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. 2020 Jul 3;43(6):593–629. doi: 10.1007/s12272-020-01247-w

Table 2.

Pharmacological activity of Viscum species—in vivo studies

Pharmacological activity Viscum species/Product Part Host tree Extraction solvent Compounds Dose Route of administration Study duration Experimental design Results References
Antihypertensive activity Viscum album L Fresh leaves Citrus Aqueous 150 mg/kg, daily Orally 6 weeks Normotensive, renal artery-occluded hypertensive and salt-induced hypertensive rats Decrease in arterial blood pressure without alteration in heart rate, antihypertensive effect might involve sympathetic mechanism Ofem et al. (2007)
Viscum album L Fresh steams Ethanolic, ether and ethyl acetate 3.33 × 10−5, 1.00 × 10−4, 3.33 × 10−4, 1.00 × 10−3 mg/kg Intraperitoneally Atropine sulfate and hexocycline treated rats Ethanolic extract exhibited activity even on the lowest dose, the ether and ethyl acetate extracts exhibited activity only by higher doses, antihypertensive effect might involve muscarinic receptors Radenkovic et al. (2009)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Pear (Pyrus communis auct. iber.) Aqueous 250 mg/kg, daily Orally by gavage 24 days Isoproterenol-induced heart failure in rats Improvement in all parameters of heart failure including left ventricular diameters, ejection fraction, serum NT-proBNP levels and histopathological changes; decrease in levels of NO, iNOS and hs-CRP Karagöz et al. (2016)
Viscum album L 0.6–2.8 g, daily Orally 6 weeks An open study in 120 patients with light to moderate hypertension (WHO grade I-II) Decrease in systolic pressure (in rest and during physical exercise) Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (2012)
Viscum album L 5 drops of drug every 5 min up to 4 administrations Sublingually 264 patients with diagnosis of hypertension Time of arterial blood pressure reduction was less for the group of patients who received the natural treatment Montero et al. (2016)
Viscum album L. mother tincture Ethanolic extract manufactured according to Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India 10 drops of drug in 30 ml of distilled water, three times a day Orally 12 weeks 37 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients Decrease in systolic and diastolic pressure, decrease in serum triglyceride Poruthukaren et al. (2014)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Dried herb Cordia macleodii Hook.f. & Thomson Methanolic 200 and 400 mg/kg, daily Orally 4 weeks L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats Antihypertensive effect might be attributed to diuretic, nephroprotective and hypolipidemic actions, and might be due to the presence of triterpenoids Bachhav et al. (2012)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Cuticular wax Oleanolic acid 60 mg/kg, daily Intraperitoneally 15 days Glucocorticoid (dexamethasone)-induced hypertensive rats Decrease of the systolic blood pressure, which might be connected with its antioxidant and NO releasing action Bachhav et al. (2011)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Cuticular wax Oleanolic acid 60 mg/kg, daily 4 weeks L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats Oleanolic acid did not affected NO level and its antihypertensive effect might be due to diuresis and nephroprotection Bachhav et al. (2015)
Hematological parameters Viscum album L Fresh leaves Citrus Aqueous 150 mg/kg, daily Orally 6 weeks High salt-fed rats Decrease in the red blood cells, packed cell volume, haemoglobin, total plasma protein levels and increase in erythrocyte sedimentation rate Ofem et al. (2009)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Coffee (Coffee arabica), kola (Kola nitida) and cocoa (Theobromae cacao) Aqueous 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 mg/kg, daily Orally 14 days Healthy rats Mistletoe parasitizing on kola significantly, in dose dependent manner, decreased platelets count, mistletoe parasitizing cocoa and coffee reduced haemoglobin concentration, all the extracts reduced packed cell volume, red blood cell and increased white blood cells Ladokun et al. (2015)
Antiglycemic, antilipidemic and insulinotropic effect Viscum album L Dried leaves Ethanolic 250, 500, 750, 1000 mg/kg 10 h Normalglycemic and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Reduction in fasting blood glucose level Nwaegerue et al. (2007)
Viscum album L Dried herb Apricot (Armeniaca vulgaris Lam.), pine (Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold), fir (Abies bornmlleriana Mattf.) Aqueous and ethanolic 500 mg/kg Orally by gastric gavage 8 days Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Antidiabetic effect of mistletoe depends on the host tree Orhan et al. (2005)
