Harpagophytum procumbens is known as a devil’s claw and is native to South Africa. The common name is derivative of its looks. It is an endemic plant grown in poor and dried soil in the middle of the Kalahari desert. Because of severe dryness in the desert, they have the property to store water by forming secondary tubers. Traditionally, the dried roots of the devil’s claw have been used by African natives, San, to treat arthralgia, neuralgia, pain, wound, and skin diseases as folk medicine. The traditional remedy of devil’s claw in Africa was found and developed by a German medicinal herbalist long ago. Since then, it has been famous and commercialized as a pain-relieving cream for muscle or arthralgia containing devil’s claw extract.

The dried secondary tuber powder of devil’s claw can be used as a wound dressing directly, and it can be mixed with Vaseline® as a burn or wound healing ointment, according to the scientific article. Additionally, the anti-oxidant activity of the devil’s claw has been reported.