Up Above I started using it when I had very bad sciatica pain after a long flight to NZ. Dr. gave me injections to numb the pain but it didn’t help then Obstgarten researching what could help then case across the devils claw. I am also a Lupus sufferer and at the time my Lupus got really bad and I was having a lot of flares ( causes major inflammation in joints)since I started taking the Devils claw it settled a lot of the inflammation. I initially made a brew and drank it 3 times a day on empty stomach in the am and then throughout the day before meals. For about 3 weeks straight there after maybe twel weeks a month until the brew was finished. That was 2016-17 since then I keep a pack Handy and make a brew whenever I make my herbal teas etc. it tastes ghastly but really helps.
@@legran25 can you please tell us the dosing system you use ? I have a very nasty chronic neck pain like a needle stinging the base of my right base of skull 😣
It seems that I am doing a course in African plants all of it provided by you The African Plant Hunter. Ex- Moz. and Zim resident now living in the cold north of UK. So interesting always.
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing! My girlfriend is running down several rabbit holes trying to find an anti-inflammatory for me for my back which none of the doctors can figure out why after 7 back surgeries I am still all inflamed in my back area. Once again thank you very much!
For that reason,, I don’t want back surgery, for the most part, they don’t work,,,, I suffer terrible back pain in low back, but I’m trying different herbs, no thanks on surgery!
This is a long shot but how are your kidneys doing? You could be experiencing referred pain. I have lower back pain that is severe when I stand for too long that is related to my CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) and runs horizontally across my back behind where my kidneys are. There is no obvious problem with my spine or vertebral discs. Unfortunately, I cannot take NSAIDS and haven't been able to for many years. I don't want to take narcotics. It doesn't help that I have a very low pain threshold. An option for you is going to a pain therapy clinic or specialist. A muscle relaxant or a prescribed topical cream may give you some relief from the chronic pain. Voltaren cream helps me with my shoulder pain from torn cartilage and is over the counter. I ordered some through eBay which was significantly cheaper than in the pharmacy.
Thank you so much for doing this. Stumbled on this after coming across Devil's claw in Alaska. Will definitely be looking though your videos. Keep up the great work.
I enjoy so much this channel I love ethnobotanics and I try to learn from local flora in Costa Rica in wich we have so many plants that we still don't know what we have... "Citizenscience" is one the best ways to get people envolved and rescue our planet natrul heritage and medicine💪🏻👏👏👏. And of course Im already subscribed😎🙋🏻♂️
Hi, where could I possibly get it in Botswana? I live in the Central District around Palapye area. Is it possible to buy it raw from the ladies on the roadside?
@@munyabrownn Not sure about availability in Palapye. There is a company called Matebeleng Milling in Mochudi who harvest, package and sell it. I buy their product in Pharmacies in Gaborone.
@@mandandi thank you for your prompt response. Hopefully I'll be able to get something from PY. I'm living in constant pain and it ain't cool... RA is a real thing
@@munyabrownn Sorry to hear that. Other very good options include noni juice (the best painkiller in the world in my experience) and comfrey tea(excellent).
Strength those opportunities. What does fair traid really mean, I'm thinking Steve Bannon every penny .... we hope we can utilise this resource here in africa... Thanks Gus
Devil's claw is one of my favorite herbs for medicinal usage! I learned about it through a medicine-man of the Yome' ( Yaqui) people in the lower Sonoran region of Mexico. I was making it for people during a four-day ceremony and was getting some great reviews from the people that were needing it. After that I started using it myself, and knowing that it grew out here, I went out started harvesting it. I also use the dried claws to make dream catchers and flying eagles with, they're quite popular here in the South Western and eastern part of Arizona.
Thanks for this video and info. You identified the seed storage capsule of the plant. How can anyone interested in growing the plant get hold of the seeds? And is there any other way of growing the plant, like by it's root. Thanks Gus.
Hi, thanks for the query. I think this will give you everything you need to know about propagating Devil's Claw. Good luck, and let me know how it goes! www.daff.gov.za/Daffweb3/Portals/0/Brochures%20and%20Production%20guidelines/Devils%20Claw.pdf
Where can we purchase products from this tuber/root? Do you sell such products yourself? It would be a good idea if you put all these products on Amazon or some platform for us to purchase. I subscribed to your channel because of the great work you do.