Viscum album L Fresh leaves Aqueous 100 mg/kg Intravenously 3 h Normalglycemic and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats No effect on glucose level in normal rats but decrease of the blood glucose level in the diabetic rats, increase of the insulin secretion in normal rats and in the diabetic group Eno et al. (2008)
Viscum album L Dried herb Kola acuminate Methanolic 100 mg/kg, daily 3 weeks Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Reduction in fasting blood glucose level, HbA1c, serum triglyceride, urea, lactate dehydrogenase, α-amylase and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, increase of high density lipoprotein cholesterol Adaramoye et al. (2012)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Ethanolic 100 mg/kg, daily Orally by gavage 10 days Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats No significant difference in glucose level, reduction in oxidative stress Turkkan et al. (2016)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Citrus Aqueous 150 mg/kg, daily Orally with syringe and orogastric tube 3 weeks Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Reduction in fasting blood glucose level Nna et al. (2013)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Oil been (Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth.) Aqueous 200 mg/kg Intraperitoneally 4 h Fasted normalglycemic rats Decrease in blood glucose level Ohiri et al. (2003)
400 mg/kg Alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits
Viscum album L Dried leaves Oak Aqueous 500 and 1000 mg/kg, daily Orally by gavage 3 days Alloxan-induced diabetic rats Decrease in serum glucose concentration and increase in the serum insulin level Shahaboddin et al. (2011)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), african pear (Dacroydes edulis), guava (Psidium guajava L.) and pepper fruit (Dennettia tripetala Baker f.) Aqueous 100 mg/kg, daily Orally by gavage 14 days Alloxan-induced diabetic rats The strongest activity was exhibited by extracts of mistletoe growing on Citrus sinensis and Pisium guajava Umoh et al. (2011)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Ethanolic 2 mg/kg, 16 h Intraperitoneally 54 h Alloxan-induced diabetic rats Decrease in fasting blood glucose level Ibegbulem and Chikezie 2013)
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai Dried herb Oak (Quercus variabilis Blume) Protein fraction 50—400 µg/ml Intraperitoneally 10 days Alloxan-induced diabetic mice Decrease in the blood glucose level and volume of drinking water Kim et al. (2014b)
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai Dried herb Oak Aqueous and ethanolic Betulin and oleanolic acid Diet containing 0.2 or 0.6% of extract Orally 8 weeks Partial pancreatectomized rats Ethanolic extract made β-cell mass greater by increasing β-cell proliferation and decreasing its apoptosis Ko et al. (2016)
Viscum schimperi Engl Dried herb Methanolic 500 mg/kg, daily Orally by gavage 4 weeks Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Reduction in the fasting blood glucose level; increase of the level of insulin, reduction of total cholesterol, trigliceryde and low density lipoprotein cholesterol and increase of high density lipoprotein cholesterol Abdel-Sattar et al. (2011)
Hepatoprotective activity Viscum album L Leaves Ethanolic 1 g/kg Orally Paracetamol-induced hepatotoxity in rats Reduction of ALT, ALP levels, no influence on the levels of total bilirubin and total protein Ogbonnanya et al. (2010)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) and cola (Cola nitida (Vent.) Schott & Endl.) Methanolic 1000–5000 mg/kg, daily Orogastrically 7 days Paracetamol-induced hepatotoxity in rats No significant difference in AST, ALT and ALP for V. album growing on cocoa, significant increase in AST, ALT and ALP for V. album growing on cola at 4000 and 5000 mg/kg doses Yusuf et al. (2015)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Citrus Aqueous 150 mg/kg, daily Orally (syringe and or gastric tube) 6 weeks High salt diet rats Decrease in serum total bilirubin, serum conjugated bilirubin and serum unconjugated bilirubin Ofem et al. (2014)
Viscum album L Dried leaves Citrus Aqueous 150 mg/kg, daily Orally (syringe and or ogastric tube) 3 weeks Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats Decrease in serum total bilirubin, serum conjugated bilirubin and serum unconjugated bilirubin Nna et al. (2014)
