Uses
Native Americans used the plant both as food and medicine. The plant was traditionally used by Native Americans to treat adult-onset diabetes and a variety of tumors. Traditionally, it was and is still used to make paints. In vitro studies showed that extracts of Devil's Club inhibit tuberculosis microbes.
The plant is used medicinally and ceremonially by the Tlingit people of Southeast Alaska, who refer to it as "Tlingit aspirin". A piece of Devil's club hung over a doorway is said to ward off evil. The plant is harvested and used in a variety of ways, including lip balms, ointments, and herbal teas. Some Tlingit disapprove of the commercialization of the plant as they see it as a violation of its sacred status.
Because Devil's club is related to American Ginseng, some think that the plant is an adaptogen . The plant has been harvested for this purpose and marketed widely as "Alaskan ginseng", which may damage populations of Devil's Club and its habitat. The genus Panax ('true' ginseng) is exceptional among Araliaceae both morphologically and chemically. Other, even closely related plants with proven adaptogen effects, such as Eleutherococcus senticosus the "Siberian ginseng", are chemically dissimilar to Panax ginseng.
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