It’s called the Devil’s Claw, a sprawling, ground-hugging plant native to Southern Africa, primarily the Kalahari Desert. And it is revered as a medicinal herb, especially for the anti-inflammatory properties that make it useful for treating arthritis, among other ailments. Natives of Southern Africa have been using it for medicinal purposes for centuries.
However, it’s also rare. And in modern times, the fate of rare plants that hold medicinal value is often not a happy one.
The Devil’s Claw is in luck, though. Scientists who have recognized both its value to medicine and its precarious situation have begun establishing “biofactories” where they are developing techniques they hope will allow them to produce the same rare extracts contained in the plants in large quantities without depleting them in nature.
That was the gist of a report delivered by Milen I. Georgiev, Ph.D., to the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, according to an article at ScienceDaily.com.
One group of scientists reported a major advance toward that goal at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). They described the first successful method of producing the active ingredients in Devil’s Claw — ingredients that have made the Devil’s Claw a sensation in alternative medicine in Europe. Their technique may eventually lead to the development of “biofactories” that could produce huge quantities of rare plant extracts quickly and at little cost.
Milen I. Georgiev, Ph.D., who delivered the report, pointed out that for thousands of years native populations in Southern Africa have used the Devil’s Claw as a remedy for a huge number of ailments, including fever, diarrhea and blood diseases. Today, there are dozens of medicinal and herbal products around the world that are based on chemicals derived from the Devil’s Claw.
In particular, studies suggest that two chemicals — the so-called iridoid glycosides harpagoside and harpagide — may have beneficial effects in the treatment of degenerative rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, tendonitis, and other conditions, Georgiev said.
“In Germany, 57 pharmaceutical products based on Devil’s Claw, marketed by 46 different companies, have cumulative sales volumes alone worth more than $40 million,” Georgiev was quoted in the article. ScienceDaily.com went on to report: “In the United States, Devil’s Claw extracts are in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of hip and knee arthritis. Other promising uses are not far behind. But while the demand for these beneficial compounds is increasing, the supply of natural Devil’s Claw is dwindling.”
If the researchers are successful and their methods can be applied to other compounds found in medicinal plants, it could mean a reduction — and possibly an end — to the poaching of rare plants in many areas around the globe.