Ever since I did the research on Alkoclar who suggested compounds like Dimethyl Icaritin and Methylprotodioscin, I have been wondering whether the compound Harpagoside had any potential to increase height. It was suggested from a forum post that I found that a harpagoside with glucosamine mixture can eleviate joint pain from arthritis. This suggests that it is similar in properties to the hyaluronic acid which is a very similar compound to the glycoaminoglycan, but missing the sulfated part. If the Hyaluronic acid/ Hyaluronan had the potential to get into the extracellular fluid of the synovial joints to create more lubrication, it would not be that hard of a stretch to wonder whether the harpagoside can do the same thing.

The first thing I noticed from typing the phrase “harpagoside height” into google is that HeightQuest.com has already done a post about the possibility already (LINK). The post seems to be in response to Alkoclar’s idea of combining the effects of Harpagoside with a new compound which I have not heard of before, Acteoside. Tyler has been very clear in showing that Alkoclar’s main way to increase height was to increase the CNP and Nitric Oxide expression, and that was where the the Methylprotodioscin came in, since he was a supplier of the compound, which seems to be made from some Chinese traditional medicinal herb. I can personally say from experience that the NO idea has some reasonable points, but the thing I have always thought was that the NO would cause the blood vessels to increase in widthfrom increased blood flow and for muscles to relax. If we remember the old infomercials on the male impotency pill Viagra, it operated on the same principle, where the pill caused the increase of Nitric Oxide, leading to muscle relaxation and blood vessel thickness increase from increased blood flow. From the Wikipedia article on Viagra/Sildenafil I am reminded that it is the smooth muscles that are relaxed. The pill somehow manages to stop the specific enzyme that causes cGMP degradation. Like always, Tyler already did a post on HeightQuest on the idea of taking Viagra to increase height already (HERE). His main point from that post was this…”CNP overexpression increased height.  Both NO and CNP cause the upregulation of cGMP. cGMP increases hypertrophic differentiation…But if cGMP can increase height then Viagra can increase height by inhibiting PDE5 which inhibits cGMP.” However, I think we are getting off topic on the idea of whether Harpagoside can really increase height. At this point, I would like to point out that this compound goes by another name, Devil’s Claw. Sounds intimidating.

Tyler had used three studies to look at the idea of whether the Harpagoside can increase height, and the main points he made from the three studies were.

1. The extract from some product called Harpagophytum lead to a a decrease in MMP-1, -3, -9 and Tyler argues that the MMP3 and MMP-9 helps height increase while MMP-13 inhibits it. The compounds seems to inhibit the good MMPs although it seems to also help by inhibiting some compound known as Cox-2, which seems to cause MMP-13.

1. Harpagoside dose-dependently inhibited LPS-stimulated NF-kappaB promoter activity

1. Acteoside suppresses phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-enhanced matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression at the protein, mRNA, and transcriptional levels through the suppression of NF-κB activation.

The main axiom I have to take from his research is that MMP-9 and MMP-3 are good for height increase through a possible increased chondrocyte proliferation and/ or hypertrophic process. I haven’t done any research on the matrix metalloproteinase compounds yet. If I however assume that he is right about the MMPs, the good ones and the bad, then the studies, which may be only just 1 study, is a reasonable good enough to suggest that Alkoclar’s idea of using either the Harpagoside and the Aceteoside compounds are wrong.

What I can agree with Tyler from this post is that a better supplement, used as an alternative to the possible Harpagoside, is to just go with Hyaluronic acid, since it has increased extracellular fluid/matrix effects making the synovial joints increase a little.

However, I wanted to try to do a little bit of research myself on the effects of Harpagoside. First it seems that Harpagoside comes from a specific type of plant, Harpagophytum procumbens. From its Wikipedia article, Harpagophytum procumbens, also called grapple plant, wood spider and most commonly devil’s claw, is a plant of the sesame family, native to South Africa. From there, it is reported that European colonists brought this plant back to be used for the treatment of arthritis. The overall plant itself seems to have three main effects, 1. Relieve Pain, 2. Reduce irritation and causes calmness, and 3. increase the rate of urination. At least one major Pharmacological group has claimed that the plant has anti-rheumatic properties (another fancy way of saying it treats arthritis).  It seems to be a good alternative to brand named prescriptions used to treat lower back pain. It was also found to be effective in treating arthritis derived hip and knee pain.

A quick search on google and PubMed on the efficacy of the effectiveness of Harpagoside as an analgesic or sedative leads to a PubMed study,” Antiinflammatory effects of different extracts and harpagoside isolated from Scrophularia frutescens L. It seems to suggest that at least for Harpagoside derived from this other type of plant, Scrophularia frutescens, it is not the real active ingredient in causing antiinflammatory effects. Other studies, like from Rheumatology journal, entitled “Effectiveness of devil’s claw for osteoarthritis” the writer makes the point that “The study showed that freeze‐dried root tubers of Harpagophytum at a dose containing 60 mg harpagoside per day was as effective as, and had fewer side‐effects than, diacerrhein…painful arthrosis and tendinitis—a dose that contains up to 90 mg of harpagoside” We see that at least from this reference that the Harpagoside has been effective in treating pain.

However, I would say the best resource I have been able to find to either validate or reject the idea that Harpagoside and the plant it is derived from has any possible height increase properties comes from this link HERE. it seems that the plant at least has chondroprotetive properties. As quoted from the article…

“Harpagophytum is chondroprotective, possibly due to inhibition of inflammatory mediators, including COX-2, leukotrienes, nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β. In addition, matrix metalloproteinases and elastase that play key roles in cartilage degradation are inhibited. 11,19″

The cited studies were

11 – Huang TH, Tran VH, Duke RK, et al. Harpagoside suppresses lipopolysaccharide-induced iNOS and COX-2 expression through inhibition of NF-kappa B activation. J Ethnopharmacol 2006;104:149-155.

19 – Fiebich BL, Heinrich M, Hiller KO, Kammerer N. Inhibition of TNF-alpha synthesis in LPS-stimulated primary human monocytes by Harpagophytum extract SteiHap 69. Phytomedicine 2001;8:28-30.

The first citation was one that Tyler has already looked at ,at least the abstract. The 2nd one, I have the abstract below…

Abstract

Harpagophytum procumbens (Devil’s Claw) is often used in the supportive treatment of inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the skeletal system. Here we studied the anti-inflammatory properties of the Harpagophytum extract SteiHap 69 (Steiner Harpagophytum procumbens extract 69) on primary human monocytes, a useful model of peripheral inflammation. After eliminating lipopolysaccharides of bacterial origin, SteiHap 69 prevented the LPS-induced synthesis of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) in stimulated primary human monocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Harpagide and harpagoside had no effect on LPS-induced TNFalpha-release. Our data provides evidence that the Harpagophytum extract SteiHap 69 has anti-inflammatory properties. Further studies are required in order to elucidate the molecular mechanism of Devil’s claw anti-inflammatory effects.

Conclusion: What I think is clear now is that while the harpagoside has inflammatory properties, and it may even lead to less chondrocyte damage/ degradation. That seems to be why it has been effective in treating musculoskeletal pain like arthritis, but it does not seem to have any ability in leading to chondrocyte proliferation, but can only protect it a little. This suggest that Harpagoside and the plant it comes from, the Harpagophytum don’t have any height increase properties.