The health benefits of the Chaparral Herb includes its blood-cleansing and anti-tumor effects.

The plant of the chaparral herb is native to and commonly found in the desert regions of southwestern United States and Mexico. The chaparral plant is named the Larrea tridentate in honor of the 18th century Spaniard Juan Antonio Hernandez de Larrea, a patron of science.

Common names of chaparral plants include “greasewood” and “creosote bush”.


Modes of use

Chaparral leaf and the twigs of the plant are used to make chaparral tea, an old Indian remedy.

Today, chaparral also forms a part of several famous herbal formulas, such as the Hoxey Formula, Dr Richard Schulze’s Detox Formula, as well as Jason Winter’s Tea.

A word of caution here – chaparral is very strong tasting, and many people find it rather unpleasant to consume.


Medicinal properties and uses of chaparral

The Indian remedy was used to deal with conditions such as arthritis, colds, rheumatism, skin sores and wounds, urinary infections, tuberculosis, etc.

The chaparral herb is said to have analgesic, expectorant, as well as strong anti-inflammatory properties.

Chaparral is also said to have high antioxidant content, which can protect one against the cell damage which leads to cancer. Some studies on laboratory rats suggest that chaparral does inhibit the growth of tumors, while the treated animals also survived significantly longer than the ones in the control group.

Pharmacology manuals state that chaparral contains Nordihydroguaiaretic acid. In the Merck Manual, a highly regarded medical book, this chemical is listed as an anti-oxidant, and its therapeutic category is an “anti-neoplastic”. Broadly, an anti-neoplastic is defined as “an agent that prevents the development, growth and proliferation of malignant cells”.

Chaparral is a good body and blood purifier. Dr Schulze describes the herbs in his Detox Formula as “classic and traditional blood and lymph cleansing tonics and the ones that I used successfully for many years in my clinic”.


Caution when using chaparral

Currently, chaparral is banned in the United States as the authorities say it has toxic effects on the liver. This, in my view, is quite laughable as the herb continues to be used by many people in many countries, on its own or as part of the herbal formulas mentioned above, to good effect. I drink it myself. This kind of irony in fact exists for many types of herbs.

It is possible that the claimed isolated cases of liver damage, if any at all, were due to the strong detoxification effects of the herb increasing the load on the liver, above what it could handle.

In one article which I had read, it was claimed that a woman who had taken chaparral supplements and then suffered liver damage, was in fact also consuming large amounts of prescription drugs. Of course, the blamed was squarely placed on the chaparral herb, with no mention of the drugs made at all.