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Viscum album

The name mistletoe is said to derive from the Celtic word for “all-heal.” This correlates with its historical use for everything from nervous complaints to bleeding to tumors. It is difficult to categorize all of the uses of mistletoe, particularly when one looks at the vast number of uses for this herb in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine.

The ancient Druids of northern Europe and other pagan groups revered mistletoe, particularly when it infected oak trees (a rare occurrence). Over time, this reverence of mistletoe was translated into the Christian ritual of hanging mistletoe over doorways at Christmas. The custom of kissing under the mistletoe may be a remnant of pagan orgies held before mistletoe altars or connected with the plant's legendary (and unproven) power to increase fertility.

Mistletoe grows as a partial parasite on a variety of trees, particularly pine, apple, plum, poplar, and spruce, across northern Europe and Asia. The young leafy twigs with flowers are used. Mistletoe’s white berries are potentially toxic and should be avoided.

Mistletoe has been used traditionally in folk medicine to lower blood pressure & cholesterol, and also used as a diuretic and antimicrobial agent. Extracts produced from mistletoe as well as certain isolated components are able to stimulate different functions of the immune system. The natural killer cells have been suggested as a candidate for direct tumour cell destruction.

In 1920, Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) created what is known as anthroposophical medicine. This mystical system used a variety of unusual remedies, including special extracts of mistletoe for injection. Steiner helped bring mistletoe into the modern era of scientific research, particularly in regards to it’s potential to help people with cancer (preventing or overcoming tumor growth) and improving the defence mechanisms of the immune system. Today, extracts from the plant are used in adjuvant cancer therapy. Mistletoe extracts have been shown to possess significant antitumor activity, in vivo, against murine tumors, Lewis lung carcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma 38 and C3H mammary adenocarcinoma 16/C. Mistletoe treatment can stabilize quality of life, and therefore may help patients to improve their overall survival and to exert immunoprotection in cancer patients under tumor destructive therapy.

A surprising fact about mistletoe is that it not only acts successfully against cancer cells, but also stimulates the whole body defences, which means that it fights the pain of cancer. In fact, there’s no other substance that combines both principles. Medicines composed of Viscum album are the only known therapeutic substances that produce the stimulation of immunodefences.

Other uses included treatment of internal bleeding, convulsions, gout, hysteria, whooping cough, asthma, dizziness, loss of menstrual cycle, diarrhea, chorea (rapid, jerky movements), and rapid heartbeat. Because of its calming effect, mistletoe is used as a tranquilizer for various nervous conditions and for the treatment of mental & physical exhaustion. It is also used as long-term therapy to prevent hardening of the arteries.

DISCLAIMER This page is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for accurate diagnosis and treatment by a qualified health care professional. The author is neither a chemist nor an herbalist and has had no medical training whatsoever. The content herein is the product of research, not practical experience.