Devil's Club

What Is Devil’s Club?

Devil’s club is a large, spiny shrub of the wet forests of the Pacific Northwest, and one of the most important medicines of the region’s Indigenous peoples. Its root and stem bark have been used for colds, fevers, infections, wounds, arthritis and diabetes, and the plant holds a spiritual place as well as a medicinal one ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

Oplopanax horridus belongs to the ginseng family, Araliaceae. It grows 1–3 m tall along shaded streambanks and in old-growth forest from Alaska to Oregon, and its stems and leaf veins are covered in sharp spines ^{1,28Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 28Klinkenberg B (ed.) · 2020Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) — species description, habitat and range — [flora]View study →}.

The root bark carries a group of fatty, highly unsaturated compounds called polyynes, chief among them falcarindiol. Research has looked mainly at their activity against cancer cells and against the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, all in the laboratory and in mice ^{1,3,9Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 3Kobaisy M et al. · 1997In vitroAntimycobacterial polyynes of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus), a North American native medicinal plant — [in vitro]View study →Reference 9Wang CZ et al. · 2013AnimalIdentification of potential anticancer compounds from Oplopanax horridus — [in vivo xenograft]View study →}.

It has been sold as “Alaskan ginseng”, but it is not a Panax ginseng, and that marketing name is no longer allowed in the United States ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

How Is Devil’s Club Used?

Devil’s club is taken as a preparation of the root bark or the inner bark of the stem.

• Tincture — a 1:5 tincture of the root or stem bark, 2–4 mL three times daily, is the usual preparation in Western herbal practice.
• Decoction or infusion — the traditional Indigenous preparation, simmering or steeping the inner bark or root in water ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.
• Applied to wounds — the heated inner bark is bandaged onto a wound, or the bark is chewed and placed on it ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

Traditional Uses

Pacific Northwest Indigenous Medicine

Devil’s club has been used for centuries by the peoples of Alaska and British Columbia, both spiritually and as medicine. Across more than 38 language groups it has been recorded for 34 different ailments ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

A decoction of the root or stem bark is drunk for colds, fever, sore throats, swollen glands, body pains, stomach trouble, constipation, burns and tuberculosis. Alaska Native peoples of the southeast coast, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, Kenai, Prince William Sound and the Tanana Valley use the inner bark for colds, coughs and fever ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

The inner bark of the root and stem is applied to wounds to stop infection and reduce swelling. It is either heated and bandaged onto the wound, or chewed and spat onto it as an emergency painkiller and antiseptic ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

The inner bark and root are also taken for diabetes and arthritis, the leaves for arthritis, and the berries as a paste for stomach complaints ^{1,6Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 6Tai J et al. · 2006In vitroIn vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →}.

Western Herbal Medicine

Western herbal practice in North America took up devil’s club from Indigenous use. Extracts are sold for coughs and chest complaints, arthritis, autoimmune conditions, eczema, type 2 diabetes and infections ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

Herbalists use a 1:5 tincture of the root or stem bark as a general tonic.

Indications

• Colds, coughs and fever [inner bark, root; Pacific Northwest Indigenous use]
• Tuberculosis [root and stem bark decoction; Pacific Northwest Indigenous use]
• Wounds and skin infections [inner bark, applied; Pacific Northwest Indigenous use]
• Arthritis and body pain [root, inner bark, leaf; Pacific Northwest Indigenous use]
• Stomach trouble and constipation [root and stem bark; Pacific Northwest Indigenous use]
• Diabetes [root, inner bark; Pacific Northwest Indigenous use] ⚠Caution: The one human test, a 1990 pilot in which four people drank devil’s club tea, found no lowering of blood sugar ¹⁹.
• General tonic [root and stem bark tincture; Western herbal medicine]

Botany

Devil’s club is a tall deciduous shrub in the ginseng family (Araliaceae) ^{28,29Reference 28Klinkenberg B (ed.) · 2020Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) — species description, habitat and range — [flora]View study →Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}. It usually grows 1–3 m tall, and in undisturbed rainforest it can reach 3–5 m ^{1,28Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 28Klinkenberg B (ed.) · 2020Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) — species description, habitat and range — [flora]View study →}.

