Information On Larrea Tridentata
Other Common Names: Gobernadora, Hediondilla, Creosote Bush,
Creosote Bush, Creosote-bush, Gebernadora, Gobernadora, Greasewood,
Hediondilla, Larrea tridentata
Range: Southwestern N. America; Mexico
Habitat: Desert areas
Creosote bush was widely used by various North American Indian
tribes. A decoction of the leaves was used to treat diarrhea and
stomach troubles whilst the young twigs were used to treat toothache
and a poultice of the leaves was used to treat chest complaints and as
a wash for skin problems.
It continued to be widely used as a treatment for rheumatic disease,
venereal infections, urinary infections and certain types of cancer,
especially leukaemia until its sale was banned in North America due to
concern over its potential toxic effect upon the liver. There have been
a number of cases of acute or sub-acute hepatitis attributed to the use
of this herb and so its internal use is not recommended until further
research has been carried out.
A number of cases of acute toxic hepatitis have been attributed to
ingestion of a nutritional supplement derived from the leaves of the
creosote or greasewood bush (Larrea tridentata), commonly known as
chaparral. Use of the supplement appears to have led to serious liver
injury and fulminant hepatic failure requiring orthotopic liver
transplantation. Chaparral, which grows wild in arid regions of the
Southwestern U.S. and Mexico, has been recommended in nonscientific
publications for use as a "free radical scavenger" or "antioxidant" to
treat a variety of conditions including hepatitis and alcohol
withdrawal. Chaparral tea, made from the leaves is also a traditional
American Indian medicine. Although the toxin in chaparral has not been
definitively identified, a possible active ingredient is a potent
antioxidant, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), which can act in low
doses as a lipoxygenase pathway inhibitor but at high doses as an
inhibitor of cycloaxygenase pathways as well as cytochrome P-450
activity in rats.
Based on the information above, one might conclude that
chaparral-induced liver injury is more likely to arise and/or to be
more severe in former alcohol abusers or other people with preexisting
liver disease. - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
A tea made from the leaves is used as an expectorant and pulmonary
antiseptic. Some N. American Indian tribes heated the shoot tips of
this plant and dripped the sap (probably the resin) into tooth cavities
to treat toothache.
Other Common Names: Gobernadora, Hediondilla, Creosote Bush,
Creosote Bush, Creosote-bush, Gebernadora, Gobernadora, Greasewood,
Hediondilla, Larrea tridentata
Range: Southwestern N. America; Mexico
Habitat: Desert areas
Creosote bush was widely used by various North American Indian
tribes. A decoction of the leaves was used to treat diarrhea and
stomach troubles whilst the young twigs were used to treat toothache
and a poultice of the leaves was used to treat chest complaints and as
a wash for skin problems.
It continued to be widely used as a treatment for rheumatic disease,
venereal infections, urinary infections and certain types of cancer,
especially leukaemia until its sale was banned in North America due to
concern over its potential toxic effect upon the liver. There have been
a number of cases of acute or sub-acute hepatitis attributed to the use
of this herb and so its internal use is not recommended until further
research has been carried out.
A number of cases of acute toxic hepatitis have been attributed to
ingestion of a nutritional supplement derived from the leaves of the
creosote or greasewood bush (Larrea tridentata), commonly known as
chaparral. Use of the supplement appears to have led to serious liver
injury and fulminant hepatic failure requiring orthotopic liver
transplantation. Chaparral, which grows wild in arid regions of the
Southwestern U.S. and Mexico, has been recommended in nonscientific
publications for use as a "free radical scavenger" or "antioxidant" to
treat a variety of conditions including hepatitis and alcohol
withdrawal. Chaparral tea, made from the leaves is also a traditional
American Indian medicine. Although the toxin in chaparral has not been
definitively identified, a possible active ingredient is a potent
antioxidant, nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), which can act in low
doses as a lipoxygenase pathway inhibitor but at high doses as an
inhibitor of cycloaxygenase pathways as well as cytochrome P-450
activity in rats.
Based on the information above, one might conclude that
chaparral-induced liver injury is more likely to arise and/or to be
more severe in former alcohol abusers or other people with preexisting
liver disease. - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
A tea made from the leaves is used as an expectorant and pulmonary
antiseptic. Some N. American Indian tribes heated the shoot tips of
this plant and dripped the sap (probably the resin) into tooth cavities
to treat toothache.
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