Hispanic Heritage Month: Cat's Claw, Amazon Vine of Peru

A vine in Junín has been guarded for centuries.

Cat's claw, or uña de gato, climbs the rainforest canopy of central Peru with hooked thorns that look like tiny claws. The Asháninka people, one of the largest Indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon, have used its bark for generations. During National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15, this plant deserves a proper introduction.

The vine and the people who know it

Cat's claw is Uncaria tomentosa, a woody vine native to the Amazon basin. It grows in the rainforests of Peru, including the regions of Junín, Pasco, and Ucayali, where the Asháninka live. Many accounts describe the Asháninka as the people with the longest recorded history of using the plant.

Traditional use centers on the bark and the root. Healers prepare it as a decoction, meaning it is simmered in water for a while. Families keep the knowledge within the community, and outsiders learned of it mostly in the last century. That is worth remembering when we talk about the plant. The knowledge belongs to people, not only to a lab.

What tradition says

In Peruvian traditional use, cat's claw is taken for joint aches, digestive complaints, and general resilience. People also drink it during seasonal changes, when they want to feel steady. None of that is a medical claim. It is what the tradition reports, and we pass it along as that.

What the research says

Cat's claw has real scientific interest. A 2024 systematic review in a peer-reviewed journal pulled together animal studies of Uncaria tomentosa extracts and looked at their effect on markers of inflammation. The authors screened 523 studies and included 24 that met their standards.

The plant contains oxindole alkaloids, tannins, and polyphenols, and lab work suggests some of them influence immune signaling. That is promising. It is also early. Most of the evidence comes from animals and cells, not from large studies in people, and the results depend heavily on how the extract was made. A cup of tea is a much gentler thing than a concentrated extract.

Bark tea, the traditional way

The classic approach is a slow simmer, not a quick steep. The bark is tough and needs time.

1. Add 1 tea bag, or 1 teaspoon of bark, to 8 ounces of cold water in a small pot.
2. Bring it to a gentle boil.
3. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Longer than that can make it bitter.
4. Strain into a mug and let it cool slightly.

The taste is earthy and woody, with a mild bitterness that some people compare to weak black tea. A little honey or a slice of orange softens it. Most people drink one cup a day.

Tea bags make this easier on a weeknight. The bark is already cut fine, so the simmer can stay on the short end. If the cup tastes too woody for you, try a shorter simmer the next time and add a little more honey. Small tweaks like that matter more than any exact rule.

A heritage month habit worth trying

• Learn where the plant grows and who first used it before you brew it.
• Share a cup with family and pass along what you read.
• Buy from sources that state where the herb comes from and how it was harvested.

Our immune support collection has other Peruvian herbs used in the same spirit, including mucura, another Amazon plant.

The harvest question

Cat's claw grows wild, and demand has raised concerns about over-harvesting in some areas. Sustainable harvesting takes only part of the bark and lets the vine regrow. When you shop for any wild-grown herb, look for clear sourcing and ask questions. It is a fair thing to expect.

Cautions

• Pregnant or breastfeeding? Skip it unless your doctor says otherwise.
• Cat's claw may affect the immune system. If you take immune-suppressing drugs, or have an autoimmune condition or a transplant, talk to your doctor first.
• It may also interact with blood thinners and blood pressure medicine, so check with a pharmacist.
• Stop if you notice dizziness, nausea, or a rash.

If you are planning surgery, ask your care team when to stop taking it.

Why it belongs in this month

Heritage months are a good excuse to look past the label and ask where a tradition comes from. Cat's claw is a small piece of a much bigger story: the Indigenous communities of the Peruvian Amazon who kept this knowledge long before anyone wrote it down. A single cup will not tell that whole story. It can, though, be a good place to start reading.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This article is for education and is not medical advice.