''Uncaria'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Rubiaceae
The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules ...
. It has about 40
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
.
[''Uncaria'' At: World Checklist of Rubiaceae At: Kew Gardens Website. (see ''External links'' below).] Their
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
is
pantropical
A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers Tropics, tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''.
''Neotropical'' is a zoogeogra ...
, with most species
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to
tropical Asia
Tropical Asia refers to the entirety of the areas in Asia with a tropical climate. These areas are of geographic and economic importance due to their natural resources and biodiversity, which include many species of agricultural value. There are ...
, three from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
and two from the
neotropics
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropics, tropical Ecoregion#Terrestrial, terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperat ...
.
[David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. ] They are known
colloquially
Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...
as gambier, cat's claw or uña de gato. The latter two names are shared with several other plants. The
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
for the genus is ''
Uncaria guianensis
''Uncaria guianensis'', the cat's claw, is a plant species in the genus ''Uncaria'' found in the Amazon biome. Other names for the plant include ''uña de gato'', ''Paraguayo'' and ''vincaria''.
''Uncaria guianensis'' contains many phytochemica ...
''.
[''Uncaria'' In: Index Nominum Genericorum. In: ]Regnum Vegetabile
The International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) is an organization established to promote an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitate international communication of research between botanists, and oversee matters of uniformity and ...
(see ''External links'' below).
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n Gambier (''
U. gambir'') 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
''Uncaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 40 species.''Uncaria'' At: World Checklist of Rubiaceae At: Kew Gardens Website. (see ''External links'' below). Their distribution is pantropical, with most spec ...
'' is common in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
''Uncaria'' was
named in 1789 by
Johann von Schreber in his ''Genera Plantarum'' edition 8
(not to be confused with books of the same title by
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
,
Jussieu, and others).
[''Uncaria'' in International Plant Names Index. (see ''External links'' below).][Johann Schreber. 1789. Gen. Pl., ed. 8 (Genera Plantarum Eorumque Characteres Naturales Secundum Numerum, Figuram, Situm, & Proportionem Omnium Fructificationis Partium. (Ed. 8 ). volume 1, page 125. Frankfurt am Main, Germany(see ''External links'' below).] The
genus name
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
is
derived
Derive may refer to:
* Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments
* ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism
*Dérive, a psychogeographical concept
See also
*
*Derivation (disambiguatio ...
from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word ''uncus'', meaning "a hook".
[Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume IV. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC;, USA. London, UK. (set).] It refers to the hooks, formed from reduced branches, that ''Uncaria''
vine
A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...
s use to cling to other vegetation.
''Uncaria'' is a member of the
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
Naucleeae
Naucleeae is a tribe of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae and contains about 183 species in 24 genera. Species belonging to Naucleeae occur from Australasia, tropical Asia, Madagascar, tropical Africa, and to the Neotropics and North Amer ...
, but its
position
Position often refers to:
* Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity
* Position, a job or occupation
Position may also refer to:
Games and recreation
* Position (poker), location relative to the dealer
* ...
within that tribe remains unresolved.
Description
Woody
lianas
A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...
; climbing by hooks formed from reduced, modified branches.
Stipules
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
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
The following species list may be incomplete or contain
synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
.
Uses
Diplomat
Edmund Roberts noted that, upon his visit to China in the 1830s, Chinese were using ''U. gambir'' for
tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
, and noted that the ''U. gambir'' made "leather porous and rotten." He also noted that Chinese would chew it with
areca nut
''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name u ...
.
The plant
extract
An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures, absolutes or in powder form.
The aromatic principles of many spices, nuts, h ...
contains some 150 identified
phytochemical
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...
s, including
catechin
Catechin is a flavan-3-ol, a type of secondary metabolite providing antioxidant roles in plants. It belongs to the subgroup of polyphenols called flavonoids.
The name of the catechin chemical family derives from ''catechu'', which is the tannic ...
s,
proanthocyanins, and
chalcone
Chalcone is the organic compound C6H5C(O)CH=CHC6H5. It is an α,β-unsaturated ketone. A variety of important biological compounds are known collectively as chalcones or chalconoids.
Chemical properties
Chalcones have two absorption maxima a ...
-
flavan-3-ol
Flavan-3-ols (sometimes referred to as flavanols) are a subgroup of flavonoids. They are derivatives of flavans that possess a 2-phenyl-3,4-dihydro-2''H''-chromen-3-ol skeleton. Flavan-3-ols are structurally diverse and include a range of compo ...
dimer
Dimer may refer to:
* Dimer (chemistry), a chemical structure formed from two similar sub-units
** Protein dimer, a protein quaternary structure
** d-dimer
* Dimer model, an item in statistical mechanics, based on ''domino tiling''
* Julius Dimer ( ...
s, called gambiriins.
Cat's claw (''U. tomentosa'') and the Chinese ''Uncaria'' species are used in
traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
, 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
An adverse effect is an undesired harmful effect resulting from a medication or other intervention, such as surgery. An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. The term complica ...
may include nausea
Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...
, diarrhea
Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...
, upset stomach, and an increased risk of bleeding if used with an anticoagulant
Anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners, are chemical substances that prevent or reduce coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some of them occur naturally in blood-eating animals such as leeches and mosquitoes, where the ...
drug.[
]
References
External links
Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Uncaria''
Search ''Uncaria'', Royal Botanic Gardens, KewScience
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1989596
Rubiaceae genera
Medicinal plants
Pantropical flora