Cats claw

[onz]

Wow what an amazing plant. Surprised I didn't find out about it sooner.

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• stimulates immune system • relieves pain

• reduces inflammation • kills viruses

• protects cells • detoxifies

• fights free radicals • cleanses blood

• cleanses bowel • increases urination

• kills cancer cells • lowers blood pressure

• kill leukemia cells • reduces cholesterol

• tones and balances • decreases depression

A very interesting detailed read about its effects and in vivo/vitro studies done so far on this plant. Still heaps being discovered.

Love to here some first hand accounts.

Looking for an AUS source of the vine/root bark for tea, extracts of medicinals (lycium, gynostemma) don't turn me on that much. Only one I found is Medicine Garden and I'm pretty sure this sight belongs to a forum member, can't remember though. A reliable vendor yeah?

peace

[Prophet]

Nice, anyone got plants or know where you can get them?

[-YT-]

Great stuff Indeed. I used cats claw in combo with echinecea in winter when i started to come down with the flu pritty bad, both for the Immune Boosting/stimulating properties and it defiantly did work. It didnt stop the flu dead in its tracks but greatly reduced the symptoms and took away that dry sore throat which is hell.Didnt go to the doctor at all lol. In total i only ended up being slightly sick for about nine days which isnt too bad for winter

Another great herb to be utilised. I remember doing some Research at Tafe a few weeks back and came across Cats Claw listed as a Noxious Weed up North, Torsten or anyone else have anymore info on that?

For the dried herb at decent prices check out Austral Herbs They also have alot of other great supplement/healthy herbs in there aswell.

Edited September 6, 2006 by Young Tripper

[Prophet]

Austral herbs used to sell herb seeds as well, what ever happened to that? I still have some herb seeds packets of theirs lying around in my seed stash. They had a pretty good selection also from what i can remember.

[Torsten]

we sell a 4:1 powdered extract of guaranteed U.tomentosa. Most commercial cat's claw products are Uncaria guianensis. There are certain applicatiosn where the latter is not as suitable as the former.

[transDiMenTional]

i could so use some right now :|

[onz]

thanks for that link young tripper, good site. surprised I didn't find it on my google search

Most commercial cat's claw products are Uncaria guianensis

Or 'cut' with it. Its a shame and had me thinking about some of the products I'd seen but if they (suppliers) list thier cats claw as tomentosa I have only to believe them.

I can see benefits from extracts, only in a certain context though. Like if thier was an extract which excluded the blood thinning properties in cats claw so one could take it with other things without concern. eg, aspirin, gynostemma, and certain medications.

[Torsten]

Or 'cut' with it. Its a shame and had me thinking about some of the products I'd seen but if they (suppliers) list thier cats claw as tomentosa I have only to believe them.

U.tomentosa is an endangered plant because of overharvesting. It also has a smaller distribution than the more vigorous guinanensis. Strict limits are put on harvesters in regards to U.tomentosa and annual harvest can only supply a very small portion of the world demand. When I did my in depth research on this about 4 years ago tomentosa harvest accounted for a mere 15% of total cat's claw harvested. However, virtually every cat's claw product in the world is labelled as U.tomentosa. Obviously this doesn't add up.

When buying my extract I insist on a certificate of analysis. Tomentosa and guianensis have very distinct profiles, so are easy to tell apart. All australian wholesale raw material suppliers ONLY stock guianensis yet advertise as tomentosa!!! In over 4 years I could not find a single true tomentosa product. The same applies to raw herb (which is even easier to tell apart). This is not entirely the fault of the australian companies, but is likely to originate from the south american suppliers who do not label their product properly. However, properly labelled product CAN be had if one asks and if one is willing to pay the premium price. It's the commercial approach and poor product knowledge of australian herbal companies that is just as much to blame for the substitution as the deception at the source.

I now buy extract that is made by a lab that purchases directly from a farm that produces exclusively tomentosa. I am also negotiating to purchase plain herb from a farm that produces both species. And I am also growing U.guianensis myself and seeking U.tomentosa (beware, the substitution scam also extends to the seed offerings)

I can see benefits from extracts, only in a certain context though. Like if thier was an extract which excluded the blood thinning properties in cats claw so one could take it with other things without concern. eg, aspirin, gynostemma, and certain medications.

