Originally found in Peru, use of Cat's claw dates back to the Inca civilization, more than 2,000 years. The Ashaninka priests of Peru utilize cat's claw ceremonially to align the physical body with the etheric body and, thereby, affect healing.
Dosage: Decoction: 1/2-1 cup of a decoction 1-3 x daily.
2 tsp. daily of powder in capsules, with a therapeutic dosage of 10-15 times that.
Applications: Immunostimulant, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimutagenic, hypotensive and vasodilating, anticancerous, antiulcerous, antileukemic, antiviral, contraceptive, analgesic, anticoagulant, antidysenteric, detoxifier, diuretic, and hypocholesterolemic.
The inner bark of Cat's claw is used to make liquid extracts, capsules, and teas. Preparations of Cat's claw can also be applied to the skin.
Uncaria has been effectively used to treat cancers, cirrhosis, diabetes, diarrhea, disease prevention, dysentery, fevers, gastric ulcers, gastritis, gonorrhea, hemorrhages, herpes, immune disorders, inflammations, and intestinal problems, Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia, asthma, menstrual irregularity, kidney conditions, prostatitis, rheumatism, shingles, skin disorders, stomach disorders, urinary tract ailments, tumors, and wounds. Used to treat abscesses, AIDS, and arthritis. Used for its beneficial effects in blood cleansing and for alleviating bone pain.
Uncaria has also been used to treat depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and obesity.
Pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids have a stimulating effect on endothelial cells (in vitro), thereby regulating lymphocyte-proliferation. Preparations of Cat's claw have been used to counter several side-effects brought on by chemotherapy and radiation currently used in conventional cancer treatments. Italian researchers conducting in-vitro studies, reported Cat's claw to be an inhibitor in the growth of breast cancer cells (to 90%.) Swedish researchers linked it to a reduction of lymphoma and leukemia cells.
It is used as a bowel cleanser, as an anti-inflammatory for arthritis, muscle and joint pain, strains and injuries; for colitis, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and in a wide array of treatments others. It has become popular as a general daily tonic for toning, balancing, and strengthening the system since it was brought to the outside world's attention initially in the late 1970's, and through the expansion of availability of commercial Cat's claw products since the 1990's.
Description: Uncaria tomentosa is one of the 60 species of pantropical genus of coarse, scandent shrubs, climbing by means of spines. Indigenous to the Amazon rainforest and other tropical areas of South and Central America, Uncaria tomentosa's large, woody vines are known to grow to 100 feet in height, climbing up and into the rainforest canopy. Uncaria tomentosa has small, yellowish-white flowers.
Safety: Not to be used before or after an organ or bone marrow transplant or any skin graft.
There is no known general-use negative safety information available for this herb.
For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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