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What is it?

The roots of Devil’s claw, surely the most alarmingly named herb in our dispensary. I think it must immediately conjure up images of boiling cauldrons with ‘eyes of newts and wings of bats' all bubbling away madly. 

The truth is much less colourful though it may in fact be even nastier. The name Devil’s claw comes from a) what the thorny fruits of this South African bush look like and b) what it feels like if you stand on it.

How has it been used?

Devil’s claw is highly regarded in herbal medicine as a natural treatment for inflammatory joint and muscle conditions. The stiff, inflammatory joints of arthritis are its most common reason to be used but it has also been widely used for rheumatism, gout, sciatica, lumbago, muscle inflammation (myalgia) and tendonitis.

Devil’s claw is also thought to have an action on the liver and it has been traditionally used for chronic itchy skin conditions and swollen varicose veins. It is recommended to be avoided if there is a sensitive or inflamed digestive lining such as in peptic ulcers and it should not be taken during pregnancy.

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Personal experiences

Devil's claw is a deep-acting medicine with stimulating, warming and cleansing effects in the body and I have seen remarkable results through using it over periods of at least a few weeks for people with chronic and low-grade inflammatory conditions. I like to use Devil’s claw as a tea where levels of 5 or 6 grams a day are easy to achieve or as a tincture where I want to get up into the 6-8ml level in a day. These are much higher doses than available in commercial preparations.

Devil's claw combines particularly well with Celery seed and Juniper berry for arthritis in specific joints and with Celandine and Dandelion root for conditions that involve rheumatic pains that move around the body.

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Modern research on Devil's claw

Researchers Czygan and Hiller explain that it is used “as an antirheumatic and for supportive treatment of degenerative painful rheumatic disorders. Clinical reports of its analgesic and anti-arthritic actions have been available since the 1950’s, which have been confirmed through modern studies. "Good therapeutic results have been achieved using devil’s claw extracts in therapy of degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal system and degenerative disorders of the locomotor system as well as in the treatment of severe low back pain in placebo-controlled double-blind clinical studies.” The results of a recent South African study indicate that devil’s claw root “possesses analgesic, antiinflammatory and hypoglycaemic properties, and lend pharmacological support to the suggested folklore uses of [devil’s claw] root in the management and/or control of painful, arthritic and other inflammatory conditions.”

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