Its stems are thick, soft-wooded and sparsely branched. They are armed with dense yellow spines 5–10 mm long ^{28,29Reference 28Klinkenberg B (ed.) · 2020Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) — species description, habitat and range — [flora]View study →Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}.

The leaves are very large, 10–35 cm across, and palmately lobed like a maple leaf, with seven to nine shallow lobes and a heart-shaped base ^{28Reference 28Klinkenberg B (ed.) · 2020Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) — species description, habitat and range — [flora]View study →}. Spines run along the veins on both surfaces ^{1,29Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}.

The small greenish-white flowers grow in small, rounded umbels, grouped into an upright cluster up to 25 cm long ^{28Reference 28Klinkenberg B (ed.) · 2020Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) — species description, habitat and range — [flora]View study →}. They open from late spring to midsummer ^{29Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}.

The fruits are bright red berries, 5–8 mm across, each holding two or three seeds ^{28Reference 28Klinkenberg B (ed.) · 2020Oplopanax horridus (devil’s club) — species description, habitat and range — [flora]View study →}. They ripen about four weeks after flowering and hang on the plant through the winter ^{29Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}.

Besides seed, it spreads vegetatively, possibly by layering or by rhizomes ^{29Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}.

Distribution

Devil’s club grows from south-central Alaska and the southwestern Yukon south along the Pacific coast and the western slopes of the Cascades to southern Oregon, and east to Idaho and western Montana. Small outlying populations grow on islands in northern Lake Superior, including Isle Royale in Michigan and several islands in Ontario ^{29Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}.

It is a plant of wet, shaded ground. It grows along streams and springs, in seepage areas and in the understorey of mature and old-growth forests of western redcedar, western hemlock and Sitka spruce, from sea level to about 1,500 m ^{29Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}. The related Asian plant is treated as a separate species, Oplopanax elatus ^{29Reference 29Howard JL · 1993Oplopanax horridus, devilsclub — distribution, site characteristics and botanical description — [species database]View study →}.

Sourcing: devil’s club grows slowly, takes many years to set seed and is sensitive to disturbance ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}. The medicine is its root and bark, so gathering it takes parts the plant is slow to replace. When buying the bark, it is worth asking where it came from and how it was gathered.

Growing Conditions

Cultivation snapshot for Devil's Club

LifeperennialZoneUSDA 5–9

• Deep or partial shade — a forest-understory plant that resents full sun.
• Consistently moist, rich, humus-heavy soil; it naturally grows along streambanks and in wet gullies.
• Cool, humid conditions; well suited to the maritime Pacific Northwest rather than hot, dry climates.
• Slow to establish and best propagated from stem cuttings or fresh seed; handle with heavy gloves because of the spines.

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Pharmacology & Research

Devil’s club has around two dozen primary studies. Almost all are chemical analyses or laboratory work built around the polyynes of the root and stem bark: falcarindiol, oplopandiol, falcarinol and oplopantriol A ^{1,2Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 2Calway T et al. · 2012ReviewChemical and pharmacological studies of Oplopanax horridus, a North American botanical — [review]View study →}.

The largest body of work is on cancer cells. Extracts and isolated polyynes slow the growth of many human cancer cell lines, and two of the compounds have also slowed tumour growth in mice ^{9,10,17Reference 9Wang CZ et al. · 2013AnimalIdentification of potential anticancer compounds from Oplopanax horridus — [in vivo xenograft]View study →Reference 10Zhang Z et al. · 2014AnimalChemopreventive effects of oplopantriol A, a novel compound isolated from Oplopanax horridus, on colorectal cancer — [in vivo xenograft]View study →Reference 17McGill CM et al. · 2014AnimalExtracts of Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) exert therapeutic efficacy in experimental models of acute myeloid leukemia — [in vivo murine model]View study →}.

