Review
Larrea tridentata (Creosote bush), an abundant plant of Mexican and US-American deserts and its metabolite nordihydroguaiaretic acid

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Abstract

Although controversial, Creosote bush, Larrea tridentata (Sesse and Moc. ex DC) Coville, is used to treat a variety of illnesses including infertility, rheumatism, arthritis, diabetes, gallbladder and kidney stones, pain and inflammation. Recently, it has been used as a nutritional supplement. The primary product extracted from this common plant of the arid regions of northern México and Southwestern United States is the potent antioxidant nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA). It was widely used during the 1950s as a food preservative and to preserve naturals fibers. Later it was banned after reports of toxicity during the early 1960s. Renal and hepatotoxicity are also reported for chronic use of creosote bush and NDGA. This article reviews traditional and contemporary uses and pharmacology, including toxicology of this plant widely used in Mexican traditional medicine.

Introduction

Creosote bush, Larrea tridentata (Sesse and Moc. ex DC, Zygophyllaceae) Coville is a common shrub of North American warm deserts. Its dominance has increased within 19 million ha of lands previously considered desert grasslands in response to disturbances such as grazing (Van Auken, 2000, Whitford et al., 2001). While often viewed as an indicator of desertified conditions and the focus of extensive control efforts (Herbel and Gould, 1995) it is also an important plant with a long history of medicinal use (Timmermann, 1977). Among the proposed medicinal properties of creosote bush, the most prominent is its antioxidant effects (Sheikh et al., 1997). The family Zygophyllaceae includes more than thirty genera and approximately 250 species (Jones, 1987). L. tridentata is used in a variety of forms. Traditionally leaves and twigs are used to prepare a tea, but is also used in capsules and tablets, prepared for oral consumption. In México the tea is used traditionally as a treatment of kidney and gallbladder stones (Diaz, 1976). Current use is limited by reports of toxic hepatitis (Brent, 1999), and a case of cystic renal disease (Smith, 1994) associated with its chronic use. Hepatic impairment resulting from the use of conventional drugs is widely acknowledged, but there is less awareness of the potential hepatotoxicity of herbal preparations and other botanicals, many of which are believed to be harmless and are commonly used for self-medication without supervision (Stickel et al., 2000). Creosote bush is also known as chaparral and greasewood in the United States and gobernadora (governess) and hediondilla (little smelly one) in México. This review initially presents a short botanical description of the plant and an overall view of its phytochemical diversity. Then the traditional and contemporary uses reported are briefly summarised, together with in vitro studies dealing with some medicinal uses. It should be mention that most of the medicinal uses of Larrea tridentata are not supported by experimental or clinical studies. In the section on pharmacology, in vivo studies on the beneficial, which propose possible therapeutic additional uses, and toxic properties of both the plant and its main metabolite, nordihydroguaiaretic acid are reviewed, as well as their hepatic metabolism.

Section snippets

Botanical description and distribution

Larrea tridentata is an evergreen shrub 1–3 m high, branched and knotty. Leaves are opposite with two asymmetrical leaflets measuring ca. 1 cm in length. Leaves are glossy with a thick resinous coating secreted by a glandular epidermis of the stipules, located on the knots; the steam is woody, knotty and inerm. Flowers are complete and borne solitary in the axils, with five yellow clawed petals. The fruit is a roundish capsule, covered with a dense concentration of white hairs (De la Cerda, 1967,

Phytochemistry

Larrea tridentata is a notable source of natural products with approximately 50% of the leaves dry weight as extractable matter. The resin that covers the leaves yielded 19 flavonoid aglycones, as well as several lignans, notably including the antioxidant NDGA (Fig. 1; Konno et al., 1990). Some glycosylated flavonoids, sapogenins, essential oils, halogenic alkaloids (Argueta, 1994) and waxes were isolated from creosote bush (Romo de Vivar, 1985). Larrea tridentata contains about 0.1% of dry

Reported medicinal uses

Creosote bush has been used in traditional medicine to treat more than 50 illnesses (Table 1). Most common uses are associated to diseases of renal and gynaecologic origins. The plant is used as aqueous or alcoholic liquid extract of leaves and twigs; in addition, it is available in capsules and tablets for oral use, while leaves and branches can be used for poultice and fomentation. Historically, aqueous extracts of the creosote bush have been used by native healers of the Southwest region of

Reports on Larrea with positive outcomes

A study examining the safety of low-dosage treatment with creosote bush has been reported for subjects using creosote bush prior to initiation of the study for traditional uses including both oral and topical applications (Heron and Yarnell, 2001). In this study none of the subjects showed any history of liver disease from the use of Larrea in a complex herbal formula containing less than 10% of tincture, or in an extract in ricinus oil for topical use. It may be preferable to avoid the use of

Conclusions

Creosote bush and its main metabolite NDGA have shown to be useful in traditional medicine, industry and research. Although several medicinal properties of creosote bush have support in experimental studies, with some exceptions none has been tested at the clinical level. One of the main uses reported in traditional medicine is the treatment of kidney stones. However, there has not been any experimental assay dealing with this issue.

On the other hand, the toxicity of creosote bush has been

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Dirección General de Estudios de Posgrado, UNAM and CONACYT, through a fellowship to SA.

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