Abstract:

Due to the side effects and toxicities of some drugs used in treatment today, the orientation towards phytotherapy and natural therapies has increased. Harpagophytum procumbens (HP), which is among medicinal and aromatic plants, is also called Devil's Claw because of the external appearance of its fruit. Devil's claw is a herbaceous plant predominantly grown in South Africa's Kalahari Desert, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. In traditional medicine, Devil's claw has been used in the forms of infusions, decoctions, tinctures, powders, and extracts for many years. The main chemical compounds found in the plant's roots include iridoid glycosides, triterpenoids (oleanolic and ursolic acid), sugars (tetrasaccharide, stachyose), aromatic acids (caffeic, cinnamic, and chlorogenic acids), phytosterols (beta-sitosterol), and flavonoids (luteolin and chempherol). In recent years, it has been reported that bioactive components such as harpagoside and harpagid have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidant effects. The features responsible for the antioxidant activity in HP extracts are flavonoids known as free radical scavengers, plant phenols that act as hydrogen donors, and oxygen radical neutralizers. Clinically, Devil's claw is used as a sedative, antipyretic, antitussive, wound healer in the treatment of skin lesions such as ulcers and abscesses, and dyspepsia, as well as in the treatment of various diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, obesity, blood diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. This article reviews the general characteristics and clinical usage of HP using the available literature.

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