Cat's Claw (Uncaria tomentosa)

Cat's claw is widely used by indigenous healers in South America. The Ashaninka Indians of Peru regard it as a powerful "health-restorative" medicine and use it to treat inflammatory, infectious and cancerous diseases. Cat's claw has recently been adopted into the western pharmacopeia and is marketed primarily as a preventive medicine and as an alternative treatment for cancer, HIV and other infections, and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, asthma and ulcers.

PARTS USED
Bark, root, leaves.

USES
The data presented here are for aqueous-alcoholic extracts at dosages equivalent to 80 - 240 mg/day.

In a placebo-controlled trial (24 subjects, 40-day study period) and a case study (2 subjects, 15-day study period) cat's claw abolished the mutagenicity of smoker's urine.

On the basis of evidence from unblinded trials and case studies, cat's claw is being used clinically in Europe as an adjunct to conventional therapies for brain tumors, especially ependymoblastoma and astrocytoma, to maintain remission (study with 78 patients over 19 months), to maintain remission, arrest growth and lessen side effects of conventional therapeutics (study with 53 patients, followed up for 9 years), and in the treatment of leukemia, glioma, adenocarcinoma, testicular teratoma, cervical carcinoma, melanoma and medulloblastoma.

Cat's claw has been used as an adjunct to zidovudine (AZT), to maintain CD4 counts in asymptomatic HIV patients and to improve counts in symptomatic patients (30-month study with 14 patients).

In a 5 - month study of 13 HIV patients who refused conventional therapy, cat's claw normalized lymphocyte counts and decreased the occurrence of opportunistic infections (e.g., recurrent herpes simplex and fungal infections).

Cat's claw has also been used to prevent and ameliorate symptomatic outbreaks of herpes virus.

Cat's claw has anti-inflammatory activity in arthritis, alone and as an adjunct to conventional therapies to reduce pain, stiffness and swelling and to decrease the frequency of conventional therapy (I8-month study of 6 patients and 9-week study of 70 patients). Pilot studies have also shown anti-inflammatory activity in inflammatory gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases.

Animal and in vitro studies have shown that cat's claw has anti-inflammatory activity in acute and chronic inflammation, protecting against NSAID enteropathy and stress-induced ulcer formation. It has shown immunostimulant and anti-infectious properties both in animals and in vitro. In vitro studies have shown immunomodulator, and antimutagenic activity. Cat's claw has antineoplastic properties, and antioxidant activity. It is antiviral against RNA viruses in vitro. Cat's claw may have contraceptive properties. Recent in vitro evidence that cat's claw inhibits amyloid fibril formation and growth suggests that it may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and diabetes mellitus.

The leaves, stems, roots and bark of cat's claw are widely used by Central and South American peoples as an anti-inflammatory agent, immunomodulator and vulnerary. Common applications include the treatment of arthritis, rheumatism, asthma, cancer, fever, infectious diseases, abscesses, wounds, "bone pains," skin impurities, urinary tract infections and weakness. Cat's claw is used both for "normalization of the body" and disease prevention, as well as to treat hemorrhage and for postpartum recovery (excessive bleeding). Cat's claw is also used as a blood purifier, kidney cleanser, menstrual regulator and contraceptive.

Other reported uses include for dysentery, diarrhea, upset stomach and bowel inflammation and to eliminate gallstones. In the North American market, therapeutic claims and uses relate primarily to inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, HIV and cancer.
Other medical uses - Breast cancer, Endometrial cancer, Kidney cancer, Lung cancer.