Mistletoe
Botanical: Viscum album (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Loranthaceae
--Common Name---Birdlime Mistletoe. Herbe de la Croix. Mystyldene. Lignum Crucis.
---Parts Used---Leaves and young twigs, berries.
---Description---The stem is yellowish and smooth, freely forked, separating when dead into bone-like joints. The leaves are tongue-shaped, broader towards the end, 1 to 3 inches long, very thick and leathery, of a dull yellow-green colour, arranged in pairs, with very short footstalks. The flowers, small and inconspicuous, are arranged in threes, in close short spikes or clusters in the forks of the branches, and are of two varieties, the male and female occurring on different plants. Neither male nor female flowers have a corolla, the parts of the fructification springing from the yellowish calyx. They open in May. The fruit is a globular, smooth, white berry, ripening in December.
Mistletoe is found throughout Europe, and in this country is
particularly common in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In Scotland it
is almost unknown.
---Parts Used Medicinally---The leaves and young twigs, collected just before the berries form, and dried in the same manner as described for Holly.
--Constituents---Mistletoe contains mucilage, sugar, a fixed oil, resin, an odorous principle, some tannin and various salts. The active part of the plant is the resin, Viscin, which by fermentation becomes a yellowish, sticky, resinous mass, which can be used with success as a birdlime.
The preparations ordinarily used are a fluid extract and the powdered leaves. A homoeopathic tincture is prepared with spirit from equal quantities of the leaves and ripe berries, but is difficult of manufacture, owing to the viscidity of the sap.
---Medicinal Action and Uses---Nervine, antispasmodic, tonic and narcotic. Has a greatreputation for curing the 'falling sickness' epilepsy - and other convulsive nervous disorders. It has also been employed in checking internal haemorrhage.
The physiological effect of the plant is to lessen and temporarily benumb such nervous action as is reflected to distant organs of the body from some central organ which is the actual seat of trouble. In this way the spasms of epilepsy and of other convulsive distempers are allayed. Large doses of the plant, or of its berries, would, on the contrary, aggravate these convulsive disorders. Young children have been attacked with convulsions after eating freely of the berries.
In a French work on domestic remedies, 1682, Mistletoe (gui de chêne) was considered of great curative power in epilepsy. Sir John Colbatch published in 1720 a pamphlet on The Treatment of Epilepsy by Mistletoe,
regarding it as a specific for this disease. He procured the parasite
from the Lime trees at Hampton Court, and recommended the powdered
leaves, as much as would lie on a sixpence, to be given in Black Cherry
water every morning. He was followed in this treatment by others who
have testified to its efficacy as a tonic in nervous disorders,
considering it the specific herb for St. Vitus's Dance. It has been
employed in
- Convulsions delirium
- Hysteria
- Neuralgia
- Nervous debility
- Blood Pressure
- Inflamation
- Diabetes
- Immune System
- Respiratory
and many other complaints arising from a weakened and disordered state of the nervous system.
Ray also greatly extolled Mistletoe as a specific in epilepsy, and useful in apoplexy and giddiness. The older writers recommended it for sterility.
The tincture has been recommended as a heart tonic in typhoid fever in place of Foxglove. It lessens reflex irritability and strengthens the heart's beat, whilst raising the frequency of a slow pulse.
Besides the dried leaves being given powdered, or as an infusion, or made into a tincture with spirits of wine, a decoction may be made by boiling 2 OZ. of the bruised green plant with 1/2 pint of water, giving 1 tablespoonful for a dose several times a day. Ten to 60 grains of the powder may be taken as a dose, and homoeopathists give 5 to 10 drops of the tincture, with 1 or 2 tablespoonsful of cold water. Mistletoe is also given, combined with Valerian Root and Vervain, for all kinds of nervous complaints, cayenne pods being added in cases of debility of the digestive organs.
Fluid extract: dose, 1/4 to 1 drachm.
Country people use the berries to cure severe stitches in the side. The birdlime of the berries is also employed by them as an application to ulcers and sores.
It is stated that in Sweden, persons afflicted with epilepsy carry about with them a knife having a handle of Oak Mistletoe to ward off attacks
Precautions
Specific: Not for use in pregnancy except
under the supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner.
Mistletoe may modify glucose regulation. People with diabetes or blood
pressure conditions are advised to monitor their blood sugar closely and
discuss the use of this herb with a qualified healthcare practitioner
prior to use.
General We recommend that you consult with a qualified
healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if
you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.
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