Uncaria


Uncaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 40 species. Their distribution is pantropical, with most species native to tropical Asia, three from Africa and the Mediterranean and two from the neotropics. They are known colloquially as gambier, cat's claw or uña de gato. The latter two names are shared with several other plants. The type species for the genus is Uncaria guianensis.
Indonesian Gambier is a large tropical vine with leaves typical of the genus, being opposite and about long. The South American U. tomentosa is called Uña de Gato. Uncaria sinensis is common in China.
Uncaria was named in 1789 by Johann von Schreber in his Genera Plantarum edition 8. The genus name is derived from the Latin word uncus, meaning "a hook". It refers to the hooks, formed from reduced branches, that Uncaria vines use to cling to other vegetation.
Uncaria is a member of the tribe Naucleeae, but its position within that tribe remains unresolved.

Description

Woody lianas; climbing by hooks formed from reduced, modified branches. Stipules entire or bifid. Inflorescences are compact heads at the ends of horizontal, very reduced branches. Corolla lobes without appendages. Seeds with a long wing at each end, the lower wing deeply bifid.

Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:
  • Uncaria acida Roxb.
  • Uncaria africana G.Don
  • Uncaria angolensis Welw. ex Hutch. & Dalziel
  • Uncaria attenuata Korth.
  • Uncaria barbata Merr.
  • Uncaria bernaysii F.Muell.
  • Uncaria borneensis Havil.
  • Uncaria callophylla Blume ex Korth.
  • Uncaria canescens Korth.
  • Uncaria cordata Merr.
  • Uncaria donisii E.M.A.Petit
  • Uncaria elliptica R.Br. ex G.Don
  • Uncaria gambir Roxb.
  • Uncaria guianensis J.F.Gmel.
  • Uncaria hirsuta Havil.
  • Uncaria homomalla Miq.
  • Uncaria kunstleri King
  • Uncaria laevigata Wall. ex G.Don
  • Uncaria lancifolia Hutch.
  • Uncaria lanosa Wall.
  • Uncaria longiflora Merr.
  • Uncaria macrophylla Wall.
  • Uncaria nervosa Elmer
  • Uncaria orientalis Guillaumin
  • Uncaria ovata R.Br. ex Hook.f.
  • Uncaria perrottetii Merr.
  • Uncaria rhynchophylla Miq.
  • Uncaria rhynchophylloides F.C.How
  • Uncaria roxburghiana Korth.
  • Uncaria scandens Wall.
  • Uncaria schlenckerae S.Moore
  • Uncaria sessilifructus Roxb.
  • Uncaria sinensis Havil.
  • Uncaria sterrophylla Merr. & L.M.Perry
  • Uncaria talbotii Wernham
  • Uncaria tomentosa DC.
  • Uncaria velutina Havil.

    Uses

Diplomat Edmund Roberts noted that, upon his visit to China in the 1830s, Chinese were using U. gambir for tanning, and noted that the U. gambir made "leather porous and rotten." He also noted that Chinese would chew it with areca nut. The plant extract contains some 150 identified phytochemicals, including catechins, proanthocyanins, and chalcone-flavan-3-ol dimers, called gambiriins. Cat's claw and the Chinese Uncaria species are used in traditional medicine, although there is no high-quality clinical evidence they have any medicinal properties.

Adverse effects

Although cat's claw appears to be safe for human use below 350 milligrams per day over 6 weeks, its adverse effects may include nausea, diarrhea, upset stomach, and an increased risk of bleeding if used with an anticoagulant drug.