Native to southern Africa, devil’s claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) is named after a series of tiny hooks covering its fruit of the plant. Through the ages, devil’s claw has been used to treat various pains and aliments, such as liver and kidney problems, fever, and malaria. Furthermore the herb is used as the basis of several ointments designed to heal sores, boils, and other skin problems. Dried or fresh root of devil’s claw can be found in capsules, tablets, liquid extracts, and topical ointments.
While devil’s claw is popular, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is concerned that some 13 devil’s claw supplement manufacturers are producing products that are made up of a plant species that is not the devil’s claw species Harpagophytum procumbens; instead a less expensive herb has been used. The manufacturers, Nutritional Outlook reports, include NBTY, Now Foods, Thorne Research, Nutraceutical International Corp., and Nature’s Sunshine Products.
Discrepancies were picked up when the Attorney’s office commissioned DNA testing of the different products. The outcome of these tests suggests that, in their opinion, the products are being mis-marketed. The primary ingredient is either a less expensive plant called Harpagophytum zeyheri; or the findings suggest H. zeyheri mixed with H. procumbens.
However, several manufacturers have counter-challenged stating DNA testing is unsuitable because the processing of their products does not result in an end-product where DNA can be accurately analyzed.
Other manufacturer’s have admitted that their products contain H. zeyheri, and they argue this too is “devil’s claw” and that it exhibits the same effect. Supporting this position, Mark Blumenthal, founder of the American Botanical Council is quoted by Business Insider as saying “We support the attorney general’s concern for consumer welfare, but there’s no real public benefit to anything he’s doing because the two species are so similar chemically and biologically.”
To this, Schneiderman office have referred back to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA states that only a product containing H. procumbens can be marketed in the U.S. as devil’s claw. It is this explicit statement that will form the basis of further action.
