African devil's claw

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African devil's claw
African devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens)

African devil's claw ( Harpagophytum procumbens )

Systematics
Asterids
Euasterids I
Order : Mint family (Lamiales)
Family : Sesame family (Pedaliaceae)
Genre : Harpagophytum
Type : African devil's claw
Scientific name
Harpagophytum procumbens
DC. ex Meisn.

The African devil's claw ( Harpagophytum procumbens ), also called devil's claw or trample , is a species of the sesame family (Pedaliaceae). It thrives in the savannas of Namibia , Botswana , Zimbabwe and South Africa and is known as a medicinal plant .

Description and ecology

Illustration from B. Delessert , AP de Candolle: Icones selectae plantarum. Volume 5, 1846, plate 94
Hook-armed fruit
Dried fruits of Harpagophytum procumbens

Vegetative characteristics

Harpagophytum procumbens grows as a perennial herbaceous plant . It develops 1.5–2 m long, creeping stems on the ground, which arise radially from its taproot (main root; mother), which is about one meter deep. The secondary, brownish root tubers (secondary roots; babies) are up to 25 cm long and 6 cm in diameter and are up to one meter deep.

The mostly oppositely arranged, partly upright leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The simple, dark green leaf blade is egg-shaped and pinnately lobed to -partly, sometimes coarsely notched, with a length of up to 6.5 cm and a width of 3–4 cm. The edges are whole and wavy, partly curved upwards, the blade is partly folded in to groove-shaped or gathered. The base of the spread is trimmed to blunt, the lobes are rounded. The leaves are densely covered with glandular hairs, denser underneath.

Generative characteristics

The color of the striking, individually appearing, short (one day) blooming, large, bell-shaped, up to 6.5 cm long and about 4 cm in diameter, short-stalked, hermaphrodite and zygomorphic , five-lobed flowers ranges from light pink to purple or reddish, in the throat they are white-yellowish and partly also striped reddish. The long corolla tube is up to about 1.3 cm wide and yellowish, reddish on the outside. The five-lobed, green calyx is about an inch long.

This plant species owes the trivial name devil's claw to its woody, initially light green, then purple, finally beige-brown, up to 15 cm large fruits with several (about 10–16), approximately 3–9 cm long and 7–10 mm wide, slightly elastic, hooked outgrowths. Due to the pointed hooks, the closing fruits stick to passing animals and thus ensure the spread of the plant species over the epichory . They are usually trampled on later and thus release the seeds (trample).

The two-chambered, woody capsule fruit is ellipsoidal and 4.5–7 cm long and 2–3 cm wide. There are about 20-70 black-brown, angular, rough textured seeds in the two chambers, they are each arranged in four rows. The seeds are 6–8.5 mm long and 3–5 mm wide. The thousand grain mass is about 12-14 g.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 20.

Systematics

The first description of this species was in 1822 under the name ( Basionym ) Uncaria procumbens by Burchell . The genus name was later by De Candolle in Harpagophytum changed because the genus Uncaria already among the Rötegewächsen existed (Rubiaceae). After being edited by Meissner in 1840, this species was named Harpagophytum procumbens (Burch.) DC ex Meissn. valid published.

There are two subspecies

  • Harpagophytum procumbens subsp. procumbens (Burch.) DC. ex Meissn. , Namibia, North and Central South Africa, Southwestern Botswana
  • Harpagophytum procumbens subsp. transvaalense Ihlenf. & H. Hartm. , Eastern Botswana, Southeastern Zimbabwe, Northeastern South Africa

ingredients

The main ingredients are iridoid - glycosides , including harpagoside, harpagide and Procumbid, a phytosterol mixture, phenylpropanoids such acteoside , triterpenoids , flavonoids , unsaturated fatty acids , cinnamic acid and chlorogenic acid .

use

The devil's claw is used for medicinal purposes. In particular, it can be used for supportive therapy for osteoarthritis and other mobility impairments. In addition, the African devil's claw stimulates the appetite and digestion due to the many bitter substances it contains. The bitter value is around 6,000, for comparison: Gentian has a value of at least 10,000.

Commission E , founded in 1978, has compiled and checked the existing scientific knowledge and experience. When it comes to the result, a distinction is made between a guaranteed effect (scientifically verifiable) and information on effects derived from traditional medical experience. Clinical studies have shown significant benefits in treating pain from musculoskeletal disorders.

According to more recent assessments by the European Medicines Agency , there is no efficacy confirmed by clinical studies, but the efficacy is plausible for joint pain, digestive disorders and loss of appetite.

