Discovering Herbs: Devil's Claw
The next time you’re wandering through the Kalahari Desert, pay attention to where you’re treading or you may fall prey to the plant that goes by the name of Grapple Hook! It has earned this name for an excellent reason; it will grapple you to itself with the greatest of ease and it will take you some doing to ungrapple yourself from its cunning barbs. No wonder it is also known as Devil’s Claw.
Being a plant that grabs your attention, so to speak, it is not surprising that it should have a long history of medicinal use in both its native South Africa and Europe, where it was brought by an army surgeon who had used it very successfully for inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. It is the water-storing tubers, which grow deep down into the desert, that are used medicinally.
Now, however, after centuries of helping Mankind with his ailments, Devil’s Claw needs some help in return. It is in such demand that wild stocks are becoming increasingly depleted. Farms that cultivate Devil’s Claw are necessary for its future survival. Strange that such a fearsome species should need help defending itself, but as with so many other plants, we will have to become used to asking questions such as ‘Where does it come from?’ before we buy it.
Why did it become so popular in the first place? Because it is so good at reducing inflammatory pain, like that experienced by people with arthritic and rheumatic complaints. Taking Devil’s Claw is many people’s way out of persistent rheumatic, joint and muscle pain. Unlike most conventional anti-inflammatory medications, it has no unpleasant side effects such as stomach pain, and can safely be taken long term.
Interestingly, trials done on individual constituent parts of a tuber have always been unsuccessful, but more recent trials have concentrated on extracts of the whole tuber, the traditional way it was used, and these trials have shown excellent results. Unsurprisingly, the age-old wisdom as to how to use a plant has again been shown to be correct.