Devil’s claw
Harpagophytum procumbens DC., with Harpagophytum zeyheri; in pharmacy Harpagophyti radix, the root
- Known today as
- Harpagophytum procumbens, a plant of the family Pedaliaceae, whose root is the medicine. The European assessment report notes that the secondary tubers contain about twice as much of the bitter harpagoside as the primary ones, and that the drug is sometimes adulterated with harpagoside-poor primary roots or with other bitter plants.
- Kind
- Plant
- Constituents
- harpagoside, acteoside, stachyose
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online · GBIF · Wikidata
Caution. Not for people with an active stomach or duodenal ulcer, and those with gallstones should ask a doctor first. Not for anyone under eighteen, for want of data. Joint pain with swelling, redness, or fever should be examined by a doctor. Digestive upsets, headache, vertigo, and allergic reactions such as rash, hives, or facial swelling have been reported.
Devil’s claw: what was it used for?
A modern remedy for joint pain and the digestion, with no history in the European herbals read for this entry. It is used for minor joint pain and, as a bitter, for bloating, flatulence, and loss of appetite.
Devil’s claw: what does modern science say?
The European Medicines Agency’s herbal committee accepts the root as a traditional herbal medicine, “exclusively based upon long-standing use,” for the relief of minor joint pain, and for mild digestive disorders such as bloating and flatulence where there is temporary loss of appetite (monograph of 2016). Its assessment report finds iridoid glucosides, chiefly harpagoside, “extremely bitter,” at 0.8 to 3 per cent in this species, with the phenolic glycoside acteoside and much sugar, mainly stachyose. A 2008 review of the safety of devil’s claw in 28 clinical trials for arthritic and low back pain found minor adverse events, mainly digestive, in about 3 per cent of patients, and in none of the double-blind studies more than on placebo, but called long-term safety data “urgently needed.”
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- harpagosidechief of the iridoid glucosides, 0.8 to 3 per cent, “extremely bitter”; about twice as much in the secondary tubers
- acteoside ChEMBLa phenolic glycoside
- stachyosemost of the sugar
- Mechanism
- Not established in the sources read for this entry.
- Standing
- European Union herbal monograph (2016): traditional use, “exclusively based upon long-standing use,” for minor joint pain and for mild digestive disorders with loss of appetite.
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Harpagophyti radix (Devil’s Claw Root). EMA/HMPC/627057/2015, 12 July 2016. Read in full · the text read
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Assessment report on Harpagophyti radix. EMA/HMPC/627058/2015, 12 July 2016. Read in part · the text read
- Vlachojannis J, et al. (2008). Systematic review on the safety of Harpagophytum preparations for osteoarthritic and low back pain. Phytotherapy research : PTR. PMID 18236448. Abstract read · the text read
The abstract of each source, beneath its citation. For Club members. About the Club or sign in.
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Sources
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Union herbal monograph on Harpagophyti radix (Devil’s Claw Root). EMA/HMPC/627057/2015, 12 July 2016. Read in full · the text read
- European Medicines Agency, Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. Assessment report on Harpagophyti radix. EMA/HMPC/627058/2015, 12 July 2016. Read in part · the text read
- Vlachojannis J, et al. (2008). Systematic review on the safety of Harpagophytum preparations for osteoarthritic and low back pain. Phytotherapy research : PTR. PMID 18236448. Abstract read · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Sources
- 3 cited: 1 read in full, 1 read in part, 1 abstract read. 1 with the abstract on file.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
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Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published October 16, 2026
- Chicago
“Devil’s claw.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 16, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/devil-s-claw.
- MLA
“Devil’s claw.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 16 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/devil-s-claw. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Devil’s claw. (2026, October 16). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/devil-s-claw
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See Also
Nearby in the alphabet
Devil’s-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) · Destroying angel (Pure white amanitas of Europe and North America) · Diacatholicon (based on senna, rhubarb, cassia, and tamarind with various seeds) · Death cap (white-gilled mushroom of oak and beech woods, now spread worldwide) · Diamoschu, sweet (aloeswood, coral, pearls, and spices) · Deadly webcap · Diaphenicon (with turpeth, scammony, and spices) · Deadly nightshade (of the nightshade family)
Historical description, not medical advice.
