PURPOSE Mistletoe extracts are often used in complementary cancer therapy although the efficacy of that therapy is controversially discussed. Approved mistletoe extracts contain mainly water soluble compounds of the mistletoe plant, i.e. mistletoe lectins. However, mistletoe also contains water-insoluble triterpenoids (mainly oleanolic acid) that have anti-tumorigenic effects. To overcome their...

The influence of mistletoe density on avian diversity has been noted previously, with several studies demonstrating a close positive relationship between the two variables. All previous work has been correlative, exploiting naturally occurring variation in mistletoe density, and hence unable to demonstrate a causative link between mistletoe density and avian richness. Here I compare the avifaun...

PURPOSE European Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) extracts (mistletoe) are commonly used for cancer treatment in Europe. This phase I study of gemcitabine (GEM) and mistletoe in advanced solid cancers (ASC) evaluated: (1) safety, toxicity, and maximum tolerated dose (MTD), (2) absolute neutrophil count (ANC) recovery, (3) formation of mistletoe lectin antibodies (ML ab), (4) cytokine plasma concentr...

This study addresses the underlying spatial distribution of oak mistletoe, Phoradendron villosum, a hemi-parasitic plant that provides a continuous supply of berries for frugivorous birds overwintering the oak savanna habitat of California's outer coast range. As the winter community of birds consuming oak mistletoe varies from group-living territorial species to birds that roam in flocks, we a...

Various entities have been designated keystone resources, but few tests have been attempted and we are unaware of any experimental manipulations of purported keystone resources. Mistletoes (Loranthaceae) provide structural and nutritional resources within canopies, and their pervasive influence on diversity led to their designation as keystone resources. We quantified the effect of mistletoe on...

Background. Traditional mistletoe therapy in cancer patients involves subcutaneous applications of Viscum album L. preparations, with doses slowly increasing based on patient responses. Intravenous infusion of high doses may improve therapeutic outcomes and is becoming more common. Little is known about the safety of this "off-label" application of mistletoe. Methods. An observational study was...

1. Seed dispersal is considered critical for shaping the spatial structure of plant populations, though little empirical effort has been made to interpret this effect in terms of the scale at which plant species are distributed and cope with environmental heterogeneity. We assessed the spatial role of seed dispersal in Tristerix corymbosus , a mistletoe dispersed exclusively in the temperate fo...

ABSTRACT We determined the spatial pattern of dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium spp.) associated with two different conifer hosts, white fir (Abies concolor) and Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi), in forests around the Lake Tahoe Basin and at the Teakettle Experimental Forest, both located in the Sierra Nevada. We also examined a number of host variables and bark beetle incidence to determine how these...

Mistletoe is collected wildly on various plants and Phragmanthera incana is noted to grow on different plant hosts. This study was designed to carry out the ethnobotanical survey, phytochemical and mineral analyses of Phragmanthera incana, a species of mistletoe growing on three plant hosts namely Cocoa (Theobroma cacao), Kolanut (Cola nitida) and Bush mango (Irvingia gabonensis). Mistletoe sam...