A second line of work is on tuberculosis. The polyynes kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a drug-resistant M. avium in laboratory tests ^{3,27Reference 3Kobaisy M et al. · 1997In vitroAntimycobacterial polyynes of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus), a North American native medicinal plant — [in vitro]View study →Reference 27Inui T et al. · 2010In vitroSesquiterpenes from Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →}.

One small human study has been published: a 1990 pilot that tested devil’s club tea on blood sugar and found no effect ^{19Reference 19Thommasen HV et al. · 1990Effect of Devil’s Club Tea on Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetes Mellitus — [human pilot study]View study →}.

1. Anticancer

Root- and stem-bark extracts of devil’s club inhibit proliferation across a broad panel of human cancer cell lines: leukaemia (K562, HL60), breast (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231/468), ovarian (A2780, OVCAR), colorectal (HCT-116, SW-480, HT-29) and pancreatic (PANC-1, BxPC-3). They typically arrest the cell cycle in the S and G2/M phases and induce apoptosis ^{5,6,7,8,13,14,15,16Reference 5Sun S et al. · 2010In vitroHydrophobic constituents and their potential anticancer activities from Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus Miq.) — [in vitro]View study →Reference 6Tai J et al. · 2006In vitroIn vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →Reference 7Tai J et al. · 2010In vitroInhibition of human ovarian cancer cell lines by devil’s club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →Reference 8Li XL et al. · 2010In vitroEffects of Oplopanax horridus on human colorectal cancer cells — [in vitro]View study →Reference 13Cheung SS et al. · 2015In vitroInhibition of Human Pancreatic Cancer Cell Proliferation by Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus and Its Polyacetylene Bioactive Compound — [in vitro]View study →Reference 14Cheung SSC et al. · 2019In vitroDevil’s Club Falcarinol-Type Polyacetylenes Inhibit Pancreatic Cancer Cell Proliferation — [in vitro]View study →Reference 15Tai J et al. · 2014In vitroHuman ovarian cancer multicellular spheroids: a model for testing antiproliferation activity of Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) and anticancer agents — [in vitro]View study →Reference 16Huang WH et al. · 2014In vitroAnticancer activities of polyynes from the root bark of Oplopanax horridus and their acetylated derivatives — [in vitro]View study →}.

The activity tracks to the falcarinol-type polyynes. Falcarindiol is repeatedly the most potent isolate, and the triol oplopantriol A kills cancer cells through endoplasmic-reticulum stress and the BH3-only proteins Noxa and Bim ^{9,10,11Reference 9Wang CZ et al. · 2013AnimalIdentification of potential anticancer compounds from Oplopanax horridus — [in vivo xenograft]View study →Reference 10Zhang Z et al. · 2014AnimalChemopreventive effects of oplopantriol A, a novel compound isolated from Oplopanax horridus, on colorectal cancer — [in vivo xenograft]View study →Reference 11Jin HR et al. · 2014In vitroAnticancer compound Oplopantriol A kills cancer cells through inducing ER stress and BH3 proteins Bim and Noxa — [in vitro]View study →}.

Two compounds have been tested in animals. Falcarindiol suppressed HCT-116 colon-tumour growth in athymic mice at 15 mg/kg, and oplopantriol A reduced xenograft colon-tumour growth in a dose-related way ^{9,10Reference 9Wang CZ et al. · 2013AnimalIdentification of potential anticancer compounds from Oplopanax horridus — [in vivo xenograft]View study →Reference 10Zhang Z et al. · 2014AnimalChemopreventive effects of oplopantriol A, a novel compound isolated from Oplopanax horridus, on colorectal cancer — [in vivo xenograft]View study →}.

In an immunocompetent mouse model of acute myeloid leukaemia, a 70% ethanol root extract improved survival, lowered regulatory T cells and improved CD8⁺ T-cell function ^{17Reference 17McGill CM et al. · 2014AnimalExtracts of Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) exert therapeutic efficacy in experimental models of acute myeloid leukemia — [in vivo murine model]View study →}.

