Disease relevance of Larrea

• Oenothera rosea methanol extract, Sphaeralcea angustifolia chloroform extract, Acaciafarnesiana, Larrea tridentata and Rubus coriifolius methanol extracts as well as the aqueous extract of Chamaedora tepejilote were demonstrated to be particularly active against the induced hind-paw edema [1].

High impact information on Larrea

• An enantio-specific polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was purified approximately 1,700-fold to apparent homogeneity from the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), and its encoding gene was cloned [2].
• A WRKY gene from creosote bush encodes an activator of the abscisic acid signaling pathway [3].
• Chemically synthesized 3'-O-methyl-NDGA ((+/-)-2) showed identical anti-HIV activity (IC50 25 microM) to the lignan isolated from Creosote Bush [4].
• Masoprocol (nordihydroguaiaretic acid), a lipoxygenase inhibitor isolated from the creosote bush, has been shown to decrease adipose tissue lipolytic activity both in vivo and in vitro [5].
• We investigated the relationships between foliar stable carbon isotope discrimination (Delta), % foliar N, and predawn water potentials (psi(pd)) and midday stomatal conductance ( g(s)) of Larrea tridentata across five Mojave Desert soils with different age-specific surface and sub-surface horizon development and soil hydrologies [6].

Anatomical context of Larrea

• We previously reported that aqueous extract of Larrea divaricata Cav. had an antiproliferative activity upon tumoral lymphoid cells (BW 5147), without affecting normal immunity [7].

Associations of Larrea with chemical compounds

• The posttranslationally processed PPO ( approximately 43 kDa) has a central role in the biosynthesis of the creosote bush 8-8' linked lignans, whose representatives, such as nordihydroguaiaretic acid and its congeners, have potent antiviral, anticancer, and antioxidant properties [2].
• Masoprocol (nordihydroguaiaretic acid): a new antihyperglycemic agent isolated from the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) [8].
• An ethnomedically-driven approach was used to evaluate the ability of a pure compound isolated from the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) to lower plasma glucose concentration in two mouse models of type 2 diabetes [8].
• Penicillic acid was also isolated from As. wentii occurring in the rhizosphere of Larrea tridentata [9].
• More recently, we have shown that masoprocol (nordihydroguaiaretic acid), a pure compound isolated from the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), decreases serum glucose and triglyceride (TG) levels when administered orally in rodent models of type 2 diabetes [10].

Gene context of Larrea

• Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) is an antioxidant originally obtained from plants of the genus Larrea [11].
• Antioxidant lignans from Larrea tridentata [12].
• The two populations of desert woodrats came from the Mojave desert (Mojave woodrats), where woodrats consume creosote bush, and from the Great Basin desert (Great Basin woodrats), where the plant species is absent [13].
• Larrea divaricata Cav. is a plant used in folk Argentine medicine for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory ailments [14].
• Antimitogenic effect of Larrea divaricata Cav.: participation in arachidonate metabolism [15].

References