botanical name(s): Viscum album, Viscum album coloratum
synonyms: mistletoe, American mistletoe, birdlime mistletoe, European mistletoe, all-heal, birdlime, devil's fuge, mistel, vogelmistel, leimmistel, hexenbesen, drudenfut, herbe de gui, muerdago
part(s) used: dried young leafy twigs
qualities:
affinities: heart, central nervous system
actions: antispasmodic, sedative, nervine, hypotensive, cardiac depressant, antitumor agent
dosage:
» tincture: 0.3 - 1 ml.
» powder: 10 - 25 grains
specific indications: determination of blood to the brain, flushed face and frequent recurring headache; paroxysms of tearing, rending neuralgic or rheumatic pains; weak, irregular heart action, with cardiac hypertrophy, valvular insufficiency, and shortness of breath (Felter and Scudder, p. 696)
therapy: hypertension, arteriosclerosis, nervous tachycardia, tumors; hypertensive headache; chorea; hysteria (British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, p. 235); epilepsy; hysteria; insanity; paralysis; uterine hemorrhage; amenorrhea; dysmenorrhea; cardiac hypertrophy and dropsy (Felter and Lloyd, p. 2081)
AHPA Botanical Safety Rating: 2d
toxicity: 4; lectin toxidrome
» young children are especially prone to epileptiform convulsions; one to two berries can be fatal to them; do not use berries and do not go above therapeutic dose
» contraindicated during pregnancy (Brinker, p. 106) due to the uterine stimulant action shown in animal uteri by its constituent tyramine (Farnsworth)
» contraindicated in protein hypersensitivity as well as in chronic-progressive infections such as tuberculosis and AIDS (McGuffin)
» patient may develop an allergy to this herb
» capable of inducing a lectin toxidrome: a few hours after ingestion there is burning in the mouth, abdominal pain and diarrhea due to the development of necrotic lesion in the gastrointestinal tract; internal signs may not appear for days; a massive overdose causes kidney and liver damage, internal hemorrhage and a total loss of gastrointestinal function; other signs include diaphoresis, hypertension, increased heart rate, heart failure and total collapse; degeneration of the thymus gland has been noted (Duke, p. 513; Fuller and McClintock, pp. 259-260, 329-330; McPherson, pp. 83-102)
» irreversible intoxication of all the affected cells occurs, with only partial recovery of damaged tissue
constituents: flavonoids, phenylcarboxylic acids, e.g. caffeic and gentisic; polysaccharides; alkaloids in berries
footnotes
Brinker F. 1996. The Toxicology of Botanical Medicines, rev. 2nd ed., Sandy, Oregon: Eclectic Medical Publications.
British Herbal Medical Association. 1983. British Herbal Pharmacopoeia. West Yorks, England: The British Herbal Medical Association.
Duke, J.A. 1985. C.R.C. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. Boca Raton, FL: The C.R.C. Press.
Farnsworth NR, Bingel AS, Cordell GA, Crane FA, Fong HHS. 1975. Potential Value of Plants as Sources of New Antifertility Agents I. J. Pharm. Sci., 64:535-98.
Felter, H. W., and Lloyd, J. U. 1983. King's American Dispensatory, Vols. I and II. Portland, OR: Eclectic Medical Publications.
Felter, H.W. & Scudder, John K., 1922. The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Cincinnati, Ohio. Reprinted in 1985 by Eclectic Medical Publications, Portland, OR.
Fuller, T.C., and McClintock, E. 1986. Poisonous Plants of California. Los Angeles: University of Southern California Press.
McGuffin, Michael, ed. 1997. American Herbal Products Associations Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: The CRC Press.