According to traditional practices and beliefs, chaparral is said to produce remarkable healing effects on various diseases. Since long ago, chaparral is being taken by Indians as a remedy for curing a wide variety of ailments, including arthritis, cancer, venereal disease, tuberculosis , bowel cramps , rheumatism, and colds . Nowadays it is applied in skin treatments used for illnesses such as acne and eczema, sores, wounds, and rashes. In fact chaparral also known as “Echinacea of the West” has been used for years by early Native Americans to care for and protect their skin. Chaparral was originally also used as an all natural sunscreen.
Chaparral is an anti-pathogenic or an ingredient that drives microbes and parasites from the body. Most significantly, it kills the microbes that cause acne. It is known to cleanse, detoxify and stop infection. A cataplasm using chaparral, dandelion, and yellow dock root can be applied directly to the areas of the skin with acne. It can be used on face and body to treat acne.
Chaparral in standardized extracts or tinctures is also useful as a topical agent for acne. It is also made into tea to treat stomach and intestinal pain, colds, cramps, diarrhoea, and the flu. It is also available in capsule and tablet forms. It is normally mixed with other herbs with similar properties, or taken as capsules, as it is very bitter.
Chaparral contains a powerful antioxidant called NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid) that has been long used as a food preservative and may account for some of its medicinal properties. Recently however, its sale was banned in the US, due to concern over its potential toxic effect on the liver. Thus patients desiring to use chaparral for periods greater than two weeks should be warned of the potential for hepatotoxicity and monitored closely.
