Uña de Gato or Cat s Claw: Another Valuable Treasure from the Peruvian Rain Forest :: Botany

Ua de Gato or Cat s Claw otherwise Valu subject Treasure from the Peruvian Rain ForestCats Claw, also unremarkably called Ua de Gato, is a breakthrough herbal medicine that is inform to be beneficial to the treatment of cancer, digestion disorders, Crohns disease, arthritis, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, bursitis, rheumatism, genital herpes virus and herpes zoster, allergies, ulcers, systemic candidiasis, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), along with numerous other bowl and enteral disorders. It also is noted to have positive effect on tolerant system problems, including those infected with the HIV virus. This wonder drug seems to have surpassed the capabilities of other sought later on natural medicinal products such as florid seal, astragalus, Siberian Ginseng, maitake, and shark cartilage. (Steinberg 1994) Cats Claw is a woody vine that grows over one hundred feet in length that is indigenous to the Amazon Rainforest and other equatorial areas of South and Central Ameri ca including Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Trinidad, Venezuela, Suriname, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama. (www.raintree.com/cat bait.htm). Cats Claw is from two close related species. Uncaria tomentosa and Uncaria guianensis and both are used interchangeably by the locals. The distinction between the two species is that U. tomentosa has smaller yellowish-white flowers and is found in elevations of 700 to 2500 meters while, U. guainensis has thorns that are more curved and reddish-orange flowers and is found at lower elevations. (Moss 1995 and www.rain-tree.com/catclaw.htm). According to legend, Cats Claw was ascertained by a despaired Peruvian huntsman who was having difficulty getting bouncy for his family. Then one day, he observed a jaguar that was clawing at a vine and also drinking the water that was seeping from it. Immediately after the jaguar finished drinking, he made a successful kill. The hunter decided to follow the lead of the jaguar and drank some of the wate r from the vine. Immediately, the hunter felt rejuvenated. The next day, the hunter woke up full of newfound strength. He finally made a successful hunting excursion and was able to bring home much needed food for his family. In the middle 1960s, an European teacher, Arturo Brell, and U.S. professor Eugene Whitworth, were the first to document the tribal uses of this whole works. They also took plant samples and performed some screening for the active components (www.rain-tree.com/catclaw.htm). However, they did not market their discovery. Shortly afterwards, Cats claw was rediscovered by Claus Keplinger, an Austrian scientist of Innsbruck University. (Moss 1995)