The Herb Which Is Better Than Pain Killers in Suppressed Osteoarthritis With No Side Effects

By Kyle J. Norton, Master of Nutrition

Scientists may have found a natural herb, namely Cat’s claw in alleviated all aspects of symptoms of osteoarthritis without inducing any adverse effects.

Osteoarthritis is a group of diseases involved progressive degeneration of joints, including articular cartilage and subchondral bone.

According to statistic, osteoarthritis(OA) is one of the most common form joint disorder, affecting adults 60 years of age or older in the United States.

Approximately, over over 25 million of US population who are adults 60 years of age or older are infected by symptomatic knee OA, including  10% of men and 13% of women.

However, according to University of Porto Medical School indicated that one must understand the differences in prevalence and incidence estimates of osteoarthritis (OA), according to case definition, in knee, hip and hand joints.

Conventional medicine, today in management of osteoarthritis (OA) focuses on pain relief and improved physical function through pharmacological, non pharmacological, and surgical treatments without mentioning how to cure the disease.

 There are evidences suggested that the disease are associated to the inflammation, breakdown, and eventual loss of cartilage in the joints. But what causes the chronic inflammatory of osteoarthritis are debatable?

Some researchers suggested that the process of wear and repair, nutrient deficiency,……and overload and damage of cartilage due to aging or damage are the possible actually cause of osteoarthritis.

The severity symptoms of osteoarthritis, according to experts include pain in joints of the hand, knee and hip and spine. If you experience to the above symptoms, you may already have osteoarthritis.

.Cat’s claw found in in the tropical jungles of South and Central America, is a genus Uncaria, belonging to the family Rubiaceae.

The specific herbal medicine has been used in traditional medicine over two thousand years as a tonic, contraceptive, anti-inflammatory and infectious agent, and to treat diarrhea, rheumatic disorders, acne, diabetes, cancer and diseases of the urinary tract, etc..

Chemical constituents
The chemical constituents of Cat’s claw include, ajmalicine, akuammigine, campesterol, catechin, carboxyl alkyl esters, chlorogenic acid, cinchonain, corynantheine, corynoxeine, daucosterol, epicatechin, harman, hirsuteine, hirsutine, iso-pteropodine, etc.

In the study to understand the effect of Cat’s claw isolated active compounds against the pivotal molecular targets involved in inflammation and the joint destruction process and in summarized their ‘s claw toxicities and efficacy, researchers at the Case Western Reserve University, showed that application of herbal Cat’s claw exerts a positive effect in alleviation pain with no adverse effect(1).

Dr. Akhtar N, the lead author after taking account of other co and con founders said, ” (Although) Limited in vitro and in vivo evidence is available for cat’s claw and Indian olibaum,…. There is strong clinical evidence of the effectiveness of devil’s claw in pain reduction” and ” No serious side effects have been reported for any….. herbs” (1).

According to the study of “Devil’s claw extract as an example of the effectiveness of herbal analgesics”, Doloteffin (extraction solvent water) a botany herbal preparation included extracted with 60% ethanol of Cat’s claw have a proven effectiveness similar to those of conventional pain killer or synthetic analgesics for treatment painful lower back or arthrotic pain(2)..

Dr. Chrubasik S. at Institut für Rechtsmedizin der Universität Freiburg, said, ” From an evidence based view, extract with at least 50 mg harpagoside in the daily dose should be recommended for the treatment of pain” and “Treatment with devil’s claw extract is associated with a lower risk of adverse events than treatment with synthetic analgesics, and may contribute in the majority of patients to the relief of pain”(2).

These effectiveness may be coincided with the use of herb in herbal medicine over thousand of year in treating disorders such as arthritis, gastritis and osteoarthritis(3).

Truly, The mechanisms of cat’s claw in treatment of osteoarthritis were attributed to the antioxidants and its inhibition of TNFalpha.

Tumor necrosis factor α is a cell signaling protein (cytokine) involved systemic inflammation that protect our body against foreign organism infection in acute phase reaction.

Unfortunately, the study in reviews the data base by the University of Southampton, raised the question of the methodological quality of the existing clinical trials and suggested that clinical evidence to date cannot provide a definitive answer to the two questions posed, although these trials may provide certain supports for effectiveness of the herb(4).
* Does it work?
* And (2) is it safe?

Taking altogether, Cat’s claw may have a profound and substantial effect similar to those of conventional medicine such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Aspirin, naproxen (Aleve), and ibuprofen in ameliorated osteoarthritis pain with little or no side effects(3).

However, intake of Cat’s claw supplement only be prescirbed by herbalists as overdose may cause acute liver toxicity.

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Kyle J. Norton, Master of Nutrition
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada – Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.References
(1) Current nutraceuticals in the management of osteoarthritis: a review by Akhtar N1, Haqqi TM.(PubMed)
(2) [Devil's claw extract as an example of the effectiveness of herbal analgesics].[Article in German]
by Chrubasik S.(PubMed)
(3) Cat’s claw: an Amazonian vine decreases inflammation in osteoarthritis by Hardin SR.(PubMed)
(4) Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) as a treatment for osteoarthritis: a review of efficacy and safety by Brien S1, Lewith GT, McGregor G.(PubMed)
(5) Osteoarthritis by Kyle J. Norton