Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) is a plant used as a treatment option for osteoarthritis and low back pain. Products are made from its powdered root or extracts of it.
Also known as: Harpagophytum procumbens, harpagophytum, grapple plant.
A 4-month osteoarthritis trial used 6 capsules a day, each with 435 mg of powdered devil's claw root (Chantre 2000). A 2008 safety review notes that the amounts used in most studies were at the low end (Vlachojannis 2008). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: a 2006 review of 14 studies of devil's claw for osteoarthritis found that most were of poor quality; the better studies suggest it reduces pain, but the reviewers say the evidence cannot answer whether it works or whether it is safe (Brien 2006). In a trial of 122 people with knee or hip osteoarthritis, devil's claw for 4 months relieved pain about as well as the prescription arthritis drug diacerhein, with less diarrhea (8% versus 27%), and people on devil's claw used fewer painkillers (Chantre 2000).
Safety: a 2008 review of 28 trials found that in double-blind trials side effects were no more common than with placebo; minor side effects, mostly stomach and gut complaints, occurred in about 3% of people. There were a few reports of acute toxicity and no reports of long-term toxicity, and the authors say more safety data are urgently needed (Vlachojannis 2008). The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for devil's claw that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. Plant and bee products are mixtures of many compounds, so no single figure would describe them.
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