Devils claw is an African plant with long-established medicinal properties, but a long drought has pushed it closer towards extinction, and scientists around the world are scrambling to preserve its unique compounds.
The scientific community believes the plant may hold the key to effective treatments for a range of conditions including arthritis and tendonitis. Its beneficial effect is considered to stem from two chemicals called iridoid glycosides harpagoside and harpagide.
“The devils Claw faces significant problems with its natural renewal, especially low rainfall,” says Dr. Milen I. Georgiev.
“These problems are driving efforts to find alternative ways to produce high value compounds from the plant, independent of geographical and climatic factors,” he adds.
Consequently, at a recently held 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Georgiev presented a report which describes a new technique which may eventually be used to develop “biofactories” that could produce huge quantities of rare plant extracts at low cost.
The value of devils claw as a health resource has been strengthened by the fact that its extracts are in phase II clinical trials in the U.S. for the treatment of hip and knee arthritis.