Scientific name: Harpagophytum procumbens DC.
Common names: African devil's claw, clumsy burdock.
Pharmacopoeial Names: Harpagophytum procumbens DC and H. zeyheri L. DECNE.
Family: Pedaliaceae (Sesamefamily )
Origin: Native to the savannahs of the Kalahari of South Africa and Namibia.
Botany: Herbaceous plant with shoots up to 1.50 meters long, lying flat on the ground, branched root system and thimble-like flowers
Harvest time: spring
Plant parts used: Root tubers
If you ask traditional African healers for which ailments they swear by the power of devil's claw, you should allow a little more time for the answer: metabolic diseases, kidney, bladder, liver or gall bladder problems, pregnancy complaints, digestive problems - the list of reputed healing effects could be continued for a long time.
Especially in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, the indigenous population has been making use of numerous positive properties of the plant root for many centuries.
After the African devil's claw arrived in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, it also had a respectable career as a medicinal plant on our continent. Medicinal preparations containing devil's claw are used mainly for digestive problems, but also to support degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
However, the devil's claw's increasing popularity almost proved to be its undoing. Due to intensive harvesting, the population in Africa temporarily declined so much that it is now protected in South Africa. In the meantime, however, there are various cultivation programs and an international conservation concept that teaches local farmers sustainable harvesting methods - measures that ensure the preservation of wild populations.
Unlike African devil's claw, devil's claw native to Europe belongs to the bellflower family and is not suitable for medicinal use.
In other respects, too, the European cultivates an unspectacular, harmless lifestyle. In the case of the African devil's claw, however, the name says it all: While the flower shines in the most beautiful shades from light pink to purple, its long branched arms are barbed. These often get caught in the fur and claws of animals and can cause serious injuries. As is so often the case, the devil is in the details.
In the root: iridoid glycosides, (e.g. harpagoside, procumbide), phenolic glycosides, flavones and flavonoids, and short-chain carbohydrates.
Les parfums ont un effet subconscient sur ton humeur. Nous expliquons comment.
