Harpagophytum procumbens is a herbaceous plant vivaz with opposite leaves and great tubulosas flowers of 782 persistent violet red color [ ]. The fruit is a ligneous capsule provided with thorns finished in a crown of acierated hooks that have given the popular name him of "claws of the devil", hooks or hooks.
Origin
The plant is specific of the south of the African continent (between 15º and 30º of South latitude): it grows of spontaneous form in the adjacent zones with the desert of the Kalahari (Namibia, Bostwana and, in Sudafrica, the province of the Cabo and the Transvaal) where is concentrated around the water points.
Chemical composition
In addition to nonspecific chemical components: estaquiosa (he is tetraholósido) and other sugars, fatty acids, free and combined, triterpenos waxes, fitosteroles free and esterificados pentacíclicos (ursanos and oleananos), amino acids [ 78á, b, 784 ], flavonoides and acids fenoles, glucósidos phenolic (verbascósido, isoacteósido) [ 785 ], quinona, the drug contains glucósidos monoterpénicos of the series of the iridoides to which the activity is attributed.
• Iridoides. The majority component is the harpagósido one. This hidroliza glucósido in smooth conditions, harpagogenina, very unstable a dialdehídica ciclopentenílica molecule [ 786 ]; this genina has his hidroxilo in 8 esterificado by cinámico acid. In the case of harpágido hidroxilo he is free. The drug contains equally procúmbido (it is characterized by the presence of a oxirano), procumbósido (it is an anhydrous-3,6 derivative corresponding to the procúmbido one) [ 787 ] and the p-cumáricos esters in 8 of the harpágido one and 6' of the procúmbido one. The average content in heterósidos of the dried drug varies from 0.5 to 3 %.
Farmacológicos data
The harpagósido one hidrolizado by the emulsina and the watery extract of the drug is as effective as fenilbutazona in chronic arthritis, with proliferation of the conjuntivo weave, induced by formaldehyde. The harpagósido one, on the other hand, has antiinflammatory properties demonstrated in the granulomatosa test of stock-market with oil of croton in rat [ 788 ]. These positive results have confirmed in a model of semichronic inflammation [ 789 ]. The harpagósido one is weakly analgesic. The iridoides of the harpagofito (mainly the harpagogenina) have inhibiting effects on íleon isolated of coberry, stimulated by several absolutely comparable agonists, effects to the antiinflammatory exerted ones by nonesteroideos on the same preparation [ 790 ], but it has not been possible to demonstrate to activity some at level of the 792 routes of ciclooxigenasa and lipoxigenasa [ ]. Also [ 791 has been demonstrated to the cardiovascular activity of the gross metanólico extract ]. Perhaps the structural analogy of the harpagogenina with the prostaglandins could explain its biological activity [ 783b ].
Observations in the Man
Diverse studies demonstrate to the beneficial effects of the harpagofito in 793 rheumatic patients [ ]. An ample study, made with 600 artrósicos patients, has demonstrated that the use of high doses by root of harpagofito administered during several months, reflects an improvement with a rate of effectiveness that varies from the 42 to 85 % according to the type of artrosis (coxartrosis, artrosis of the knee, hands, ridge, lumbar...) [ 794 ]. Other investigators confirm that a treatment to per is to you effective as much on the pain as on the disfunción to articulate [ 795 ]. Other works make reference to the administration by subcutaneous injection peri-to articulate in the treatment of the reumatoide poliartritis.
Use
The published works indicate the possibility of an interesting activity in the case of benign chronic reumatológicas affections. The absence of indirect effect as well as a very good gastric tolerance allows the consumption of the drug during long periods, single or in association with other medicines, allowing to diminish the habitually praised doses. For the other indications mentioned by some authors (hipocolesterolemiante, hipoglucemiante) it seems that any farmacológica experience does not exist that allows to deny them or to confirm them. The drug is used in infusion or decocción and capsules (of criomolido dust, extract, nebulizado). The drug lacks toxicity (D.L.50, i.p., mouse: harpagósido, 1 g/kg; harpágido, 3.2 g/kg; absence of pathological effects after the semichronic administration of 7.5 g/kg/día in the rat) [ 783b, 797].
In Spain the use of this plant for rheumatic pains is authorized, inflammatory processes you will articulate, drop.
Precautions
Not recommended in affected patients of gastroduodenal ulcer. It can specially produce slight annoyances in sensible individuals and to high doses. Not recommended its use during the pregnancy and the lactancia. It can produce diarreas in hypersensible people.
The drug
The drug is constituted by the tuberizadas lateral roots (sometimes badly calls tubercles) collected in wild state. These roots, very rich in water, are cut and dried. The fragments appear in rodajas heavy, form of fan or cleared, or, in crudely pressed discs. The fragments taste very bitter. The content in glucoiridoides (colorimétrica valuation, after the reaction of the iridoides extracted with metanol, with in the middle sulfuric vainillina) must be superior to 2.2 % (This drug is enrolled in the Real Spanish Farmacopea from 1997); by H.P.L.C. a precise valuation can be carried out [ 796 ].
Diseases in whose treatment this plant is adapted
Inflammation
Artrosis
Arthritis
Drop
Muscular cramps
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