In cell studies, low, non-toxic doses of the extract enhanced the effect of cisplatin, gemcitabine or paclitaxel in some combinations; in one breast and leukaemia panel, 9 of 19 combinations were additive or synergistic and the rest were antagonistic ^{6,7,12Reference 6Tai J et al. · 2006In vitroIn vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →Reference 7Tai J et al. · 2010In vitroInhibition of human ovarian cancer cell lines by devil’s club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →Reference 12Tai J et al. · 2014In vitroAntiproliferation activity of Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) and anticancer agents on human pancreatic cancer multicellular spheroids — [in vitro]View study →}.

Gap: Every result is preclinical. There is no human trial, no oral-bioavailability or dosing data in people, and the effective in vitro concentrations come from purified compounds or standardised extracts, not the whole-plant tincture.

2. Antioxidant

A 70% ethanol root-bark extract scavenged hydroxyl radicals in a cell-free test ^{6Reference 6Tai J et al. · 2006In vitroIn vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →}. A 2017 study compared ethanol extracts of the leaves, stems and roots and found the leaf extract highest in phenolics and flavonoids and strongest in antioxidant tests ^{18Reference 18Jang M et al. · 2017In vitroAnti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) leaves — [in vitro]View study →}.

The leaves also carry lupane-type triterpenoid saponins that are not found in the root-bark polyyne fraction ^{22Reference 22Liu PP et al. · 2010In vitroNew lupane-type triterpenoid saponins from leaves of Oplopanax horridus (Devil’s Club) — [in vitro]View study →}. Human gut bacteria transform the plant’s constituents extensively, producing 78 metabolites from an extract in one study, so potency in a test tube may not match the effect after swallowing ^{21Reference 21Wang CZ et al. · 2020In vitroHuman intestinal microbiota derived metabolism signature from a North American native botanical Oplopanax horridus with UPLC/Q-TOF-MS analysis — [in vitro]View study →}.

Gap: In vitro only, and the strongest antioxidant data are from the leaves, not the root and stem bark used as medicine. No study has measured an antioxidant effect after oral dosing.

3. Antimicrobial

Five polyynes isolated from devil’s club showed anti-Candida, antibacterial and antimycobacterial activity. They killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis and isoniazid-resistant Mycobacterium avium at 10 µg per disk in a disk-diffusion assay ^{3Reference 3Kobaisy M et al. · 1997In vitroAntimycobacterial polyynes of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus), a North American native medicinal plant — [in vitro]View study →}.

A later study traced the anti-tuberculosis activity of the inner stem bark to oplopandiol and falcarindiol as the main active compounds ^{27Reference 27Inui T et al. · 2010In vitroSesquiterpenes from Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →}.

All of it is laboratory work. There is no whole-extract MIC panel, no animal infection model and no work on the tincture.

4. Anti-Inflammatory

For devil’s club itself, the direct evidence is one study of the leaf extract, which reduced nitric oxide, TNF-α and IL-6 production in stimulated mouse macrophages ^{18Reference 18Jang M et al. · 2017In vitroAnti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) leaves — [in vitro]View study →}. A root-bark extract also lowered nitric oxide production in the same cell type ^{6Reference 6Tai J et al. · 2006In vitroIn vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →}.

The more detailed anti-inflammatory work, on COX-2 and prostaglandin E₂ in macrophages ^{24Reference 24Kwon KS et al. · 2020In vitroInhibitory Mechanisms of Water Extract of Oplopanax elatus on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammatory Responses in RAW 264.7 Murine Macrophage Cells — [in vitro — O. elatus]View study →} and on the NF-κB and MAPK pathways ^{25Reference 25Tian W et al. · 2019In vitroAdventitious root cultures of Oplopanax elatus inhibit LPS-induced inflammation via suppressing MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways — [in vivo/in vitro — O. elatus]View study →}, comes from Oplopanax elatus, a related Asian species.

