Cat’s claw, known as una de gato in Spanish, is a herb derived from a vine-type plant which grows widely in the countries of Central and South America, and is particularly common in the Amazon rainforests and Peru. So vast and botanically rich are the wilds of the Amazon rain forest that many herbal practitioners still look to it as a potential source of powerful, but as yet undiscovered, herbal remedies. Although this hope might seem to some like wishful thinking, the example of cat’s claw suggests that it may not be entirely fanciful; because although the herb has only very recently become known in the West, it has been used as health tonic and treatment by the indigenous peoples of the region for many centuries. But the claims made for the benefits of cat’s claw need to be treated with some caution, because there are those who would have you regard it as something akin to a miracle herb or universal panacea; and orthodox medicine, as always, is rightly sceptical of the wilder claims of the herbal or “natural” remedy lobby.

However, only those Uncaria tomentosa roots that contain “good spirits,” seen by Ashaninka healers of the Ashaninka tribe contain healing properties. If these good spirits are mixed with any root that does not contain good spirits, the healing power is lost. With the use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), scientists can now see the “good spirits” too. These good spirits are actually medicinal compounds called pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids (POAs).

Current studies show it may have positive effects on, and can boost the body’s immune system. With recent fear of HIV, studies on cat’s claw have started to move quickly.

One particular such alkaloid, rynchophylline, is also believed to be of great benefit to the cardio-vascular system in preventing blood “stickiness”, or the potentially catastrophic formation of clots in circulating blood in the heart and brain. Like other anti-oxidants, cat’s claw may also help to prevent the oxidation of low density lipids (LDL), or “bad cholesterol”, and the consequent build up of deposits inside the arteries leading to atherosclerosis. Recent research also suggests that the anti-oxidant action of cat’s claw may also help to prevent the deposit of the plaques within brain tissue which are implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), there are 3000 plant extracts that can kill cancer cells, 70 percent of these plants being found only in the rain forest. The fertile environment provided by the rain forest, due to the constant rain from January to December and the 75-80 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, allows the plants grown to be amazingly rich in alkaloids and other medicinal compounds. When the Ashaninka harvest the plant, they work intelligently to keep it perpetually healthy.

Orthodox medicine, moreover, is always keen to stress, quite correctly, that the mere fact that a remedy is described as “natural” or “herbal” does not mean it is necessarily free of potential side effects. Herbal remedies, after all, often provide the raw materials for the manufacture of conventional drugs, and are highly active biochemical compounds in their own right. They could not be of any benefit if they were not.

Some cat’s claw roots have good spirits, POAs, while others tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids, TOAs, which do not help the immune system at all. Since Uncaria tomentosa plants look almost identical, it is hard to tell if they contain healing properties or non-helpful properties. Plants containing POAs one year may contain TOAs the following year because their alkaloid chemotypes change at will. After scientists discovered that they could “see” the presence of TOAs using the HPLC technology, they gained the ability to harvest cat’s claw root extracts with POAs consistently. Because buying products that contain TOAs will only benefit the cat’s claw distributor due to its canceling effects on POAs, it is important to read the label of the cat’s claw root product you are considering buying.

The inner bark of the plant is the source of cat’s claw’s active alkaloid compounds, but the bark itself is indigestible and poorly absorbed, if at all, by the human digestive system. Fortunately, however, cat’s claw is now readily available in the form of easily absorbed teas, tinctures and capsules, but it’s probably best to start with low doses to ensure freedom from any possible side effects. And as recommended therapeutic doses vary between 750 and 3,000 mg per day, it’s always worth talking things over with your physician or a reputable herbal practitioner before beginning any program of supplementation. But the potential benefits of cat’s claw appear so promising that this is not a herb you should ignore.

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