Mistletoe

Known as a Christmas trimming associated with the ‘kissing under the mistletoe’ custom (the fictional young wizard Harry Potter had his first kiss this way), this romantic plant is more than just a holiday decoration. In ancient lore mistletoe signified life-force and fertility, hence the tradition of kissing under it, and it was considered a panacea with exceptional beneficial properties. Ethanolic liquid extracts of mistletoe have been widely used in folk medicine in Europe for blood pressure reduction. It has also been prescribed historically as a nervine for convulsions and epilepsy. In modern herbal medicine it is mostly chosen to help treat hypertension and insomnia. This semi-parasitic plant has also been used for more than 100 years in the complementary therapy of cancer and other immunological disorders. Several lines of evidence indicate that mistletoe improves patient survival, reduces the damage caused by conventional cancer therapies and increases patients’ quality of life. 

The relation between cancer and inflammation has been widely demonstrated. One researcher said, “inflammation and cancer dance together towards disaster”. Inflammation is considered a hallmark of cancer and related to the spread of the disease within the body and the resistance of cancer cells to the treatment. Chronic inflammation is closely related to oxidative stress and immunosuppression. A 2023 study researching the anti-inflammatory activity of mistletoe concluded that, although further data trials need to be performed, the examination of clinical and pharmacological evidence on the majority of oncological patients so far “allows us to consider European mistletoe extracts able to cause various anticancer achievements. This anticancer activity is matched with pro-apoptotic, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects, which are considered necessary to reduce the disease.” The researcher also said mistletoe can improve quality of life and treatment-related symptoms. 

In general, mistletoe does not kill its host tree as it needs the host alive for its own survival. It provides many habitat benefits for local native wildlife. The host plant chosen by mistletoe depends on the available flora. It can be found mostly in several deciduous and needle trees such as apple, linden, hawthorn, oak, elm, poplar, pines and firs. In Nigeria and Ghana it can be found on cocoa, kola and cashew trees. Mistletoe produces its own energy through photosynthesis, and can biosynthesise its own compounds, but it can also take some nutrients and water from the host trees. Pharmacologically active compounds pass from the host trees to the parasitic plants. Research from 2022 found that host trees play a key role in the phenolic profile and antioxidant capacity of mistletoe. 

References

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Melo MNO, Ochioni AC, Zancan P, Oliveira AP, Grazi M, Garrett R, Holandino C, Baumgartner S. Viscum album mother tinctures: Harvest conditions and host trees influence the plant metabolome and the glycolytic pathway of breast cancer cells. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Oct 31;13:1027931. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1027931. PMID: 36386174; PMCID: PMC9662615.

Jones L. A Working Herbal Dispensary. Aeon Books:Glasgow. 2023. p239

Nicoletti M. The Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Viscum album. Plants (Basel). 2023 Mar 27;12(7):1460. doi: 10.3390/plants12071460. PMID: 37050086; PMCID: PMC10096603.

Nazaruk J, Orlikowski P. Phytochemical profile and therapeutic potential of Viscum album L. Nat Prod Res. 2016;30(4):373-85. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2015.1022776. Epub 2015 Mar 27. PMID: 25813519.