Chaparral (Larrea
tridentata - above
image), also known as creosote bush, has been used by
Native Americans to treat a variety of illnesses, including
cancer. Chaparral contains an ingredient called nor-dihihydroguairetic
(NDGA), a potent antitumor agent.
NDGA inhibits
aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis (the energy-producing ability)
of cancer cells. The flavonoids present in chaparral have strong
antiviral and antifungal properties.
- Herbal
Medicine, Healing and Cancer: A Comprehensive Program for
Prevention and Treatment by Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H.,
A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine
More than twenty years ago, a Native American healer from Lava
Hot Springs, Idaho, traveled the Rocky Mountain West,
successfully treating cancer patients with chaparral as the
primary remedy. Chaparral, extremely bitter, contains NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic
acid), an anticancer substance. It is also thought to possess
more of the antioxidant enzyme SOD than any other plant.
Herbs used widely in
South America for cancer, even by medical doctors, are pau
d'arco (Tabevulia) and Suma (Pfaffia paniculata). These herbs
are less bitter than chaparral, and work by tonifying immunity.
- Healing
with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul
Pitchford
Chaparral contains a potent antioxidant constituent that
probably accounts for its observed anticancer action. Chaparral
has been the subject of a few studies that have resulted in both
tumor regression and tumor stimulation. Chaparral has also been
used as an antihistamine and as an anti-inflammatory.
Chaparral is toxic
to the liver. It can also cause nausea, vomiting, loss of
appetite, and stomach pain at high dosages.
-
Complementary Cancer Therapies: Combining Traditional and
Alternative Approaches for the Best Possible Outcome by Dan
Labriola
The plant is the creosote bush, or chaparral, also known as
greasewood, and is a member of the oak family. All tests on
chaparral indicate that it is positively non-toxic and has never
shown any side effects on patients and if present research is
successful it will offer the first anti-cancer drug.
The Indians have
used chaparral herb for many internal body malfunctions as well
as for rash and acne-type skin eruptions, for hundreds of years.
Chaparral has antibiotic and antiseptic properties along with
immune stimulating substances.
- Miracle
Medicine Herbs (Reward Books) by Richard Melvin Lucas
California yew and chaparral teas are also great cancer
fighters. Trifolium (red clover) and scrophularia herb formulas
are shown to work in fighting cancer. Carctol, a mixture of
eight herbs, is known in Great Britain and India as a completely
safe herbal supplement and has up to a 40% success rate with
terminal cancer patients.
There is a variety
of some 2.5 million herbs categorized as cytotoxic (toxic to
cancer cells). These herbs date back some 5,000 years. At least
3,000 of these herbs have anti-cancer properties of some kind.
- Defeat
Cancer by Gregory, A. Gore
Evidence shows that some people with certain types of cancer in
certain stages of development may benefit from Chaparral, but it
is not clear who may benefit, which cancers are most susceptible
or at which stage of cancer development the herb is most
effective.
One study in rats
found that NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid), the purported
active principle in Chaparral, produced almost complete
inhibition of aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis and respiration
in some kinds of cancer cells while normal cells were not
affected.
- The
Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine: How to Remedy and
Prevent Disease with Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals and Other
Nutrients by Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D.
With this in mind, it seems like a good idea to take one
chaparral capsule after consuming a Big Mac and french fries in
order to offset some of the damage all of those free radicals
you've ingested are capable of doing.
And while chaparral
may not hold quite the same promises expected of ginseng for
longevity, it can certainly help to slow down the aging process
quite a bit from the foods we eat on a daily basis. The medical
doctor most involved with the limited success that chaparral has
achieved with some kinds of cancer, is Charles R. Smart, M.D.
-
Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs by John
Heinerman
Certainly chaparral wouldn't be a good herb to take if a person
has a diseased liver. Nor would it be advisable to take
chaparral with alcohol or acetaminophen. Hopefully, the extract
of chaparral will proceed through successful clinical trials and
contribute as a meaningful cancer remedy in the near future.
Pure NDGA from
chaparral is a topical drug (Masoprocol) that is used on the
skin and some studies indicate it may be effective as an oral
anti-diabetic agent as well.
- You
Don't Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi
The chaparral (Larrea tridentata) that grows over hundreds of
square miles in Arizona and California contains a powerful
antioxidant called NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid). NDGA was
used to prevent oxidation from spoiling foods during World War
II.
It appears to work
against cancer cells by preventing them from "eating" the blood
sugar they need to survive - in other words, it starves them to
death. Chaparral also contains polysaccharides, which stimulate
the immune system. Chaparral is generally taken as a tea.
- Sam
Biser's save your life collection: A Layman's course in curing
last-stage diseases by Sam Biser
Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), a compound found in chaparral,
is a powerful antioxidant that helps to prevent the kind of cell
damage that can lead to cancer. It also has an antitumor effect.
Chaparral is used as a mouthwash to prevent cavities. Benefits
of chaparral for specific health conditions include the
following: Arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
The major
traditional use of chaparral in Mexican herbalism is as a bath
or liniment to relieve the inflammation and pain of arthritis,
sometimes in combination with osha.
-
Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to
Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies by
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
In 1959, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was informed
through lay correspondence that several cancer patients claimed
beneficial effects on their cancers from drinking chaparral tea.
