Devil's claw as effective as drug in relieving osteoarthritis
pain
A new clinical study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting
the use of devil's claw root (Hapagophytum procumbens)in
osteoarthritis. The double-blind, randomized trial concluded that
devil's claw root was as effective in relieving pain as and safer
than diacerhein (a type of drug known as a symptomatic slow-acting
drug for osteoarthritis, or SYSADOA). The study participants (122
people with active osteoarthritis of the hip or knee) were randomly
assigned to take either six 435 mg capsules of devil's claw powdered
extract plus two placebo capsules, or two 50 mg capsules of diacerhein
plus six placebo capsules for four months. Results showed that
the two treatments were equally effective in relieving spontaneous
pain. However, by the end of the study, significantly fewer people
in the devil's claw group needed to take additional analgesics
for "rescue" pain relief. The frequency of side effects
was also significantly lower among people in the devil's claw
group. The most commonly reported adverse effect was diarrhea,
reported by 8.1% of the devil's claw group and 26.7% of those
who took diacerhein. The devil's claw used in the study was a
French product marketed under the trade name Harpadol®. Chantre
P, Cappelaere A, Leblan D, et al. Efficacy and tolerance of Harpagophytum
procumbens versus diacerhein in treatment of osteoarthritis.
Phytomedicine 2000; 7(3): 177-183.
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