The European Medicines Agency's Herbal Medicinal Products Committee recognizes its use as a traditional herbal medicine

  • Relief from mild joint pain
  • Relief of mild digestive disorders such as bloating and gas and loss of appetite

According to folk medicine and doctors' experience, African Devil's Claw helps

Note: Do not use if you have ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract.

The underground storage roots (secondary roots), which can weigh up to 600 g, are used medicinally. The plant with the main root (primary root) is retained and can thus develop new side shoots. The storage roots are crushed and dried. Little is known about the ingredients of the above-ground parts. Devil's claw is now also used on animals such as horses and dogs.

The wild-growing devil's claw is seriously threatened. In order to preserve the population, careful handling of the wild population and the culture of the plant is urgently required. To do this, a move is made to leaving the main root in the ground and only harvesting the widely branched secondary roots. Cultivation outside of Africa seems very difficult.

Similarities of the common names

Despite similar trivial names, there is no relationship between the African devil's claw ( Harpagophytum procumbens ) and the genus Devil's claw ( Phyteuma ) within the bellflower family . The chamois horn family (Martyniaceae), for example the genera Proboscidea or Ibicella lutea , are also known as devil's claws.

Web links

Commons : African Devil's Claw ( Harpagophytum procumbens )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Max Wichtl (Ed.): Herbal drugs and phytopharmaceuticals. A handbook for practice on a scientific basis . 3. Edition. Medpharm / CRC Press, Stuttgart / Boca Raton, FL 2004, ISBN 0-8493-1961-7 , p.  271 (English).
  2. ↑ Yougasphree Naidoo et al .: Morphology, histochemistry, and infrastructure of foliar mucilage-producing trichomes of Harpagophytum procumbens (Pedaliaceae) . In: Turkish Journal of Botany . tape 38 , 2014, p. 60-67 , doi : 10.3906 / bot-1211-60 (English).
  3. ↑ N. Mncwangi et al .: Devil's Claw - A review of the ethnobotany, phytochemistry and biological activity of Harpagophytum procumbens . In: Journal of Ethnopharmacology . tape 143 , no. 3 , 2012, p. 755–771 , doi : 10.1016 / j.jep.2012.08.013 (English).
  4. ^ William Harvey et al .: Flora capensis . tape 4 , part 2. Cambridge Univ. Press 1904, ISBN 978-1-108-06810-9 , pp. 458 (English, biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed August 17, 2017] reprint).
  5. ↑ a b Mbaki Muzila et al .: Multivariate analysis of Harpagophytum DD. Ex Meisn (Pedaliaceae) based on fruit characters. In: International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation. Volume 3, No. 3, 2011, pp. 101-109.
  6. ↑ a b Mbaki Muzila: Genetic, Morphological and Chemical Variation in the Genus Harpagophytum. Doctoral Thesis No. 2016: 67, Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Horticulture and Crop Production Science, Alnarp, 2016, pub.epsilon.slu.se (PDF; 7.1 MB), accessed on August 17, 2017.
  7. ^ Editorial Committee: The European Garden Flora. Volume VI: Dicotyledons , Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000, 2004, ISBN 0-521-42097-0 , p. 371.
  8. ↑ E. Mowa, E. Maass: The effect of sulfuric acid and effective micro-organisms on the seed germination of Harpagophytum procumbens (devil's claw). In: South African Journal of Botany. Volume 83, 2012, pp. 193-199, doi: 10.1016 / j.sajb.2012.05.006 .
  9. ↑ Harpagophytum procumbens (Burch.) DC. ex Meisn. In: Plants of the World Online. Kew Science, accessed August 17, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Volker Fintelmann , Rudolf Fritz Weiss : Textbook of Phytotherapy. 11th edition, Hippokrates, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-8304-5345-0 , pp. 276-277.
  11. ↑ Volker Schulz, Rudolf Hansel: Rationale Phytotherapy. 4th edition, Springer, 1999, ISBN 978-3-642-98033-6 , p. 326.
  12. ↑ Rudolf Hänsel, Otto Sticher: Pharmakognosie - Phytopharmazie. 9th edition, Springer, 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-00962-4 , p. 761.
  13. ↑ African devil's claw on phytodoc.de.
  14. ↑ Harpagophyti radix. European Medicines Agency, accessed November 19, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Devil's Claw Root. Expert committee for pharmacy obligations of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, accessed on November 19, 2018 .