Studies Show Chinese Herb Effective in Treatment of Parkinson’s

[Farooqji]

In three separate scientific studies, the ancient Chinese herb gou teng, also known as cat’s claw (Uncaria rhynchophylla), has been shown to improve the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease.

theepochtimes.com/health/st...

[Bear1927]

Hi Farooqji, do you have any knowledge of dose used in this study?

[chartist in reply to Bear1927]

The article is a little misleading because they refer to "Cat's Claw" as the herb used, but when you read the actual study, they used 11 TCM herbs for the study preparation . The study was done in 2009 and released in 2011. So it seems that Cat's Claw alone will not be equivalent to the study formulation and you would need to go to a TCM practitioner to replicate this formulation .

Table 1

Herbal preparation

Chinese name Pharmaceutical name Percentage

Dang shen Dried root of Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf. (Fam. Campanulaceae) 13.39

Sheng di Dried root tuber of Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch. (Fam. Scrophulariaceae) 13.39

Fu ling Dried sclerotium of the fungus, Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf. (Fam. Polyporaceae) 10.71

Gou teng Dried hook-bearing stem branch of Uncaria rhynchophylla (Miq.) Jacks. (Fam. Rubiaceae) 10.71

Bai Zhu Rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (Fam. Compositae) 8.93

Dang gui Dried root of Angelica sinensis (Oliv) Diels. (Fam. Umbelliferae) 8.93

Fa ban xia Dried tuber of Pinelliae ternate (Thunb.) Breit. (Fam. Araceae) 8.04

Chuan xiong Dried rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. (Fam. Umbelliferae) 8.04

Huai niu xi Dried root of Achyranthes bidentata Bl. (Fam. Amaranthaceae) 8.04

Chen pi Dried pericarp of the ripe fruit of Citrus reticulata Blanco. (Fam. Rutaceae) 5.36

Sheng gan cao Dried root and rhizome of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (Fam. Leguminosae) 4.46

Art

[MBAnderson in reply to chartist]

"...is a little misleading..." Thanks Art.

[chartist in reply to MBAnderson]

Marc,

Interestingly, Cat's Claw is called Uncaria tomentosa, but you don't see that exact name in the 11 ingredient formulation, but they do list Uncaria rhynchophylla which is referred to as Gou Teng and is also called Cat's Claw, but they are not the same as each other as discussed here and they have different effects though they can both be called Cat's Claw :

1stchineseherbs.com/1st-chi....

Here is a quote from the article :

' A mix up we often see in people first shopping for herbs is some confusion between Cat's Claw and ANOTHER Cat's Claw. Confusingly, some plants are named and nicknamed very similarly, even the same, and that is especially so in this case. Both Uncaria Tomentosa and Uncaria Rhynchophylla are herbs used popularly in herbal medicine, but with very different histories and uses. '

Uncaria rhynchophylla appears to be mainly sold in powder and tincture forms while

Uncaria Tomentosa is typically sold in powder, capsule, tincture and extract forms and would be the more common form available in the US. In any case, Uncaria Rhynchophylla is the form used in the study formulation, but it is just one of 11 herbs used in the formulation and is not the highest percentage herb used which leads me to believe that it, by itself will not have the same effects as the 11 herb formulation.

Art

[Boscoejean in reply to chartist]

"The Chinese investigators suggested that gou teng may ease PD symptoms by helping rid brain cells of an accumulation of a protein called alpha-synuclein. Too much of this compound may be to blame for the nerve cell degeneration." "The researchers reported that a gou teng component, called isorhy, was able to help reduce cellular levels of alpha synuclein, and that it worked as well for this as rapamycin, an immunosuppressant drug being studied for Parkinson’s treatment. Unlike rapamycin, which can have serious side effects, the Chinese researchers note that gou teng has been used for centuries with no apparent detriment."

drweil.com/vitamins-supplem...

[Bear1927 in reply to chartist]

thank you!

[park_bear in reply to chartist]

The 2 human studies used 11 ingredients each. The fruit fly and cell culture study says it used the "Tianma Gouteng Yin" formula. The text also discloses 11 ingredients.

When I looked into Gou Teng I also found that Uncaria Rhynchophylla is the herb used, also known as Ramulus Uncariae cum Uncis.

[heartinmotion in reply to chartist]

There is no evidence that the preparation would be superior to Cat’s Claw alone

[chartist in reply to heartinmotion]

That is true, because they did not test one against the other in a modern day study. On the other hand, TCM has been developed well over a thousand years and the process certainly took much trial and error to determine what plants or combination of plants would be most effective for specific issues. As such, development of a treatment that requires 11 plant ingredients would have determined that the 11 was more active than any single component for the intended purpose. Each component would have to show some degree of effectiveness to be included, otherwise it would have been excluded.

Art

[Gioc in reply to chartist]

At first glance, none of these 11 herbs are toxic. Some doubts about the uncaria side effects.

[chartist in reply to Gioc]

Hi Gio,

I think in something like this 11 ingredient blend, less of each ingredient than would be needed with a single ingredient supplement, reduces the potential for side effects while adding synergy for a potentially more effective combo supplement.

Art

[Farooqji in reply to Bear1927]

I have purchased uncaria uncaria rhynchophylla extract and take 1 gram in the morning and 1 gram in the evening

[Sid44elosam in reply to Farooqji]

hi Farooqji

Thanks for the info. Any comment on the effect ? Any noticeable difference ?

[Farooqji in reply to Sid44elosam]

Have been taking for the last 4 to 5 days. No effects so far

[House2 in reply to Farooqji]

I have taken this in the past, I found it helpful.

[MBAnderson in reply to House2]

House,

How so?

[House2 in reply to MBAnderson]

It delayed my need for C/L 1-2 years

[Boscoejean]

nature.com/articles/srep16862

[House2]

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?te...

[chartist in reply to House2]

House2,

I am interested in the exact benefits that you attribute to Uncaria rhynchophylla at what dose? Also interested in how long you have taken it and if you are still taking it? Lastly, if you are no longer taking it, why did you stop? Thank you!

Art

[House2 in reply to chartist]

It delayed my need for meds. I had to discontinue, because I had to go on blood thinner meds for a clotting disorder.

[chartist in reply to House2]

Thank you.

Art

[Farooqji in reply to House2]

how much dose were you taking

[Sandmanliz]

FYI, for those of you who want to try elixers, I spent 2 years as an herbal mad scientist winning the war with Lyme's. I ultimately purchased my products from a company called "Hawaiian Pharm". I am sure there may be other suggestions but in the world of "Amazon drug deals", I found them reputable.

I have also found that your body gets "used to" herbs and taking a break, or in my case, mixing different recipes at times made a big difference.