People like extracts because they are easier to use. For many folks the this makes the difference between the plain herb going mouldy in the cupboard or the extract being used in beverages. Yes, ideally everyone should be drinking cat's claw tea etc, but many simply don't.

Also, the extract is much easier to use if you want to make an ointment or if you intend to encapsulate the material. There are many advantages of extracts, but also some disadvantages. personally I prefer raw herbs for health purposes and extracts for 'fun'. There are just too many instances where we realised that the extract may have been missing essential components (see my comments on hypericum in another thread).

[onz]

U.tomentosa is an endangered plant because of overharvesting.

Which is why it should be propergated on farms (like your source) in controlled conditions instead of wild harvesting. Sceletium was also over harvest in its natural habitat, arrrgh, its so easy to grow.

When buying my extract I insist on a certificate of analysis. Tomentosa and guianensis have very distinct profiles, so are easy to tell apart. All australian wholesale raw material suppliers ONLY stock guianensis yet advertise as tomentosa!!! In over 4 years I could not find a single true tomentosa product.

man that sounds frustrating. I guess the real issue lies in the chemical difference between the two. If guinanensis ranks significantly lower than tomentosa in terms of health benefits, then most of the experienced health effects from the many people who have used this herb over the past five years aren't reaching the full potential - or don't match up to the conclusions reached from scientific research, assuming that the research material has actually been tomentosa.

hmmm, me now thinks I may go for your extract torst as I can be sure its tomentosa. Though it'd be great if you could get some raw herbage for tea.

[Torsten]

while I am a stickler for proper botanical identification, in this particular case I actually don't think it matters much. It seems to me that much of the hype about the difference between the two was due to commercial interests getting in the way of good science. In fact it seems these commercial interests have done a lot of damage to the herb's reputation. The reason I try to source both is so that I can actually provide both for people who would like to do a comparison either on themselves or as a clinical trial. I figured, if it takes ME years to find the right material then some pharmacology student has buckleys of getting the right stuff in the few weeks or months he has to prepare for his study.

Personally I would be happy to take U.guianensis for virtually every situation that U.tomentosa is used for. I might be a bit fussier if I had AIDS or cancer though as you really don't want to even risk a tiny amount of variance in such severe cases. And with that sentiment in mind I wanted to make the properly IDed material available for those who insist on one or the other.

[kerryurut]

Wow what an amazing plant. Surprised I didn't find out about it sooner.

Main Actions Other Actions

stimulates immune system relieves pain

reduces inflammation kills viruses

protects cells detoxifies

fights free radicals cleanses blood

cleanses bowel increases urination

kills cancer cells lowers blood pressure

kill leukemia cells reduces cholesterol

tones and balances decreases depression

A very interesting detailed read about its effects and in vivo/vitro studies done so far on this plant. Still heaps being discovered.

Love to here some first hand accounts.

Looking for an AUS source of the vine/root bark for tea, extracts of medicinals (lycium, gynostemma) don't turn me on that much. Only one I found is Medicine Garden and I'm pretty sure this sight belongs to a forum member, can't remember though. A reliable vendor yeah?

peace

 

You can purchase coca tea blends and many other exotic herbal teas such as Cats claw, Pau D, Arco, Yerba Mate, Graviola, Yacon tea, purple corn drink all imported from Peru at shop 7 90 mount St North Sydney. You can also order online at www.andess.com.au. Pls spread the word for those that might be interested in such products. Thank You

kerry i accepted some of your spam, but i delete all your spam from now on.

Edited March 9, 2010 by planthelper

[ThunderIdeal]

I remember doing some Research at Tafe a few weeks back and came across Cats Claw listed as a Noxious Weed up North, Torsten or anyone else have anymore info on that?

 

a member here informed me that cats claw the medicine is not the local weed known as cats claw creeper, which belongs to genus Macfadyena

on the show with those british doctor twins, when they go to the amazon..... they talk to a shaman who doesn't agree that cats claw is for ingestion, unless it's a problem like stomach ulcers. he seemed to think it was for topical use, and boiled some up to pour on a bizarre lumpen arm wound/infection.

[Otorongo]

Cat's claw is also a potent stimulant due to its rhyncophyllin content (the same compound is responsible for kratom's stimulant properties) and dream enhancer.

It's hardy to zone 9b.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Otorongo