Cat’s Claw and its secrets

Cat’s Claw is a plant. Two species of Cat’s Claw, Uncaria tomentosa and Uncaria guianensis, are of primary interest for use as medicine.

With a lengthy history dating back to the Inca civilisation, Cat’s Claw has been used as a traditional medicine in the Andes to treat inflammation, gastric ulcers, rheumatism, dysentery, intestinal complaints and wounds.

Cat’s Claw is one of the best antiviral herbs to boost the immune system and fight infection. This powerful herb is not only antiviral — it also has anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic and antioxidant properties. These health-promoting attributes may make cat’s claw helpful as a natural treatment for arthritis, allergies, asthma, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, cancer, viral infections, ulcers, hemorrhoids and more.

This woody vine native to the Amazon rainforest can help many serious health problems by assisting the body in eliminating free radicals that cause cellular damage.

Today, Cat’s Claw is used as a dietary supplement.

Constituents:

Cat’s Claw has many phytochemical elements that consist of oxidole alkaloids, quinovic acid glycosides, antioxidants, plant sterols and carboxyl alkyl esters. All of these are thought to have, in varying degrees, an action that can be attributed to the many benefits of Cat’s Claw.

It is used in traditional medicine by the Ashaninka, an ethnic group from the Peruvian Amazon, to treat deep wounds, to relieve gastrointestinal, joint and bone pain, kidneys, and for the treatment of women after delivery/labour.

• rheumatic pains;
• HIV or AIDS immunodeficiency;
• ulcers and tumors;
• blood coagulation;
• degenerative diseases such as cancers and tumors; irregularities of the menstrual cycle;
• gonorrhea;
• diabetes;
• deep wounds;
• Crohn’s disease ;
• Lyme disease;
• Treats high blood pressure.

WHO organized in 1994 in Geneva the First International Conference on Uncaria tomentosa. The benefits of this plant were unanimously recognized. Since the discovery of quinine, no wetland plant has attracted so much interest from the scientific community.

Annona Muricata and Wound Healing

Wound is the first medical problem that is faced by the human race.

In recent years, there has been a noteworthy surge of interest in using natural remedies with more efficient healing potential against different dermatological and skin disorders, including burns, cuts and wounds. Medicinal plants have provided more affordable wound healing products with higher safety from hypersensitive reactions compared to the synthetic pharmaceutical agents.

The wound healing activity of alcoholic extract of stem and bark of Annona muricata was found to show the marked reduction in area of the wound which was tested in albino rats proving their possible use in healing wounds.

The healing progresses go through three general stages:

1. Inflammatory
2. Proliferative and repair
3. Remodelling stages.

The cellular responses include blood supply, surface covering and reproduction of collagen which ultimately helps to bind the wound margin and development of permanent functional tensile strength.

The extract of Annona muricata as an ointment applied daily for a period of 12 days significantly reduced the area of open wounds as tests proved. The actual healing seems to proceed from the 4th day onwards from the day of wounding. It accelerates various stages of wound healing, including wound contraction, epithelialization and collagen synthesis. In addition, it also decreased the oxidative and inflammatory stresses in the wound area.

Internally or externally, Soursop does not stop being an ally!

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Sources:

Phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Annona muricata: a review, GAJALAKSHMI S, etc. International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Annona muricata (Annonaceae): A Review of Its Traditional Uses, Isolated Acetogenins and Biological Activities, Soheil Zorofchian Moghadamtousi, Mehran Fadaeinasab, Sonia Nikzad, Gokula Mohan, International Journal of Molecular Sciences.