Description and references

Common name for a diverse group of hemiparasitic, evergreen plants that grow within the branches of various trees such as apple, hawthorn, pine, and oak; capable of photosynthesis but obtaining water and nutrients from the host. Bears white, waxy berries with sticky pulp. European mistletoe, Viscum album L., Viscaceae, has been used in traditional medicine to treat epilepsy, hypertension, rheumatism, and cancer. Medicinal formulations are prepd from the leaves and young stems, and occasionally the berries. Habit. Temperate regions of Europe, Great Britain. Constit. Toxic mistletoe lectins; polypeptide viscotoxins; flavonoids such as quercetin, isorhamnetin, sakuranetin; terpenoids such as α- and β-amyrin, betulinic acid, oleanolic acid; phenolpropanoids and lignins, such as syringin; phytosterols. Constituents thought to be dependent upon the host plant. Prominant North American species is Phoradendron leucarpum, Viscaceae. Other species occur in subtropical and tropical climates. Botanical description: D. M. Watson, Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 32, 219 (2001) DOI; of V. album: D. Zuber, Flora 199, 181 (2004). Pharmacology of standardized medicinal preparations: U. Mengs et al., Anticancer Res. 22, 1399 (2002) PubMed. Review of constituents: U. Pfüller, in Mistletoe, The Genus Viscum (Harwood Acad. Publ., Amsterdam, 2000) pp 101-122; of toxicology: G. M. Stein, ibid. pp 183-194. Comprehensive description and medicinal uses: J. Barnes et al., Herbal Medicines (Pharmaceutical Press, London, 3rd Ed., 2007) pp 436-446.

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