Gap: Direct O. horridus data are two cell studies, one of them on the leaf.

5. Antiviral

One antiviral screen of 100 British Columbian medicinal plant extracts against seven viruses found that the inner-bark extract of devil’s club partially inhibited respiratory syncytial virus ^{4Reference 4McCutcheon AR et al. · 1995In vitroAntiviral screening of British Columbian medicinal plants — [in vitro]View study →}. No active compound was identified, and the result has not been followed up.

6. Antidiabetic

The one human study was a 1990 pilot. Blood glucose was monitored in a person with insulin-dependent diabetes, a person with newly diagnosed non-insulin-dependent diabetes and two healthy adults while they drank devil’s club tea, and it showed no hypoglycaemic effect ^{19Reference 19Thommasen HV et al. · 1990Effect of Devil’s Club Tea on Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetes Mellitus — [human pilot study]View study →}.

The one positive animal finding is older: a white precipitate isolated from the root bark had a slight blood-sugar-lowering effect in laboratory hares ^{1,20Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 20Smith GW · 1983ReviewArctic pharmacognosia IIView study →}. Three phenolic glycosides from the root bark showed no α-glucosidase-inhibiting activity ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

Gap: The single human test was null ^{19Reference 19Thommasen HV et al. · 1990Effect of Devil’s Club Tea on Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetes Mellitus — [human pilot study]View study →}. There is no controlled human trial and no identified compound responsible for a glucose-lowering effect.

Mechanisms

The polyynes of the root and stem bark are long carbon chains with several triple bonds and one or more hydroxyl groups. In cancer cells they have been studied for arresting the cell cycle and triggering apoptosis, and in bacteria for their antimycobacterial activity ^{3,9,16Reference 3Kobaisy M et al. · 1997In vitroAntimycobacterial polyynes of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus), a North American native medicinal plant — [in vitro]View study →Reference 9Wang CZ et al. · 2013AnimalIdentification of potential anticancer compounds from Oplopanax horridus — [in vivo xenograft]View study →Reference 16Huang WH et al. · 2014In vitroAnticancer activities of polyynes from the root bark of Oplopanax horridus and their acetylated derivatives — [in vitro]View study →}.

The volatile oil of the bark is mostly the sesquiterpene nerolidol, which has been tested alongside the extract in leukaemia cells. It and τ-cadinol showed weaker anticancer activity than the polyynes ^{1,5Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 5Sun S et al. · 2010In vitroHydrophobic constituents and their potential anticancer activities from Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus Miq.) — [in vitro]View study →}.

Clinical Trials

No clinical trial has been registered for devil’s club. The only human data come from one small, uncontrolled pilot on blood glucose from 1990 ^{19Reference 19Thommasen HV et al. · 1990Effect of Devil’s Club Tea on Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetes Mellitus — [human pilot study]View study →}.

Last checked: July 2026.

Phytochemistry

The root bark carries a group of C17 and C18 polyynes (polyacetylenes). Six have been measured: falcarindiol at about 0.26–0.67% of the root bark, oplopandiol acetate at 0.24–0.43%, and oplopantriol A at 0.029–0.15% ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}. Oplopandiol and falcarinol are also present ^{1,5Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →Reference 5Sun S et al. · 2010In vitroHydrophobic constituents and their potential anticancer activities from Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus Miq.) — [in vitro]View study →}.

The polyynes are concentrated in the root bark. They are present in smaller amounts in the stem bark and have not been found in the flowers, berries, leaves or seeds ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

The inner stem bark also contains the lignan sesamin and two nerolidol-derived sesquiterpenes, neroplomacrol and neroplofurol ^{27Reference 27Inui T et al. · 2010In vitroSesquiterpenes from Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]View study →}. The volatile oil is about half (S,E)-nerolidol, with τ-cadinol at about 22% ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}.

