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Cat’s Claw
Introduction:
Cat’s claw refers to certain types of woody vines that grow in the Amazon which contains many types of phytonutrients that help reduce inflammation and fight viruses. Cat’s claw preparations are made from the root and bark of the cat’s claw vine. It comes in tablet, capsule, tea, dried herb forms. Cat’s claw is thought to have anti-inflammatory effects and has been used for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
A Cat’s claw literature review:
Cat’s claw is available as a preparation from 2 species, Uncaria tomentosa and Uncaria guianensis. Uncaria guianensis has the greater antioxidant potency. Rosenbaum’s literature review described the use of Cat’s claw for osteoarthritis. The study included 45 men who randomly received 100 mg daily or placebo for 4 weeks. For those taking cat’s claw, significant improvements were found compared to placebo for pain on activity, overall patient pain assessment, and overall physician pain assessment. No significant differences were found for pain at rest or for pain at night. Another study looked at 95 patients with OA which were randomly assigned to receive either glucosamine sulfate (1500 mg/d) or Reparagen (1800 mg/d), Reparagen capsules contain 300 mg Vincaria, a patented extract of Uncaria guianensis, (also called Cat’s Claw) with 1500 mg Lepidium meyenii, a vegetable from the Andes Mountains with IGF-I activation potential. The primary outcome was a 20% reduction in pain scores in most (90%) of both study groups determined by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). WOMAC is the most widely used assessment in arthritis research which uses five different scores to rate pain and stiffness. According to the author’s review in this study, cat’s claw can be recommended for patients with OA. Larger clinical trials need to be done to confirm benefit in rheumatoid arthritis since there was only one trial reviewed by the author for this condition with 40 patients showing less joint pain but no change in swelling or stiffness. (1)