Years later, a
similar treatment was brought to the attention of physicians at
the University of Utah, when an 85-year-old man with a proven
malignant melanoma of the right cheek with a large cervical
metastasis refused surgery and treated himself with chaparral
tea. Eight months later he returned with marked regression of
the tumor.
- Guide to
Popular Natural Products by Ara Dermarderosian
Dr. Andrew Weil recommends the use of chaparral tea as a douche
(a teaspoon of tincture of chaparral to a quart of warm water)
for the precancerous condition, cervical dysplasia. In addition
one can take beta-carotene and folic acid supplements by mouth.
He gives the
following 'recipe' to prepare the douche: simmer a small handful
of leaves or four capsules in a quart of water, covered, for
fifteen minutes.
- Cancer
Therapy: The Independent Consumer's Guide To Non-Toxic Treatment
& Prevention by Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
Tea and tincture of chaparral have an extremely strong taste
considered disagreeable by most people, which restricts the
amount they can tolerate before feeling nauseous. Capsules
bypass this protective mechanism and should therefore be
avoided.
Since human studies
have shown that large amounts of chaparral tea and injections of
NDGA in people with cancer do not cause liver or kidney
problems, it is likely the cases of toxicity represented
individual reactions.
- The
Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments
for Common Health Conditions by Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V.
Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D.,
DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson,
Pharm.D., N.D.
It is chaparral which is used as a medicinal tea. Reports of
cancer cures surround chaparral, also known as the creosote
bush, but so do reports of its toxicity. Numerous cases of liver
toxicity over the years have been well documented. What is a
cancer patient to think?
The information
surrounding this herb is an example of the misinformation
surrounding many herbal remedies. The pro-toxic drug,
anti-herbal stance of the FDA is unconscionable.
- You
Don't Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi
The FDA hasn't banned grapefruit juice; it just instructs users
of drugs to avoid simultaneous consumption of grapefruit with
certain drugs. Chaparral may be unfairly characterized as a
liver toxin when it is no more harmful than grapefruit. This may
explain the inconsistent reports of liver toxicity.
A 78-page report
issued by the Institute of Medicine and National Research
Council on chaparral in 2004 explains many of the promises and
problems associated with chaparral, but it is probably too
lengthy a document for cancer patients to wade through.
- You
Don't Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi
Reports subsequently appeared in the lay literature describing
the virtues of chaparral tea as an antineoplastic treatment.
Nordihy-droguaiaretic acid (NDGA) is believed to be responsible
for the biological activity of chaparral.
Up until 1967, when
more effective antioxidants were introduced, NDGA was used in
the food industry as a food additive to prevent fermentation and
decomposition. It is theorized that any anticancer effect of
chaparral tea is caused by the ability of NDGA to block cellular
respiration.
- Guide to
Popular Natural Products by Ara Dermarderosian
Another herb in question is chaparral. People take it because it
contains NDGA (nordihydroquaiatetic acid), a strong antioxidant
and anti-cancer agent. Herb industry surveys show that more than
200 tons were sold in the United States between 1970 and 1990.
And during this time, there was not a single complaint of side
effects arising from the use of this herb.
When two to three
cups of chaparral tea or the isolated NDGA were given daily to
more than 50 cancer patients, the only side effects were
occasional nausea or diarrhea. Very large doses resulted in
lowered blood pressure.
- Herbs
for Health and Healing by Kathi Keville
First, for those with colon cancer (and even prostate or
uterine/cervical cancer), one of the important things you can do
is to use the blood-cleansing teas (red clover, chaparral, and
even bowel herbs covered in this chapter) as a strong tea in a
rectal implant (an enema with herb tea you retain as long as
possible.)
Basically, clean out
the colon first with water enemas. That way, it will be easier
to retain the herbal implant. Wheatgrass is another important
rectal implant. Later on in this lesson, I will give you the
herbal formulas everyone needs, especially cancer patients.
- Sam
Biser's save your life collection: A Layman's course in curing
last-stage diseases by Sam Biser
Further human trials failed to establish the Chaparral
connection. However, close analysis of those trials revealed
gross deficiencies in procedure, and so the effectiveness of the
herb remains un-disproven, awaiting further clinical trials.
Animal studies,
meanwhile, strongly suggest that Chaparral or its main
constituent, NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid), is toxic against
cancer cells (not normal cells). It produces almost complete
inhibition of aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis and respiration
in some kinds of cancer cells.
- The
Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine: How to Remedy and
Prevent Disease with Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals and Other
Nutrients by Daniel B. Mowrey, Ph.D.
Lymphoma and skin cancer have responded well to treatment with
this herbal formula, which contains red clover, buckthorn bark,
stillingia root, barberry bark, chaparral, licorice root,
cascara amarga, and prickly ash bark, along with potassium
iodide.
Other anticancer
herbs to consider include African cayenne, bilberry, blood-root,
comfrey dandelion root, goldenseal, pau d'arco, and suma.
Goldenseal should be taken for short periods of time, and not
taken during pregnancy.
- The
Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Healing: A Comprehensive A-Z
Listing of Common and Chronic Illnesses and Their Proven Natural
Treatments by Gary Null, Ph.D.