The root bark also yields phenylpropanoids, lignan glycosides and sterols including β-sitosterol ^{1Reference 1Wu K et al. · 2018ReviewOplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]View study →}. The leaves carry lupane-type triterpenoid saponins ^{22Reference 22Liu PP et al. · 2010In vitroNew lupane-type triterpenoid saponins from leaves of Oplopanax horridus (Devil’s Club) — [in vitro]View study →} and phenolic acids including gallic, protocatechuic and chlorogenic acid ^{18Reference 18Jang M et al. · 2017In vitroAnti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) leaves — [in vitro]View study →}.

Constituent Summary

Reported from the root and stem bark; amounts are percentages of dried root bark.

Dosage

Doses follow Western herbal practice and Indigenous tradition. The laboratory findings come from ethanol extracts and isolated polyynes, while the one form tested in people was the tea ^{19Reference 19Thommasen HV et al. · 1990Effect of Devil’s Club Tea on Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetes Mellitus — [human pilot study]View study →}.

Traditional Dosage

Safety & Pregnancy

Devil’s club has a long record of traditional use with few reported problems. Its main cautions are its possible effect on blood sugar alongside diabetes medicines, and its sharp spines.

Full Safety & Interactions Detail

Diabetes medicines. Devil’s club is traditionally taken for diabetes, so use it with care alongside insulin or oral diabetes drugs and monitor blood glucose. The one human pilot found no lowering of blood sugar ^{19Reference 19Thommasen HV et al. · 1990Effect of Devil’s Club Tea on Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetes Mellitus — [human pilot study]View study →}, so this caution is a precaution rather than an observed interaction.

High doses. Large doses of the bark preparations are reported to cause vomiting and purging.

Spines. The spines are brittle and break off in the skin. An 8-year-old girl struck in the eye by a devil’s club stalk had several thorns lodged in her cornea, and one deeply embedded thorn later came loose and caused the front chamber of the eye to collapse four days after the injury ^{26Reference 26Mader TH et al. · 2008Case reportCorneal perforation and delayed anterior chamber collapse from a devil’s club thorn — [case report]View study →}.

Drug interactions. No interaction study has been done on O. horridus. A study linking Oplopanax to CYP450 and PPAR signalling was on the Asian species O. elatus ^{23Reference 23Jiang XL et al. · 2022AnimalHepatoprotective Effect of Oplopanax elatus Nakai Adventitious Roots Extract by Regulating CYP450 and PPAR Signaling Pathway — [in vivo — O. elatus]View study →}.

Surgery. Stop taking devil’s club before surgery.

References

1. Wu K, Wang CZ, Yuan CS, Huang WH (2018). Oplopanax horridus: Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Diversity and Structure-Activity Relationship on Anticancer Effects — [review]. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30302120/
2. Calway T, Du GJ, Wang CZ, Huang WH, et al. (2012). Chemical and pharmacological studies of Oplopanax horridus, a North American botanical — [review]. J Nat Med. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22101399/
3. Kobaisy M, Abramowski Z, Lermer L, Saxena G, et al. (1997). Antimycobacterial polyynes of Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus), a North American native medicinal plant — [in vitro]. J Nat Prod. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9392889/
4. McCutcheon AR, Roberts TE, Gibbons E, Ellis SM, et al. (1995). Antiviral screening of British Columbian medicinal plants — [in vitro]. J Ethnopharmacol. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8847882/
5. Sun S, Du GJ, Qi LW, Williams S, et al. (2010). Hydrophobic constituents and their potential anticancer activities from Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus Miq.) — [in vitro]. J Ethnopharmacol. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20723598/
6. Tai J, Cheung S, Cheah S, Chan E, et al. (2006). In vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil’s Club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]. J Ethnopharmacol. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16814500/
7. Tai J, Cheung S, Chan E, Hasman D (2010). Inhibition of human ovarian cancer cell lines by devil’s club Oplopanax horridus — [in vitro]. J Ethnopharmacol. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19835944/
8. Li XL, Sun S, Du GJ, Qi LW, et al. (2010). Effects of Oplopanax horridus on human colorectal cancer cells — [in vitro]. Anticancer Res. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20332432/
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