Report 1 of 5: Cat's Claw - Peru

Introduction

For centuries, the Aguaruna people living in the Peruvian Amazon have used natural forest medicines as a cure for diseases and illnesses. Historically, one of the most important medicinal plants in Peru is the Cinchona, commonly known as quina or cascarilla¹, which has been used since pre-hispanic times as a cure for different illnesses. Jesuit Missionaries introduced this natural medicine into Europe around 1640 as a cure for malaria and it became one of the most important export products in the Peruvian Amazon between 1880 and 1990. Nevertheless, the Peruvian presence in the market decreased as competitors appeared in the market and quinina² started to be processed in laboratories. Quina trees started to lose importance and the old forests that produced the famous bark were used as coffee or cocoa cultivation sites. Today, in Peru the quina species is almost extinct.

Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), an international development agency, is working with the Aguaruna people on a micro enterprise scheme to encourage a revival in the use of medicinal forest plants without harming the forest and repeating the fate of the Quina.

Cat’s claw

‘Ajagke’ is a climbing or twisting plant of the tropical forest in Peru. It is found in all the indigenous communities of the Alto Mayo where it is known as ‘garabato’. In Lima, it is called ‘cat’s claw’ or ‘uña de gato’. Two species are especially prominent - one with long thorns and the other with coiled thorns. Traditionally, cat’s claw is used as a medicine.

Cat’s claw is usually sold as dried bark or powder although it can also be sold as tablets, sweets, capsules and syrup, crushed, freeze-dried or in filter bags. The demand for the roots and leaves of the cat’s claw plant has recently begun but it is still not as high as the demand for the bark. The bark is processed by cutting pieces from the climbing stems of the cat’s claw plant and stripping them. The bark is cleaned and cut into 10 centimetre strips before it is dried and bagged. The dried bark can then be ground in a corn mill to make powdered cat’s claw.

In order to sell the processed cat’s claw, stringent botanical and chemical practices must be adhered to and a forest permit is required to show that the cat’s claw has not been stolen. It can be sold to storehouses, laboratories, exporters, private shops or directly to the consumer. Around 700 tonnes of cat’s claw are sold each year in Peru and about 100 tonnes are exported every month. Prices vary substantially between the local communities where the cost is about US$0.50 per kilo and in Lima, where the cost is between US$1 and US$12 per kilo depending upon the amount being bought.

There are favourable prospects for the exportation of cat’s claw because of its curative, therapeutic and preventative properties which have been recognised by scientists throughout the world. The native people living in the Peruvian jungle have used this plant to cure different diseases and afflictions. The boiled or macerated bark has been used to cure athritis and as an anti-rheumatic and anti-inflammatory medicine. It has even been advertised as a cure for cancer and AIDS³.

A novel application of medicinal plants is as a food supplement, in particular in those species that have antioxidants or restorative properties. Cat’s claw is an excellent food supplement. It can be used directly as an infusion or prepared as an ingredient in drinks, candies and nectars.

Sangre de grado

During the last few years, there has also been a growing demand for Croton lechleri, more commonly known as ‘sangre de grado’ or locally as ‘ujushnum’. This is a small tree with heart shaped leaves which generally grows in open areas where there is plenty of sun. When the stem is cut, it exudes a red, bitter tasting liquid. It is a medicinal plant that contains a chemical compound called ‘taspina’ which is used for healing wounds and scars, and curing stomach upsets and ulcers.

Sangre de grado is sold either as a liquid, just as it comes out of the tree, or the bark can be sold. The liquid is extracted by making a spiral or ‘v’ shaped cuts with a scraper and collecting it into a container.

The production of medicinal plants

An important aspect of the modern production of medicinal plants is sustainability. ITDG has been working in the development of appropriate technologies for proper forestry management which will allow communities to incorporate medicinal plants into their family life.

The processing of medicinal plants brings new potential for generating employment as well as income in both rural and urban areas. In the rural areas, it is particularly important to organise enterprises responsible for the management of forests and small plants after harvesting. The development of packed and primary transformation products will bring new sources of income and a revaluation of forests. In the urban areas, medicinal plant products create an opportunity for development and growth of micro-enterprises, with only a small investment and the use of appropriate technologies.
 