Viscum Fraxini-2 (Viscum album L.) Ash Aqueous 0.1 and 0.2 ml/kg, once weekly Subcutaneously 30 days Carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxity in rats Decrease in ALT, AST and ALP levels, restoration of the normal architecture of the liver tissue with minimal fibrosis Abdel-Salam et al. (2010)
0.2 ml/kg of mistletoe + 25 mg/kg of sylimarin, once weekly
Iscador Qu (Viscum album L.) Fresh herb Oak (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) Fermented, aqueous extract 380 ng/ml of lectins, 14 mg/ml of viscotoxines Two 5 mg ampules, three times weekly Subcutaneously 12 months 5 patients with chronic hepatitis C 6–20 fold reduction in viral load (HCV-RNA) and complete remission of elevated AST and ALT in two out of five patients, an increase of HCV RNA in one patient Tusenius et al. (2001)
Iscador Qu (Viscum album L.) Fresh herb Oak (Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) Aqueous 750 ng of lectins 10 mg, three times weekly Subcutaneously 12 months 21 patients with chronic hepatitis C Decrease in ALT and AST during the 12 months treatment and slight increase after treatment end Tusenius et al. (2005)
AbnobaViscum (Viscum album L.) Fresh herb Oak Aqueous 1000 ng of lectins 0.15 mg, three times weekly
AbnobaViscum Quercus (Viscum album L.) Fresh herb Oak Aqueous 65–3610 ng of lectins (mean weekly dose) Three times a week Subcutaneously 9 months 25 patients with chronic hepatitis C and elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels None of the patients had complete or partial normalization of ALT or HCV-RNA levels during treatment period, mean ALT did not change during the study Huber et al. (2001)
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai Dried steams and leaves Aqueous Alkaloid fraction 120 mg/kg, daily Orally by gastric gavage 8 weeks Carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats Decrease of hepatic fibrosis; reduction in mRNA levels of TGF-β1, procollagen I and TIMPs; increase in TGF-β1, TGF-β1 receptor, phosphorylated Smad 2 and α-SMA proteins in liver tissues; increase in Smad 7 level Jiang et al. (2014)
Antiepileptic activity Viscum album L Fresh leaves Citrus Aqueous 50 and 150 mg/kg Orally Maximum electro shock, isoniazid- and pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in mice and rats Reduction in various phases of epileptic seizures, increased latency to the first convulsion, increased convulsion onset and reduction in seizure duration Gupta et al. (2012)
Viscum album L Dried herb Maple (Acer platanoides L.) Aqueous and aqueous-ethanolic 100 mg/kg Intragastrically 2 days Pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in mice Effective against pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures Tsyvunin et al. (2016)
Willow (Salix alba L.) Ethanolic
Viscum Mali e planta tota (Viscum album L.) Apple tree

Initially given in strength D5, 10 granules

BID, equivalent to a 1:100,000 dilution of the whole plant extract, later increased to D2, equivalent to a 1:100 dilution, 10 granules twice a day

12 weeks 4½-year-old girl suffering from childhood absence epilepsy The dose increase of Viscum Mali, in addition to an existing combination with valproic acid and clobazam, may have played a key role in achieving seizure freedom for this child von Schoen-Angerer et al. (2015)
Viscum capense L. f Dried stems Methanolic 50 and 100 mg/kg Intraperitoneally Pentylenetetrazole-, bicuculline- and N-methyl-DL-aspartic acid- induced seizures in mice Delayed the onset of pentylenetetrazole—and bicuculline-induced seizures and reduction in the number of convulsing animals; moderate effect against N-methyl-DL-aspartic acid-induced tonic seizures Amabeoku et al. (1998)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Dried herb Methanolic 100 and 200 mg/kg, daily Orally 7 days Maximum electro shock- and pentylenetetrazole- induced seizures in rats Reduction in duration of hind limb extensor phase and increase in the latency to convulsions Geetha et al. (2010)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Fresh herb Chloroform and methanolic Syringaresinol 150 and 300 mg/kg for extracts, 10 and 20 mg/kg for isolated compound Orally 7 days Picrotoxin- induced seizures in rats Extracts and syringaresinol delayed the onset of tonic convulsions, increase in the brain GABA levels in rats treated with the methanolic extract Geetha et al. (2018)
N-methyl-d-aspartic acid—induced seizures in mice Only the methanolic extract and syringaresinol antagonized the N-methyl-d-aspartic acid -induced turning behaviour
Sedative activity Viscum album L Fresh leaves Citrus Aqueous 50 and 150 mg/kg Orally Mice placed in actophotometer Reduction in locomotor activity Gupta et al. (2012)
