Mistletoes are stem hemiparasites, which grow on the branches of a host tree or shrub and take water, water-conducted nutrients and organic solutes from the host’s xylem. There are two major mistletoe families, Loranthaceae and Viscaceae. The Loranthaceae are principally Southern Hemisphere in distribution, with between 50 and 80 genera (Barlow, 1983). New Zealand has six native species in the ...

Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests are widely distributed throughout North America and are subject to mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) epidemics, which have caused mortality over millions of hectares of mature trees in recent decades. Mountain pine beetle is known to influence stand structure, and has the ability to impact many forest processes. Dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium ...

Insectivorous birds have been recognized as disproportionately sensitive to land-use intensification and habitat loss, with those species feeding primarily on the ground exhibiting some of the most dramatic declines. Altered litter inputs and availability of epigeic arthropods have been suggested to underlie reduced abundances and shrinking distributions but direct evidence is lacking. I used a...

BACKGROUND Malignant pleural effusion is a common problem in patients with solid tumours. It has a significant impact on quality of life, and, hence, there is a substantial need to investigate new agents to treat it. PATIENTS AND METHODS This is a prospective randomised controlled study, including patients with symptomatic recurrent malignant pleural effusion of different primaries. Patients ...

Mistletoes are highly specialized perennial flowering plants adapted to parasitic life on aerial parts of their hosts. In our discussion on the physiological interactions between parasite and host, we focus on water relations, mineral nutrition, and the effect of host vigour. When host photosynthesis is greatest, the xylem water potential of the host is most negative. To maintain a flux gradien...

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a major and very common disabling condition in cancer patients. Treatment options do exist but have limited therapeutic effects. Mistletoe extracts are widely-used complementary cancer treatments whose possible impact on CRF has not been investigated in detail. A 36-year-old Swedish woman with a 10-year history of recurrent breast cancer, suffering from severe CR...

BACKGROUND More than 200,000 persons died in 2002 in Germany as a consequence of cancer diseases. Cancer (ICD-9: 140-208, ICD-10: C00-C97) accounted for 28% of all male deaths and for 22% of all female deaths. Cancer treatment consists on surgery, radio- and chemotherapy. During chemotherapy patients may experience a wide variety of toxic effects (including life-threatening toxicity) which requ...

BACKGROUND Anthroposophic Mistletoe therapy is a widely used complementary cancer treatment. OBJECTIVE To evaluate prospective clinical trials on the effectiveness of anthroposophic mistletoe therapy for cancer. DESIGN Systematic review. MATERIAL AND METHODS Search of 9 electronic databases, reference lists and extensive expert consultations. Criteria-based assessment of methodological st...

Ewing sarcoma is the second most common bone cancer in children and adolescents, with poor prognosis and outcome in ~70% of initial diagnoses and 10-15% of relapses. Hydrophobic triterpene acids and hydrophilic lectins and viscotoxins from European mistletoe (Viscum album L.) demonstrate anticancer properties, but have not yet been investigated for Ewing sarcoma. Commercial Viscum album L. extr...