Larrea tridentata or Mexican larrea, this plant with the nice yellow flowers is also known by the original name "chaparral ", chaparro or bush of creosote, in connection with the emanated odor.
It is a potentially medicinal herb that grows mainly in areas of Mexico and the western side of the United States.
Potentially because in reality there are also harmful effects attached to its use. Let's try to understand what it is.
Chaparral rejected by the Ministry
Known by locals for being a "gobernadora" plant, or dominant, given its ability to "steal" water even from nearby plants, preventing their growth, the chaparral is not free from contraindications for the organism, in particular it could be hepatotoxic .
In fact, in Italy it cannot be used in herbal medicine, due to the north hydroguetic acid it contains, thus becoming part of the "black list" of the Ministry of Health for use not permitted in food supplements.
The chaparral is a plant that was instead appreciated by Native Americans to help the respiratory system and to detoxify the lungs, favoring an expectorant action and eliminating the mucus, and they used dried twigs and leaves; the leaves themselves were even used as a contraceptive.
So is it good or bad? Many studies are still in progress. Among the active substances there would be NDGA ( nordihydroguaiaretic acid ), nordidroguiaretic acid or nordihydroguiaretic acid, an antilipoxidant and antifungal and antibacterial substance, capable of affecting potentially harmful organisms. But beware, these characteristics may also be harmful to the organism itself.
The FDA has indeed banned the use of products containing it .
Use of the chaparral
From the 1980s onwards, chaparral seems to have spread widely in the United States and Mexico. Over there, in the states where it is allowed, it is found in special tea blends , in pills or supplement capsules and in products usually used for adjuvant therapies against arthritis, tuberculosis, cramps, diarrhea, venereal diseases and bronchitis. Its effects in cancer treatments have even been tested today.
It is also found as a mother tincture and as an edible natural essence, purifying the mind and body, which, according to those who propose it, would also act on dream life, purifying the unconscious.
Attention: not everything that is natural is good, but it could hide pitfalls. In this specific case it is not just Italy that says it: a research carried out by Health Canada and disclosed by the Canadian Liver Foundation would have communicated that the consumption of products based on tridentata larrea, mexico larrea and dividing larrea could cause numerous risks to the liver and, consequently, to the kidneys .