Viscum album L Fresh leaves Citrus Aqueous 50 and 150 mg/kg Orally Pentobarbital- induced sleeping time in mice Increase in duration of sleeping time Gupta et al. (2012)
Viscum album L Dried herb Methanolic and its ethyl acetate and 1-butanol fractions 200 and 400 mg/kg for extract, 25 and 50 mg/kg for fractions Orally Open field test on mice Reduction in rearing and crossings Kumar et al. (2016)
Viscum orientale Willd Dried leaves Exoecaria agalloch Methanolic 300 and 500 mg/kg Orally Open field test and hole cross test in mice Reduction in spontaneous motor activities Khatun et al. (2016)
Hypnotic activity Viscum album L Dried herb Methanolic and its ethyl acetate and 1-butanol fractions 200 and 400 mg/kg for extract, 25 and 50 mg/kg for fractions Orally Thiopentone sodium induced-sleeping time assay in mice Increase in the duration of sleep in mice Kumar et al. (2016)
Antipsychotic activity Viscum album L Fresh leaves Citrus Aqueous 50 and 150 mg/kg Orally Apomorphine-induced stereotypy in mice and rats Significantly reduction in the stereotyped behaviour Gupta et al. (2012)
Viscum album L Fresh leaves Citrus Aqueous 50 and 150 mg/kg Orally Haloperidol-induced catalepsy in mice and rats (bar test) Enhancement in cataleptic effect of haloperidol Gupta et al. (2012)
Antianxiety activity Viscum album L Dried herb Methanolic and its ethyl acetate and 1-butanol fractions 50 and 100 mg/kg for extract, 5 and 10 mg/kg for fractions Orally Elevated plus-maze test on mice (EPM model) The number of entries and time spent in open arms in the elevated plus-maze test were significantly increased Kumar et al. (2016)
Antistress activity Viscum album L Dried herb Methanolic and its ethyl acetate and 1-butanol fractions 200 and 400 mg/kg for extract, 25 and 50 mg/kg for fractions Orally Cold swim test on mice Reduction in time spent by mice in the immobile state Kumar et al. (2016)
Antidepressant activity Viscum album L Dried herb Methanolic and its ethyl acetate and 1-butanol fractions 200 and 400 mg/kg for extract, 25 and 50 mg/kg for fractions Orally Despair swim test on mice Reduction in the duration of immobility in mice Kumar et al. (2016)
Analgesic activity Viscum album L Dried herb Methanolic and its ethyl acetate and 1-butanol fractions 200 and 400 mg/kg for extract, 25 and 50 mg/kg for fractions Orally Tail immersion test was conducted by recording tail withdrawal from heat (flicking response) in mice Significant analgesic activity Kumar et al. (2016)
Viscum album L Dried leaves and stems Apricot (Armeniaca vulgaris Lam.) Ethyl acetate 2′-Hydroxy-4′,6′-dimethoxy-chalcone-4-O-β-d-glucopyranoside and 5,7-dimethoxy-flavanone-4′-O-[β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 → 2)]-β-D-glucopyranoside 125 and 250 mg/kg for extract and 30 mg/kg for isolated compounds Orally p-Benzoquinone-induced writhing test in mice and carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model in mice Ethyl acetate fraction and isolated compounds exhibited antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity Orhan et al. (2006)
Viscum orientale Willd Dried leaves Exoecaria agalloch Methanolic 300 and 500 mg/kg Orally Acetic acid-induced writhing model in mice and formalin-induced paw licking in mice Writhing and paw licking inhibition Khatun et al. (2016)
Alzheimer’s disease Viscum album L Dried leaves Orange tree Aqueous 100 mg/kg, daily Orally 21 days Aluminum chloride-induced Alzheimer’s disease in mice Increase in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF); reduction of aluminum chloride-induced memory impairment and oxidative damage Ademola et al. (2016) and Ekpenyong et al. (2016)
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Dried herb Methanolic 25 and 50 mg/kg, daily Orally 7 days Intracerebroventricular injection of amyloid β protein in mice Protection from memory impairment induced by intracerebroventricular injection of amyloid β protein Jang et al. (2015)
Mood Eurixor (Viscum album L.) Fresh herb Aqueous Lectin (ML-1) 1 ng/kg body weight, twice a week Subcutaneously 12 weeks Breast cancer patients (n = 36) Increased levels of plasma beta-endorphin Heiny and Beuth 1994)
Eurixor (Viscum album L.) Fresh herb Aqueous Lectin (ML-1) 0.5–1.0 ng /kg body weight, twice a week Subcutaneously 24 weeks Breast cancer patients (n = 47) Increased levels of plasma beta-endorphin Heiny et al. (1998)
Antiobesity activity Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Dried herb Oak Aqueous 3 g/kg, daily Orally 15 weeks High-fat diet-induced obesity in mice Reduction in body and epididymal fat pad weights Jung et al. (2013)