Experiences of the indigenous people in the processing of medicinal plants For many centuries the Aguaruna people have lived by using the many natural resources existing within their communities, and in particular within the forest. They have more knowledge than anyone about these resources and their uses. They can benefit from them directly by producing them in a marketable way and ensuring that they do not exhaust the supply of them. Bajo Naranjillo is a native community populated by the Aguarunas. The community is located in the tropical forests of the San Martin Estate in Peru. Since 1998, ITDG has supported the efforts of the natives to take advantage of the forest resources in an appropriate way. The community has gathered together and established a productive reservoir in the forests. A group from the community was been chosen to manage the trade and transformation of the forests.  Luciano Majuash is a young Aguaruna in the group. He had no land to work, but much aptitude to learn. With the support of the project, Luciano has been trained in the production and sale of medicinal plants. He started with no working capital but through organising a series of activities, such as local fairs, he managed to make some profit. He now benefits from monthly sales of US$300 with a profitability of 30%, which represents around US$100 in profits. The business has grown thanks to the initiatives of Luciano and others like him. The market is mainly local but there is an interest for the product in nearby cities.

The business experience with medicinal plants is opening new horizons for the Aguaruna people, who, for the first time, have traded products manufactured locally:

• Confectionery products, for example, boiled sweets, filled sweets, chewing gum, marshmallows and toffees etc.

• Products enriched with ‘uña de gato’ extract, for example, honey with extract and fruit nectar with extract.

• Capsules and pills

• Diluted extracts

• Syrups

• Liqueurs

• Dyes

For further information, please contact:
 

Jorge Elliot ITDG Peru Casilla Postal 18-0620 Lima 18 Peru Tel: +511 446 7324 / 444 7055 / 447 5127 ITDG Direct Line: +511 242 9714  Fax: +511 446 6621 E-mail: postmaster@itdg.org.pe Website: http://www.itdg.org/

This information was taken from an article originally produced for Food Chain, the international journal for small-scale food processing, and written by Jorge Elliot, who is a Forest Engineer, and Chief of the Conservation and Community Management of Tropical Forests in the Alto Mayo Region of Peru.

This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the DFID.

Further reading available from ITDG Development Bookshop

Timothy M. Swanson
Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Values of Medicinal Plants
The urgent need to ensure the conservation of biological diversity is now widely recognised, but practical measures to protect endangered species and habitats are still carried out on a small-scale and generally limited to developed countries. This volume provides a detailed analysis of the economic and scientific rationales for biodiversity conservation. It discusses the justification for, and implementation of, intellectual property rights regimes as incentive systems to encourage conservation. An interdisciplinary approach is used in the book, encompassing fields of study that include evolutionary biology, chemistry, economics and legal studies. The arguments are presented using the case study of the use of medicinal plants in the pharmaceutical industry. The book will be of interest and relevance to a broad spectrum of conservationists, from research students to policy makers.
£15.95 1998 PB Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521635802

Constance M. McCorkle, Evelyn Mathias, and Tjaart W. Schillhorn van Veen
Ethnoveterinary Research & Decvelopment
Livestock raisers and healers throughout the world have traditional ways of classifying and preventing or treating common animal diseases. Many of their "ethnoveterinary" practices offer viable alternatives to conventional Western-style veterinary medicine, especially where the latter is unavailable, unaffordable, unreliable, or inappropriate. This highly interdisciplinary and international volume provides a critical-analytic overview of the many facets and findings of ethnoveterinary research and development. From socio-cultural, political-economic, and environmental as well as biomedical viewpoints, the book presents reviews and case studies of traditional veterinary knowledge and practice, along with historical perspectives, theoretical discussions, and research methodologies. The 23 chapters span 10 major species of animal domesticates raised by more than 80 ethnic groups in some 40 nations of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, covering nearly 100 diseases and more than 300 medicinal plants and other traditional materia medica used to treat them.

The volume is designed to provide researchers, development professionals and policymakers working in agriculture and rural development with insights, ideas and approaches to the subject plus its practical applications in agriculture, environment, human health and still other sectors. At a larger level, the anthology exemplifies the many potential benefits, for people everywhere, of systematically studying and building upon such rich bodies of ‘ethno-science’ as that embodied in local/traditional veterinary medicine.
£19.95 1996 PB ITP ISBN 1853393266

TVE/ Practical Action gratefully acknowledge support for the HANDS ON programmes from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the UN Foundation and UNDP/The Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Government of Canada, IDRC, IUCN, BrasilConnects and the Nature Conservancy.