Cat's Claw (Una De Gato)

Scientific Name(S): Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC and Uncaria guianensis (Aubl.) (Gmel.) Family: Rubiaceae

Common Name(S): Cat's claw, life-giving vine of Peru, samento, una de gato

Cat's claw ( Uncaria tomentosa ) is a woody vine native to the Amazon rainforest and other tropical areas of South and Central America. Cat's claw is named after the hook-like thorns that grow along its vine. The bark and root of this herb have been used among indigenous people of the rainforest for centuries to treat a variety of health problems including arthritis, ulcers, sexually transmitted diseases, fevers, and even cancer.

Botany: Cat's claw, or una de gato (Spanish), is a tropical vine of the madder family (Rubiaceae). The name describes the small curved-back spines on the stem at the leaf juncture. The genus Uncaria is found throughout the tropics, mainly in Southeast Asia, the Asian continent and South America. The two species of current interest, Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC and Uncaria guianensis (Aubl.) (Gmel.), are found in South America. These species are lianas or high climbing, twining woody vines. Both species are known in Peru as una de gato.

There are 34 reported species of Uncaria. One Asian species, known as gambir or pole catechu (Uncaria gambit) (Hunter) Roxb., is a widely used tanning agent which also has long medicinal use as an astringent and anti-diarrheal.

Uses of Cat's Claw (Una De Gato)

Various species have been used as astringent, anti-inflammatory, GI and cancer treatment, contraceptive, general tonic, etc. Studies have verified some anticancer and immunostimulant properties. The major alkaloid is
hypotensive.

Side Effects of Cat's Claw (Una De Gato)

Like other immune stimulants, cat's-claw should be avoided in diseases of the immune system itself, such as tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, and HIV infection. Cat's claw is not believed to be safe for children, pregnant, or nursing women. Consult a physician before using cat's-claw.

Common Doses

Cat's claw comes in tablets, capsules, teas, tinctures, or dried bark, root, and leaves.

Some herbalists recommend a typical dosage of 20 to 50 mg in capsule form per day or 1 to 2 mL of the tincture taken up to two times per day

Toxicology: While there is little published data on the toxicology of una de gato, there is an international patent (1982) and a German dissertation (1984) which indicate low toxicity for this material. The scattered pharmacological studies also seem to indicate little hazard in ingesting the plant decoction.

Summary: Cat's claw, or una de gato, has folkloric use in Peru and elsewhere in South America for a variety of conditions, mostly gastrointestinal problems, tumors, cancers and as a contraceptive. No major toxicity problems appear in the world literature. Several chemical and pharmacological investigations have verified that the alkaloids have immune-stimulating effects (pteropodine and isopteropodine), anti-hypertensive properties (rhyn­chophylline), diuretic effects (mytraphylline) and smooth muscle relaxant and local anesthetic properties (hirsutine). Early reports indicate the clinical usefulness of una de gato and AZT in AIDS treatment. This, and other uses, have prompted sporadic demand for the crude botanical in the United States. At least one company advertises its availability through the Worldwide Web under the title, "Peruvian Cat's Claw: A Gift from Nature." More research is needed to determine the true efficacy of the crude material and its numerous constituents.