on the subject of hearing the name,...

on the subject of hearing the name, "cat's claw," single in kind might think that this Latin American botanical is named for its ability to restorative cat scratch fever. While this is not the case, cat's claw has shown to be beneficial for a variety of other health conditions ranging from arthritis to cancer to hypertension.

Cat's claw bourgeons abundantly in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and other Latin American countries, where it is known as Una de Gato, which is Spanish for cat's claw. It is a tropical member of the madder family, which botanists have reference to as liana -- high-climbing, twining wooden vine -- which can sometimes lengthen all the way from the forest floor to the canopy more than 12 stories above. a certain number of say, when fully grown, a single vine can weigh more than the same ton.

This herb, the bottom of which can be as large in size as a watermelon, got its name from its claw-like petioles The botanical name of the genus of this species, Uncaria, arrives from the Latin word uncus, meaning hook; these "hooks" enable this vine to climb tree other vegetation, or whatever besides it can grab onto. The botanical name for cat's claw is Uncaria tomentosa.

The variety of ailments and applications which cat's claw is used for today is a great deal the same as it has been traditionally. They include: arthritis, asthma, cancer, gastritis, growing pains, inflammation, rheumatism, and urinary tract infections. It has also been shown to be beneficial to human frames with AIDS.

There are a variety of constituents in cat's claw which work synergistically to create its beneficial consequences Its 14 alkaloids, as well as its many other constituents, including beta-sitosterol, catechins, ellagic acid, gallic acid, hyperin, proanthocyanidins, quercetin, and rutin are many times studied and cited as guide ingredients promoting its beneficial efficiencys Studies have shown that it possesse powerful antiviral, antimutagenic, antioxidant, and digestive-enhancing properties.

Better Nutrition was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to talk with Alexander G Schauss. PhD who has done extensive research forward cat's claw. Dr. Schauss is the Director of the Life Sciences Division of the American Institute for Biosocial Research (AIBR), Inc. in Tacoma, Washington; AIBR is a member of the American Botanical Council, the Herb Research Foundation, and the National Nutritional provisionss Association (NNFA). Schauss holds faculty positions as Associate Professor of Research at the Southwest corporation of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Tempe Arizona; Senior Director of Research at the Southwest association Research Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona; and Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences at the National society of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. He is the author/co-author of more than 60 papers and publications, including The Health Benefits of Cat's Claw (New Canaan, Conn: Keats Publishing, 1996)

Here are about excerpts from the interview:

BN: for what purpose has there been a rise high in the interest in cat's claw during the 1990s?

Schauss: I think this is truthful not just for cat's claw, however for other botanicals, as well. clan are beginning to search for more alternatives and are beginning to realize the limitations of allopathic medicine. Also, the science supporting alternatives so as cat's claw is improving. We're no longer just relying in succession folklore.

Latin America is certainly undivided of the last areas to be explored in period of times of botanicals. It's an issue of ethnocentricity. In this political division most of our research in succession botanicals is on European herbs. Besides cat's claw there are probably countles other Latin American botanicals which still ne to be explored, in such a manner I expect to see long more about Latin American herbs in the future

BN: In your work you say that in the early 1970 German-born researcher Arturo Brell and others encouraged the U National Cancer Institute to do invitro small room studies on the bark and radix of cat's claw. You say that although initial be deriveds were promising, the research was stopped. Do you know why? What shadow of research is currently underway?

Schauss: It was institute that the combination of all the constituents in cat's claw -- alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, etc -- worked therapeutically together. This meant that they could not bring it gone out as a drug. Back in the early 1970 unlike today, true few pharmaceutical companies would continue to invest effort, nor would federal agencies continue doing research (oftentimes, with direction from the pharmaceutical companies), forward whole botanicals because they had no patent protections. For this reason, the research was discontinued.

The Peruvians, their universities, and their equivalent to the National Institutes of Health have continued to do studies in succession cat's claw, especially since there's been similar tremendous commercial interest in it worldwide. I have a colleague in Peru right now who is meeting with a gentleman who has been doing an enormous amount of research forward cat's claw for the last 18 years.

We alone became aware of him about couple or three years ago and this is our first chance to do an in-person interview where we have an opportunity to consider over a considerable amount of his unpublished clinical trials.