98% of patients being treated with rare Peruvian medicinal plant show clinical improvement
By John Kule, M.D.
Recent advances in the chemical analysis of Cat’s Claw have shed new light on its use as a natural therapeutic agent. Specifically, it has been found that the clinical efficacy increases as the pentacyclic oxindole alkaloid (POA) fraction increases and as the tetracyclic oxindole alkaloid (TOA) content decreases respectively. Samento (Uncaria tomentosa) is a rare form of Cat’s Claw that has been found to be 100% TOA free. It is a wild crafted product of a unique Peruvian rain forest microclimate that so far has been found to be most effective in its most minimally processed form.
At a Samento Conference held May 10, 2002 in Florida , Brian Lamb, medical herbalist from Scotland , reported that 100% of the terminally ill patients he is treating with Samento are showing remarkable clinical improvement. An historical review of the scientific literature on Uncaria tomentosa was presented by Jerry Schlesser, ND, DC, CNS (bibliography available.) Professor. Henk Oswald, MD, PhD, expounded on his experience of the use of Samento in the treatment of cancer. And Michael Coyle demonstrated Samento’s use as an antimicrobial agent. This paper will explore the use of Samento in the primary care setting.
All patients were seen and treated at the East Aiken Health Center in Aiken , South Carolina . The background of the patient population is diverse. Aiken is located in rural South Carolina , but has long been a winter training center for thoroughbred and standard bred racehorses. Fall, winter, and spring also see an influx of hunter/jumpers, 3-day eventers and polo players, and golfers. Local industry includes the Savannah River Nuclear Site, so the town has an unusually large engineering and managerial class.
The East Aiken Health Center is an integrative health care clinic. General and family medicine are practiced, as well as several modalities of alternative medicine. The local hospital supplies most of our standard diagnostic testing with more specialized testing available at the Medical College of Georgia located in Augusta , Georgia , approximately 30 miles distance. In-house we use an extended history and physical, scalar technology, applied kinesiology, and live cell microscopy. In the future we would like to add on heart rate variability and biological ionization testing.
The dosing schedule used in all cases, unless otherwise stated, was three 600mg per oral capsules of Samento twice a day for 10 days. Thereafter dosage was decreased to two 600mg capsules twice a day. Samento was taken on an empty stomach, by itself. Other supplementation (vitamins/minerals) was taken with meals. Concurrent usage of other herbs was discouraged as it was felt that other herbs might contain alkaloids with a blocking effect similar to the tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids (TOAs.)
Beginning in March 2002 and continuing to date, over 60 patients have been treated with Samento. Conditions treated include:
Out of the over 60 patients, only one has failed to show clinical improvement so far. x Several case studies have been selected, and are presented hopefully to illustrate the amazing scope of illnesses that are being successfully treated with Samento at our clinic.
BK, 48 year old white male, recently diagnosed with incipient cirrhosis of the liver. Patient has a history of light alcoholic consumption but at time of exam was under much personal and professional stress and was experiencing acute flare up of Epstein Barr, herpes simplex, and systemic yeast. Physical findings were significant for fatigue, weight loss, pale appearance, decreased urinary stream, and moderately tender liver of normal size. This patient began Samento one capsule twice a day and then moved up to two capsules twice a day. Patient was also placed on a yeast-free diet, AA supplementation, and severe nocturnal cramping was alleviated with calcium supplementation and a multivitamin/mineral supplement. The patient experienced almost immediate increase energy, increased sense of well-being, and increased mental clarity. A mild diuretic effect was well tolerated as the urinary stream normalized within 3 to 5 days. The patient also experienced several healing crises which included liver tenderness, bowel inflammation at several sites, hemorrhoidal and fissure inflammation followed by normalization. The patient continues to improve on one per oral twice a day.
PK, 56-year-old white female, who since 1998 has suffered neuralgia-like pain and burning sensations in the oral mucosa. Also night sweats, chronic muscle and joint pain, fatigue, short-term memory loss, and visual blurring (“seems my eyeglasses are dirty when they are clean.”) Occult dental infection was corrected with oral surgery and a combination of oral penicillin and clindamycin. Symptomatic relief lasted several weeks after which the dental/oral facial neuralgia returned. The patient subsequently was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease by fluorescing antibody. Colloidal silver (MSP) was initiated along with homeopathic Ledum, resulting in partial relief of symptoms. Samento was added to the above regimen and increased the patient’s symptomatic relief to approximately 95%.
FC, 75 year old white male, with a long history of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, and depression. Chronic worsening symptoms of fatigue, muscle soreness, and cognitive loss (“I just can’t think clearly”) had rendered the patient almost housebound. Domestic support is minimal as the patient is married to a sedentary chain smoker little interested in her own health problems and who ridicules the patient’s search for health in the alternative medical field. The patient also suffers insomnia, which could more rightly be described as a loss of circadian rhythm as the patient is unable to fall asleep at night, then chronically is unable to awaken in the mornings. The patient takes Xanax, cytomel, Allegra, Humulin R and N. Treatment with Nutri-Spec diphasic supplementation designed to help restore a more normal diurnal rhythm met with limited success. The addition of Samento resulted in a marked improvement in the patient’s energy level, sense of well-being, increased daily activity, and improved cognitive functioning.
In these cases and others, what we have consistently noted so far can be summarized as the following positive clinical findings:
Current studies are under way but this finding appears to be related to the anticoagulant properties of Samento. Those patients suffering from chronic cold hand and feet seem to make the most gain here. Also to be explored would be a positive effect on infertility, especially when coupled with Peruvian Maca.
In conclusion, as the several case studies illustrate, Samento has proven in our clinic to be a safe natural remedy with a wide range of therapeutic efficacy. To date our patients continue to show remarkable clinical improvement. As our experience and confidence with the use of Samento grows, we are applying Samento to an expanding list of clinical illnesses.
Dr. John Kule is Director of the East Aiken Health Center in Aiken , South Carolina . He is a graduate of La Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Columbia and did specialty training in Family Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston . Prior to medical school Dr. Kule did masters and postmasters studies in Biomedicine/Biology of Aging at Drexel University in Philadelphia . Dr. Kule is also a practicing craniosacral therapist having trained at the Upledger Brain and Spinal Cord Center.
“Regarding our use of the product Samento – the calibration we use to evaluate the product was developed by David Hawkins, MD and explained in the book Power vs Force by the same author. The scale is from 0 to 1000 and Samento tested at 800, the highest product we have tested to date.”
For more information about this product contact: Craig Klawuhn [craig@nutramedix.com]