Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) and chronic inflammatory diseases: A concise overview on preclinical and clinical data

Abstract

Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) is an herbaceous plant, which can be found in the arid steppes of South Africa, particularly in the Kalahari Desert. As traditional medicine, devil's claw has been long used in the forms of infusions, decoctions, tinctures, powders, and extracts. The main compounds of devil's claw are iridoid glycosides, such as harpagoside, harpagide, and procumbide, which are present in the plant tubers. Additionally, chemical constituents such as sugars (mainly the tetrasaccharide stachyose), triterpenoids (oleanolic and ursolic acid), phytosterols (primarily β‐sitosterol), aromatic acids (caffeic, cinnamic, and chlorogenic acids), and flavonoids (luteolin and kaempferol) can be found in the plant. In order to investigate the applicative potential of devil's claw as therapeutic agent, we performed a review by focusing on its potential role in managing inflammation‐ and oxidative stress‐related diseases, including arthritis, osteoporosis, inflammatory bowel disease, low‐back pain, diabetes, and neurodegeneration.

Multidirectional Pharma-Toxicological Study on Harpagophytum procumbens DC. ex Meisn.: An IBD-Focused Investigation

“…In the present study, a multidirectional investigation was carried out on the water extract from H. procumbens root subjected to an ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure at 60 • C, in order to mimic the traditional home-made extraction procedure [25]. The HPLC-DAD quantitative analysis [8,13] confirmed the validity of the extraction method that, in agreement with European Pharmacopoeia, gave harpagoside yield in the range of 1.2-1.5% (w/w).…”

“…In particular, the water extract of H. procumbens was further assayed for the determination of plant secondary metabolites belonging to the classes of phenols and flavonoids, namely, gallic acid, resveratrol, catechin, and epicatechin, as well as the iridoid compound harpagoside. Harpagoside is considered the main responsible component of the therapeutic activity of the plant; therefore, the measurement of its extract content (not lower than 1.2% w/w) represents an evaluation of the qualitative standard described in the European Pharmacopoeia (Menghini et al, 2019). In addition, we further investigated the possible mechanisms of the water extract of H. procumbens on multiple inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways by measuring the production of colon serotonin (5-HT), prostaglandin (PG)E 2 , and 8-iso-PGF 2α , as well as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB), interleukin (IL)-6, and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) mRNA levels.…”

From Bush Medicine to Modern Phytopharmaceutical: A Bibliographic Review of Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum spp.)

“…Trials have been reviewed systematically with regards to their quality and results concerning safety and efficacy of Harpagophytum preparations in publications between 1973 and 2019 [17,23,139,156,[417][418][419][420][421][422][423][424][425][426][427][428][429][430][431][432][433]. Another set of reviews considered the efficacy of devil's claw preparations or its active compounds in specific need states [23,130,.…”

Promising Herbs as Alternatives for Women with Symptoms of Menopause: A Review

“…The root of Devil's Claw, not the fruit, is utilized for therapeutic purposes. 72 The Kalahari Desert is home to virtually all of the plant's species. pain, as well as back discomfort.…”