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Dried herb Oak Aqueous and ethanolic Betulin and oleanolic acid Diet containing 0.2 or 0.6% of extract Orally 8 weeks Partial pancreatectomized rats Reduction in epididymal fat mass by increasing fat oxidation Ko et al. (2016)
Endurance capacity Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Dried herb Oak Aqueous 3 g/kg, daily Orally 15 weeks Endurance test with treadmill in high-fat diet- induced obesity mice Mistletoe treated mice run twice as far as high-fat diet mice Jung et al. (2013)
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Dried herb Oak Aqueous 400 and 1000 mg/kg, daily 1 week Endurance test with treadmill in mice Mistletoe treated mice run 2.5-times longer than control mice, plasma lactate levels of exhausted mice were significantly lower Jung et al. (2012)
25—400 mg/kg, daily Forced swim test in mice The swimming time to exhaustion was prolonged by as much as 212%
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Leaves Oak Aqueous 500 mg/kg, daily Orally 2 weeks Endurance test with treadmill in mice Decreases in level of plasma lactate dehydrogenase, increase in the plasma FFA level Lee et al. (2014)
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Whole plant Aqueous diet Containing 0.3 and 1.5% of extract Orally 4 weeks Treadmill and swimming pool tests in mice Increased swimming activity and elevated running times on the treadmill Jeong et al. (2017)
Activity against muscle decline Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Whole plant Aqueous 200 and 500 mg/kg, twice a day Orally by gavage 15 days Denervated mice Decrease in denervation, decrease in the expression of Atrogin-1, no effect on Murf1 expression Jeong et al. (2017)
Diet containing 0.3 and 1.5% of extract 4 weeks Mice Increased whole body weights, a higher weight of quadricepses, increased grip strengths, increased swimming activity and elevated running times on the treadmill, increased skeletal muscle area and diameter
Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nacai Whole plant Aqueous 1 and 2 g/d Orally 12 weeks Randomized controlled trial with 67 patients aged 55–75 Significant differences were found in atrogin-1 mRNA, myogenin mRNA and insulin growth factor 1 receptor phosphorylation Lim et al. (2017)
Nephroprotective activity Helixor M (Viscum album L.) Fresh herb Apple tree (Malus domestica Borkh.) Aqueous 5 mg/kg Intraperitoneally 10 days Methotrexate-induced acute oxidative stress and nephrotoxicity in rats Improvement in the glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities, decrease in the NO and myeloperoxidase levels was not significant Sakalli Çetin et al. (2017)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Cordia macleodii Hook.f. & Thomson Oleanolic acid 40, 60 and 80 mg/kg, daily Orally 8 days Gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity Decrease in serum and urine levels of creatinine, albumin and urea Patil et al. (2010)
Diuretic activity Viscum angulatum B.Heyne ex DC Dried herb Randia dumetorum (Retz.) Lam Methanolic 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg Orally 24 h Rats Dose-dependent increase in urine excretion volume, significant saluretic and natriuretic activity, the Cl(-)/Na( +) + K( +) ratio, which indicates carbonic anhydrase mediated activity remained unaffected Jadhav et al. (2010b)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Dried herb Cordia macleodii Hook.f. & Thomson Methanolic 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg Orally 24 h Rats Dose-dependent increase in urine excretion volume, significant saluretic and natriuretic activity (Jadhav et al. (2010a)
Wound healing Viscum album L Liphohilic extract Ointment Topical treatment 12 patients with 15 BCC lesions Achievement of hemostasis in bleeding tumor wounds and after a prolonged treatment period a wound epithelialization with a thin epithelial layer Kunz et al. (2011) and Kuonen et al. (2013)
Viscum articulatum Burm. f Whole plant Ethanol 1% extract ointment Incision, excision and dead space wound model in rats Reduction in wound area, faster re-epithelization rate Garg et al. (2012)
Antiulcer activity Viscum articulatum Burm. f Dried herb Methanolic 200 and 400 mg/kg orally Ethanol-induced ulcer model and pylorus ligation ulcer model in rats Inhibition of the gastric lesions Naganjaneyulu et al. (2011)
Antibacterial activity Viscum album L Dried leaves Cocoa Methanolic 1000 mg/kg, daily 7 days Rats with infections of Staphylococcus aureus + Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli + Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. aureus + P. aeruginosa and infection of E. coli Heamatological and histopathological analyses showed therapeutic effects of the extract Yusuf et al. (2013)