I don't sell these products myself, but there are plenty of brands on line selling Devil's Claw, mostly in capsule or tablet form. Thanks for subscribing. I really appreciate it!
Thanks. I'm not sure if they do. I think you'd have to ask them directly. Their main market is certainly Germany, but I'm sure they supply other customers as well.
Hi! thanks for the video. It helped me learn about this plant. I live in Mexico and as I was walking my dog I found a couple of devils claws fruit in an abandoned lot of dirt. I thought it was really cool the shape of them so I took them and found out it has seeds inside. I will try to germinate them but I have no idea how to. I've germinated seed before but not like these. They look very hard and coarse. It almost looks as if they are burned. Do you have any resources on how should I germinate them? Thanks.
As far as I'm aware there isn't one, because it only occurs in the far west of Zimbabwe. But I'd love to hear it if anyone knows. The Ndebele name is Inkunzane enkulu.
John 3:16 King James Version 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
You're right in principle, but unfortunately that rarely happens. The costs of researching and developing a new patent on a phytomedicine run into hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars. This is also highly specialised knowledge. Unlikely a rural community could ever afford to cover those costs or have the wherewithal to do so. BUT, and this is the important bit, there are mechanisms through which ethical companies can develop patents and share the benefits with the source communities, and there are many companies out there actively trying to do this. Check out www.ethicalbiotrade.org/ for a really awesome organisation that promotes this type of approach!
Namibia can't own a patent, since the plant has been used by the San, Herero of Namibia and Botswana. So it would make sense for the two tribes to own the patent themselves and benefit their communities. The governments of the two nations stay out.
Devils claw is harvested in the NW Provence of SA . It was cultivated in the early 2000 in the western cape. Same with Hoodia in tunnels and scelitium.
Minimal side effects. Occasional reports of indigestion and diarrhoea, but that's really the only issue. Dosage depends on the form in which you take it. More info can be found here: www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-984/devils-claw
Thanks for the info. I hope the Africans that are haversting the root are truly being paid well as you mentioned. I'm sure the GERMAN company is making millions possibly billions from Africa's resources. I doubt seriously if "Latinus, Afred and Zackary" are the names of those AFRICAN men. I'm sure their African names were too difficult for you to say.
No, this plant is wild harvested only. But you can buy Devil's Claw products from herbal pharmacies in many parts of the world. Just look for pure Devil's Claw in capsules.
"Expired" for herbal medicine doesn't usually mean it will have suddenly become poisonous or anything. Just slightly less likely to be effective than if it was fresh. Personally, as Devil's Claw has a very long shelf life, I would still use it even if it has passed the sell by date on the package!
It's not a stupid question. There is some cultivation, but the majority of demand is met from sustainably harvested wild sources, which are sufficiently plentiful so as not to require supplementing from farms.
HI. Devil's Claw, like any medication, has some interactions with other medications, although it's generally very benign. You can read more here: www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-984/devils-claw. I don't see any issues with co-codamol or tramadol though.
@@AfricanPlantHunter typical pictures of local people supposedly being "lucky" to have a meal because of ecoso dynamics no pictures of the real owners of the outfit. It's exhausting.
“Exploitation” is a loaded word. On the one hand it means “make use of, use to good advantage, benefit from”. On the other hand it also means “take advantage of, abuse, misuse”. So it depends which way you mean it. In this case, Devil’s claw is a medicinal plant with a rich history of traditional use, and it is being sustainably harvested and marketed by the people whose traditional knowledge it embodies. To me that seems like a perfect example of the first meaning of exploitation, and I must admit I can’t see anything wrong with it. I could understand if it was being harvested by outsiders, or harvested in an unsustainable manner. But these harvesters are local and take enormous care to ensure their harvesting is sustainable. So they appear to be making excellent use of a local resource, in an area where it is extremely dry and the array of economic opportunities open to them is very limited indeed.
Why do you feel comfortable explaining african plants instead of letting actual africans that live there explain it? Why do you feel comfortable even having this platform?
Thanks, that's a good question. The answer is because I am an actual African, born and raised, and I live in Africa, working every day with African plants. So I certainly don't feel uncomfortable talking about them and sharing my knowledge with others.
