The Discovery of Percepta®
The Discovery of Percepta®
The Discovery of
Percepta
The Cat’s claw ingredient was found to be a potent inhibitor and disrupter of brain “plaques”
The Cat’s claw ingredient was found to be a potent inhibitor and disrupter of brain plaques
The Cat’s claw ingredient was found to be a potent inhibitor and disrupter of brain “plaques”
The cat’s claw ingredient was found to be a potent inhibitor and disrupter of brain “plaques”
Cat’s claw
Cat’s claw is an ancient plant extract used for centuries by Peruvian tribes for immune support
In the early 2000’s, while a Research Associate Professor of Pathology at University of Washington, Dr. Alan Snow and his world-class research teams went on a screening expedition after they developed a proprietary assay to identify the most potent inhibitors/reducers of brain plaques. They screened many dietary supplements that were available in the marketplace for human consumption at the time, looking for a natural inhibitor and reducer of brain plaques (that accumulate in the normal aging brain).
Brain plaques, and then later tangles, were the two main culprits identified to be the actual cause of normal memory loss as one gets older. The Snow neuroscience team, while at the University of Washington, identified an ancient plant extract known as Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s claw) that was used for centuries by the Peruvian tribes for immune support and enhancement (1-2) The Cat’s claw ingredient was found to be a potent inhibitor and disrupter of brain plaques (that consisted of a protein called “beta-amyloid protein”)(3-5). The Snow research teams spent years screening different sources to identify the specific, proprietary Cat’s claw that produces the most potent activity against brain plaques: PTI-00703® Cat’s claw (4-6).
Dr. Snow and his research teams have now identified the specific and newly discovered polyphenol ingredients within PTI-00703® Cat’s claw that are responsible for the potent activity that they first identified. These ingredients and the exact mechanism of action of how this amazing plant extract works to reduce brain plaque load and improve memory was recently published in a landmark 108-page paper by Snow et al on Feb 6, 2019 in Nature - Scientific Reports by Snow et al (7).
Cat’s claw is named for its distinctive claw-like thorns
PTI-00703® Cat’s claw is a proprietary aqueous extract obtained from the Peruvian rain forest woody vine (also known as Uncaria tomentosa or Uña de gato). This slow-growing woody vine is indigenous to the Amazon rain forest and other tropical areas of South and Central America.
It is referred to as Cat’s claw due to its distinctive claw-like thorns, which project from the base of its leaves. The plant, Uncaria tomentosa can take up to 20 years to reach maturity and can grow 100 feet in length as it attaches and wraps around itself and the native trees. Both the bark and the roots of this vine have been used historically by the Aquerana, Ashaninka, Cashibo, Conibo and Shipibo tribes of Peru as a medicinal plant (8). Cat’s claw is a member of the plant family Rubiaceae, genus Uncaria that consists of at least 34 different species found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America. The two South American species are Uncaria guanensis, a lower altitude shrub, and Uncaria tomentosa, a higher altitude woody vine found particularly in Peru (8).
It is the inner bark that is harvested of the plant and used for as PTI-00703® Cat’s claw, which regrows and therefore does not pillage the rain forest. Uncaria tomentosa is believed to contain beneficial phytochemicals including oxindole alkaloids (1-9), quinovic acid glycosides (10), flavonoids (11-12), triterpines (13), and the plant sterols beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol (13). Uncaria tomentosa also has anti-oxidant properties, a desired characteristic optimal for combating free radicals (8).
PTI-00703® Cat’s claw vs. Cat’s claw in Other Brain Health Supplement Products
TI-00703® Cat’s claw vs. Cat’s claw in Other Brain Health Supplement Products
How and where (what region of the world) Cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa) is isolated is most important to understanding its efficacy for brain health, memory, cognition, focus and its ability to reduce brain plaques and tangles. No one in the world has studied this concept more than Dr. Alan Snow, when he first made these discoveries in the early 1990’s.
The real actual cause of memory loss is due to the accumulation of brain plaques and tangles as you age, starting in your 20’s (14).
PTI-00703® Cat’s claw, a specifically isolated and concentrated form of Cat’s claw discovered by Snow’s world-class research teams, possesses the most robust activity for reducing/inhibiting brain plaques & tangles associated with normal brain aging. In a recent paper under review by Snow et al (“Comparison of 20 top-selling memory support brain supplements for their effectiveness in reduction and inhibition of brain plaques (beta-amyloid protein) and tangles (tau protein): kep primary targets for memory loss), PTI-00703® Cat’s claw was found to be the most effective Cat’s claw ingredient for reducing/ disaggregating and inhibiting brain plaques and tangles compared to 17 other Cat’s claw extracts in the marketplace today.
