Herbal Cat's Claw, The Herbal Remedy That Alleviates Symptoms and Improve Quality of Life In the Osteoarthritis Patients

Cat's claw may be the next potential and pharmaceutical target to identify the next single ingredient for the treatment of osteoarthritis, some researchers found.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of arthritis characterized by the breaking down of joint cartilage and underlying bone, leading to symptoms of joint pain and stiffness.

Most common causes of osteoarthritis (OA)in the Western world is the most common disease of people with an occupation of repetitive movements of the joints and obesity, the disease which has a strong and negative impact on the weight-bearing joints.

However, injuries to joints that were not healed properly in the younger age such as fracture, and ligament tears can also lead to osteoarthritis.

In response to the question of why? people with the same health conditions, some are susceptible to the onset of osteoarthritis, while some others do not. Researchers launched an investigation to examine the mutated genes associated with the risks of osteoarthritis.

In fact, the genetic bases of this disease do not follow the typical patterns of Mendelian inheritance but involving the alterations in multiple genes.

Among genes that have been scanned, genes associated with the collagen type II (COL2A1) coded for structural proteins of the extracellular matrix of the cartilage seem to have an important role to have the osteoarthritic process.

Other genes coded for the structural proteins of the extracellular matrix, some candidates present an increased susceptibility to developing the disease, including COL9A2, COL11A1, COL11A2 or COMP (cartilage oligomeric matrix protein gene).

Dr., the lead author, after taking into account of co and confounders suggested "it seems clear that expression levels in osteoarthritic and healthy patients are different and that genetic inheritance is a factor that should be considered in the near future for diagnosing and treating osteoarthritis" and

"On the other hand, it is important to recognize the interaction between genetic and environmental factors (e.g. obesity, excessive stress on the joint articulation, or the type of occupation) as it can be critical in the clinical expression of the disease".


The finding clearly indicated that genetic mutations inherited from the parents are found to associate with the prevalent risk of the disease.


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

The plant 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..

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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 finding, a natural ingredient or whole food similar to those of conventional medicine with no side effects, researchers at the Case Western Reserve University examined the anti-inflammatory activity in a number of botanical plants including cat's claw.

Selected plants in the study include some medicinal fruits and herbs - pomegranate, green tea, cat's claw, devil's claw, ginger, Indian olibanum, turmeric, and bananas.
In the analysis of the pivotal molecular targets involved in inflammation and the joint destruction processed for OA management, researchers found that chemical compounds isolated from herbal Cat' s claw demonstrated a strong effect in ameliorating the symptoms of pain, compared to other medicinal plants and fruits.


After taking into account co and confounders, including the limitation of evidence of studies,, researchers wrote, " Overall, these studies identify and support the use of nutraceuticals to provide symptomatic relief to patients with OA and to be used as adjunct therapy for OA management".


Additionally, in the study to reaffirm the use of the use of nutraceuticals for the treatment of Osteoarthritis, researchers launched an investigation to examine the efficacy of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory dietary supplements.


The searching of the literature on the databases of the MEDLINE (1996 through January 2009), results in a total of 16 clinical studies (11 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials, three crossover trials, one case-controlled study, and one open-label study) in addition to one meta-analysis and one review article satisfied the guideline and criteria.


Cat's claw used alone or combined with other herbal medicines were effective for the treatment of OA through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.


Moreover, Dr, Hardin SR in the evaluation of the anti-OA effects of Cat's claw suggested that The mechanism of cat's claw appears to be as an inhibitor of TNF-alpha, an inflammatory cytokine produced in the chronic inflammation by the immune system and antioxidant.


However, further analysis of the nature and processes in osteoarthritis may facilitate and clarify the potential role of cat's claw as a complementary therapy to assist in the reduction of pro-inflammatory mediators and effectors.


Taken altogether, there is no doubt that herbal Cat's claw may be considered a functional herb for the prevention and adjunct therapy for the treatment of osteoarthritis without inducing any side effects.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, 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 Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.


References
(1) Current nutraceuticals in the management of osteoarthritis: a review by Akhtar N1, Haqqi TM. (PubMed)
(2) Antioxidants and antiinflammatory dietary supplements for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis by Rosenbaum CC1, O'Mathúna DP, Chavez M, Shields K.(PubMed)
(3) Cat's claw: an Amazonian vine decreases inflammation in osteoarthritis by Hardin SR.(PubMed)
(4) Genetics in Osteoarthritis by Mercedes Fernández-Moreno, Ignacio Rego, Vanessa Carreira-Garcia, and Francisco J Blanco. (PMC)