Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC. - Rubiaceae - syn. Nauclea tomentosa Willd., Uncaria surinamensis Miq.; cat's claw, Una de gato, **Katzenkralle**

Native vine of the rain forests of Central and South America; up to 30m long, with characteristic curved back hooks at the leaf junctions; leaves with hairy bottom side; flowers yellowish-white.

"According to the American Cancer Society, cat's claw is often promoted for its health benefits and has become a popular herbal supplement in the United States and Europe. However, they state: "Available scientific evidence also does not support cat's claw's effectiveness in preventing or treating cancer or any other disease. Cat's claw is linked to some serious side effects, although the extent of those effects is not known." \\
Some studies on its effect on rheumatoid arthritis reported modest results, which need confirmation in standardized trials. The indigenous peoples of South America have used cat's claw for centuries as a treatment for various disorders." [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncaria_tomentosa]]

"Ashaninka Peruvian rain forest people have used cat’s claw (U.tomentosa) as a tonic to ward off disease, a contraceptive and abortifacient, and to treat various inflammatory diseases including gastric ulcers, diarrhea and GI tumors, gonorrhea, arthritis and rheumatism, acne, diabetes, diseases of the urinary tract and cancer... Nowadays, cat’s claw is used as an immune stimulant and cancer remedy, it is also used to treat inflammatory conditions, eg. arthritis and atopic disorders, gastritis and other intestinal disorders, viral infections, including HIV, chemical and environmental sensitivities, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and prostate problems..." [[http://longwoodherbal.org/catsclaw/catsclaw.PDF]]

"Recently, Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) D.C. has become known as a healing plant with an ethnomedicinal background. There have been several reports on its constituents, in particular, oxindole alkaloids. It was found that 2 chemotypes of Uncaria tomentosa with different alkaloid patterns occur in nature. The roots of one type contain pentacyclic oxindoles and the other contains tetracyclic oxindoles. This difference should be considered when the plant is to be used for medicinal applications. Tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids act on the central nervous system, whereas pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids affect the cellular immune system. Recent studies have shown that the tetracyclic alkaloids exert antagonistic effects on the action of the pentacyclic alkaloids. Mixtures of these 2 types of drugs are therefore unsuitable for medicinal uses." \\
[Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) D.C.: cat's claw, uña de gato, or savéntaro. Reinhard KH., J Altern Complement Med. 1999 Apr;5(2):143-51] [[http://www.samento.com.ec/sciencelib/sarticles/UncariaCa814D.pdf]]

"... we investigated for the first time the antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of highly purified oxindole alkaloids, namely isopteropodine (A1), pteropodine (A2), isomitraphylline (A3), uncarine F (A4) and mitraphylline (A5) obtained from Uncaria tomentosa, a South American Rubiaceae, on human lymphoblastic leukaemia T cells (CCRF-CEM-C7H2). Four of the five tested alkaloids inhibited proliferation of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells. Furthermore, the antiproliferative effect of the most potent alkaloids pteropodine (A2) and uncarine F (A4) correlated with induction of apoptosis...\\
Our results show the strong apoptotic effects of pteropodine and uncarine F on acute leukaemic lymphoblasts and recommend the alkaloids for further studies in xenograft models." \\
[Oxindole alkaloids from Uncaria tomentosa induce apoptosis in proliferating, G0/G1-arrested and bcl-2-expressing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells. Bacher, N., Tiefenthaler, M., Sturm, S., Stuppner, H., Ausserlechner, M. J., Kofler, R. and Konwalinka, G., British Journal of Haematology, (2006), 132, 615–622.]

{{:uncaria_tomentosa.jpg?500}} \\
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, vol.67 p.510, fig.98 (1980) [R.J.Bazan] \\
[[http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=1042317]]