Introduction

It is certainly commonplace now in society to check with various internet sites (WebMD etc.) when dealing with health issues, unfamiliar ingredients, diet and how they all intersect. Often they can be helpful, but at times they are a collage of misinformation, misperceptions , errors and speculation. As I am the scientist who spent a lot of time in the Amazon Rainforest and whose discoveries as to how Cat’s claw works led to an Innovation Award at the NIH, let me help guide you through this.


Who Writes These Articles

The authors are not noted, as they may be several individuals as the public contributes. Rarely is it the scientists who did the research. Often the authors are pharmacists or related healthcare providers but again, not the scientists that did the research.  Certainly, MDs and clinics contribute but even these can be peripherally associated.


Estrogen


There is misinformation on various sites that Cat’s claw lowers estrogen levels. That is not true. 


One way to check on the literature is PubMed (biomedical library). If you use search terms of Cat’s claw and estrogen you get no hits https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=cat%27s+claw+and+estrogen


If you use the botanical name – you get one article that has no abstract, in a journal that cannot be accessed and dates back 25 years. Scientifically it is without meaning.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9836266/


This interest may be driven this may be the positive reactions in menopausal women with cat’s claw. However, note that there are ZERO studies to support these anecdotes. 


However, my research has shown that cat’s claw can elevate the production of IGF-1, which is a hormone that is involved in reproductive health as well as bone and tissue repair. Like estrogen and progesterone, IGF-1 declines with age as does Growth Hormone which works via local stimulation of IGF-1. 

https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-6-13 


Most likely these anecdotes will be explained by this mechanism of action, but further proof is required.