, De Feo, Stivala, & De Simone. "Mutagenic and antimutagenic activities of Uncaria tomentosa and its extracts," Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 38:63-77, Jan. 1993.

Schwontkowski, D. "Herbal treasures from the Amazon," part 1, Healthy & Natural Journal, 1:64-65, Oct. 1994.