By reducing brain plaque load in the brain of humans, it has been show to markedly slow down or even halt the rate of memory decline in memory-impaired people.
Only PTI-00703® Cat’s claw (one of the two major ingredients in Percepta®) has been specifically identified, verified and tested for its role (and the specific phenolic components involved) in reducing and inhibiting brain plaques and tangles in the normal aging brain (7). In fact the Snow research teams who helped discover and invent Percepta® have now demonstrated that specific hydroxyl rich groups on aromatic rings in specific newly discovered Cat’s claw components are responsible for the plaque & tangle reducing activity, and marked improvements in short-term memory and spatial acquisition in “plaque-producing” animal models (7). In fact, the specific phenolic components of Cat’s claw responsible for the potent plaque & tangle in PTI-00703® Cat’s claw have now been deciphered by the Snow research team. The chemistry involved and the mechanism of action is very distinct and not observed (to the same extent) with other Cat’s claw products.
Other Cat’s claw Products
No other brain health or memory support product in the world-wide marketplace contains patented PTI-00703® Cat’s claw or MemorTea®, which are both exclusively produced and sold by Cognitive Clarity Inc. (Edmonds, WA, USA) in Percepta®.
References
1. Reinhard, K.H. Uncaria tomentosa (Wild) D.C.: cat’s claw, una de gato, or saventaro. J. Alter. Compliment. Med. 5:143-151, 1999.
2. Muhammad, I., Khan, I.A., Fisher, N.H., and Fronczek, F.R. Two stereoisomeric pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids from Uncaria tomentosa: uncarine C and uncarine E. Acta Crystallog. C. 57:480-482, 2001.
3. McCurley, D., Castillo, G.M. and Snow A.D. Therapeutic implications of PTI-00703®. Presentation at the 6th International conference, Amsterdam, July 18-23, 1998.
4. Castillo, G.M., Cummings, J.A., and Snow, A.D. Further efficacy of PTI-00703®: A derivative from the amazon rain forest woody vine Uncaria tomentosa (cat’s claw) that is a potent inhibitor of beta-amyloid protein fibrillogenesis. Oral presentation at the 29th Annual Meeting Society for Neuroscience, Miami, Florida, Oct 23-28, 1999.
5. Castillo, G.M., Kirchner, D.A., Yee, A.G., and Snow, A.D. Electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction studies confirm the efficacy of PTI-00703® (Cat’s claw derivative) as a potent inhibitor of beta-amyloid protein fibrillogenesis. Oral Presentation at the World Congress 2000, Washington, DC, July 9-13, 2000.
6. Castillo G.M., Kirschner D.A., Yee A.G., and Snow A.D. Electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction studies further confirm the efficacy of PTI-00703® (Cat’s claw derivative) as a potential inhibitor of beta-amyloid protein fibrillogenesis. The Proceedings of the 7th International Conference, edited by K. Iqbal, S.S. Sisodia, and B. Winblad, John Wiley & Sons, pp. 450-460, 2001.
7. Snow, A.D. et al. The Amazon rain forest plant Uncaria tomentosa (Cat’s claw) and its specific proanthocyanidin constituents are potent inhibitors and reducers of both brain plaques and tangles. Scientific Reports 9:561, 2019.
9. Muhamed, A.F. et al. Effects of Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid and its components on experimental amnesia in mice: elucidation using the passive avoidance test. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 52:1553-1561, 2000.
10. Montoro, P., Carbone, V., Quiroz, J.D., De Simone, F., Pizza, C. Identification and quantification of
components in extracts of Uncaria tomentosa by HPLC-ES/MS. Phytochem. Anal. 15:55-64, 2004.
11. Aquino, R., De Feo, V., De Simone, F., Pizza, C., and Cirino, G. Plant metabolites. New compounds an
anti-inflammatory activity of Uncaria tomentosa. J. Nat. Prod. 54:453-459, 1991.
12. Heitzman, M.E., Neto, C.C., Winiarz, E, Vaisberg, A.J., and Hammond, G.B. Ethnobotany, phytochemistry
and pharmacology of Uncaria (Rubiacecea). Phytochem. 66:5-29, 2005.
13. Aquino, R., De Simone, F., Vincieri, F., Pizza, C., and Gacs-Baitz, E. New polyhydroxylated triterpenes from
Uncaria tomentosa. J. Nat. Prod. 53:559-564, 1990.
14. Baker-Nigh et al. Neuronal amyloid-β accumulation within cholinergic basal forebrain aging. Brain
138:1722-1737, 2015.