Botanical name: Uncaria tormentosa
Spanish name: Una de gato
Family name: Rubiaceae
Part Used: Bark
Action (karma): Immune stimulating, antimutagenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, diuretic, vermifuge, anti-bacterial
Dose: up to 5 grams daily
Contraindications: Do not use before or after a bone marrow transplant since it boosts immune function. May also have a mild blood thinning effect
 
Cat’s Claw has been used in Peru and Europe since the early 1990’s as an adjunctive treatment for cancer and AIDS as well as for other diseases that target the immune system. In herbal medicine today, Cat’s Claw is employed around the world for many different conditions, including immune disorders, gastritis, ulcers, cancers, arthritis, rheumatism, neuralgias, chronic inflammation of all kinds and bowel disorders. Cat’s Claw is a large woody vine that derives its name from hook-like thorns that grow along the vine and resemble the claws of a cat. It can reach over 30 metres high into the rainforest canopy. Cat’s Claw has small, yellowish-white flowers, it is indigenous to the Amazon forest and other tropical areas of South and Central America. There are other species of plants with a common name of Cat’s Claw, however, they are entirely different plants.
 
Ref: ‘Ayurvedic Medicine’ by Sebastian Pole; ‘Ayurvedic Pharmacology & Therapeutic Uses of Medicinal Plants’ by Vaidya V.M. Gogte; ‘Yogi of Herbs’ by V. Lad & D. Frawley; ‘Herbs Are Special’ by Isabel Shipard.