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Scientists work to save Africa's endangered devil's claw
Scientists from UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) are joining forces with colleagues from the University of Namibia to resolve the problem of the endangered medicinal plant Harpagophytum procumbens, better known as devil's claw.
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| Devil's claw tuber is used to treat rheumatism and other degenerative ailments. |
Devil’s claw grows in the dry southern African regions of Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. The medicinal ingredients, which are used to treat rheumatism and other degenerative ailments, are found in the tubers, large quantities of which are harvested each year and exported, mainly to Germany, where they are processed into drugs.
Excessive harvesting of the devil’s claw tubers, especially close to settled areas, has led to severe depletion of the valuable resource and prompted creation of the Devil’s Claw Working Group (DCWG) by Namibia's Ministry of Agriculture.
Last May, the National Agricultural Support Services (NASSP) organized a national workshop to discuss the threat to the devil’s claw and to find out how research could contribute to the sustainable management of the species. One outcome of the workshop was the decision to investigate the possibility of domesticating the plant.
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Following this national workshop, scientists from the University of Namibia under the leadership of Prof. Osmund D. Mwandemele,
a member of the UNU-INRA College of Research Associates, developed a proposal for joint research with scientists from UNU-INRA
on how the plant can be cultivated and managed.
Experiments to overcome seed dormancy and propagation difficulties are
ongoing. After one year of tests, preliminary results show that the potential exists for large-scale propagation of
devil’s claw through tissue culture or micro-propagation by inducing non-zygotic (somatic) embryos. Future work will include induction of callus formation using explants obtained from roots, stems and leaves.
Many limited-resource farmers depend on the export of devil’s claw tubers for income. The ultimate objective is to be able to develop technologies that would enable these farmers to maintain and improve their lifestyles without wiping out the devil’s claw.
© 2004 United Nations University