When the Spanish conquistadores traveled through South America they searched for the fabled "golden place" known as El Dorado. The native Indians claimed that El Dorado was in the location of present-day Peru. The Spaniards found vast quantities of gold artifacts in that geographical area and spent months melting them down to refashion them into coins and art objects.
Now from the land of El Dorado comes another treasure; long kept a traditional secret but now revealed. The herb Uncaria tomentosa, also known as Una de Gato, or Cat's Claw, is today's modern golden offering. It earned its nickname because of the distinctive curved claw-like thorns that project from the base of its leaves. The highly effective properties contained in the inner bark of this impressive plant have demonstrated, through centuries of usage dating back to the time of the ancient Incas, to have a profound and positive influence on the body's defense system. Unicity International-always open to gems in the botanical world-is proud to announce the addition of widely acclaimed Cat's Claw to our comprehensive and specialized product line.
Cat's Claw is harvested from the wild, deep within the Peruvian Amazon rain forest where it grows prolifically as a woody vine. This vine can grow over 100 feet in length as it attaches and wraps itself around the native trees. It is found most abundantly in the foothills, at elevations of two to eight thousand feet. The rain forests cover a vast area of South America, containing more than two million miles of tropical plants and animals. They provide a rich supply-an estimated 250,000 plant species-of discovered and yet undiscovered boons to modern health. Studies conducted since the 1970s at research clinics in Peru, Austria, Germany, England, Hungary and Italy validate the traditional usage and indicates that this herb may be beneficial in ameliorating a host of modern day afflictions that have no answers from the orthodox medical arena.
Research Brief
Una de Gato or Cat's Claw is a large woody vine that is indigenous to the Amazon Rainforest and other tropical areas of South and Central. It's name is derived from the hook-like thorns that grow along the vine that resemble a claw of a cat. Cat's Claw (U. tomentosa) has been used medicinally for at least 2,000 years. The most attention to date has been on the oxindole alkaloids found in the bark and roots of Cat's Claw, which have been documented to stimulate the immune system. With so many documented uses of this important rainforest plant, it is not surprising that it came to the attention of western researchers and scientists. Worldwide research done on this powerful herb has led scientists to patent many of the single chemicals found in it for use in healing a variety of diseases. In May of 1994, the World Health Organization sponsored the First International Conference on Cat's Claw in Geneva Switzerland. At the conference, Cat's Claw received official recognition as a medicinal plant and it was pointed out that not since quinine was discovered in the bark of a Peruvian tree in the 17th century, has any other rainforest plant ever prompted such worldwide attention.
FAQs
Q: Will this product help with more than the body's defense system?
A: Una de Gato has been used historically for a variety of health concerns, including the support of immune system health.
Q: What does Una de Gato mean?
A: Una de Gato is "Cat's Claw."
References
Williams JE. Review of antiviral and immunomodulating properties of plants of the Peruvian rainforest with a particular emphasis on Una de Gato and Sangre de Grado. Altern Med Rev. 2001 Dec;6(6):567-79.
Keplinger K, Laus G, Wurm M, Dierich MP, Teppner H. Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC.--ethnomedicinal use and new pharmacological, toxicological and botanical results. J Ethnopharmacol. 1999 Jan;64(1):23-34.
Sandoval-Chacon M, Thompson JH, Zhang XJ, Liu X, Mannick EE, Sadowska-Krowicka H, Charbonnet RM, Clark DA, Miller MJ. Antiinflammatory actions of cat's claw: the role of NF-kappaB. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 1998 Dec;12(12):1279-89. |
