What is mistletoe

When it comes to what mistletoe is, I believe many friends will feel very unfamiliar. Mistletoe is also known as willow parasite, frozen mistletoe, and mistletoe. It is a shrub plant. In addition, mistletoe has great medicinal value, especially the effects of removing rheumatism and stabilizing pregnancy. It can also improve our body's blood pressure circulation and even has anti-tumor effects. So what are the effects and functions of mistletoe?

Mistletoe has very good effects and functions, and is effective for chronic diseases in middle-aged and elderly people. For example, it has a good medical auxiliary effect on lowering blood pressure, lowering blood lipids, and treating back pain and other diseases. Let me give you a detailed introduction to what mistletoe is.

What is mistletoe

Mistletoe, also known as northern parasite, mistletoe, willow parasite, yellow parasite, frozen green, parasite, is a shrub of the family Loranthaceae. It usually parasitizes on oak, apple, poplar, and pine trees. It is harmful to the host. The stems are flexible and green; the leaves are oblanceolate, leathery, and light green. In early spring, small stalks emerge between the leaves, with small flowers, which are light yellow, unisexual, and dioecious. The fruit is translucent and yellow-green; the pulp contains sticky substances. The leafy stems and branches of the plant can be used for medicinal purposes, which have the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys, strengthening the muscles and bones, removing rheumatism, and calming the fetus. Mistletoe extract can improve microcirculation, and its total bioalkali also has anti-tumor effects. In addition, mistletoe has a profound cultural heritage. For example, it is regarded as a sacred object by British druids and has a special meaning in English.

Main Value

Pharmacological Action

1. Effect on cardiovascular system: Subcutaneous injection of ethanol extract of fresh leaves into anesthetized rabbits and dogs can reduce blood pressure for more than 1 hour. Mistletoe injection 0.25g/100ml Rockwell solution has the effect of dilating the coronary arteries in the isolated guinea pig heart and also counteracting the coronary artery contraction caused by vasopressin. 2. Effect on enkephalin content: Oral administration of mistletoe decoction 5g/rat can restore the increased content of brainstem and striatal enkephalin and leukenkephalin and the decreased content of hypothalamic enkephalin in deoxycorticosterone-salt hypertensive rats to normal levels. 3. In addition, it also has the effects of anti-platelet aggregation and enhancing immune function. 4. Improve microcirculation. 5. Antihypertensive effect. 6. Anti-platelet aggregation effect. 7. Anti-tumor effect: Total alkaloids of mistletoe have obvious inhibitory effects on Lewis lung cancer, S37 solid tumors, EAC, S180, ARS and L1210 leukemia.

Indications and functions: Nourishes the liver and kidneys; strengthens the tendons and bones; eliminates rheumatism; and stabilizes pregnancy. It is mainly used to treat soreness of waist and knees, rheumatic pain, fetal movement disorder, and miscarriage. Dosage and Administration: For oral administration: decoct in water, 10-15g; or make into pills or powder; soak in wine or mash into juice. For external use: take appropriate amount and mash it for application.

Chinese medicine preparations

Shumaining Granules: 3500g of mistletoe and appropriate amount of sucrose powder. Boil mistletoe with water, filter, and concentrate the filtrate into a paste. Add appropriate amount of sucrose powder according to the content of the extract, mix well, make granules, dry, and make 19000g of granules, and package them. The product is brown granules; it tastes sweet and slightly bitter. 19g per bag. Function: dilate blood vessels and increase coronary blood flow. Used for coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Oral administration, 1 bag each time, 2 times a day, with boiled water. One course of treatment is 4 weeks.

Shujin Huoxue Tablets: [Prescription] 80g of safflower, 300g of Cyperus rotundus (processed), 400g of Cibotium bark (processed), 200g of Perilla frutescens bark, 300g of Trachelospermum officinale, 300g of Herba Lycopodii, 300g of Eupatorium fortunei leaves, 400g of Mistletoe, 300g of Millettia reticulata, 50g of natural copper (calcined).

[Effects and indications] Relaxes muscles and tendons, activates collaterals, promotes blood circulation and relieves blood stasis. Used for muscle and bone pain, limb cramps, low back pain, and trauma.

[Usage and Dosage] Oral, 5 tablets at a time, 3 times a day.

Clinical Application

1. Treatment of chronic bronchitis: put 1.5g of tangerine peel and 3g of mistletoe (also known as "Chen Ji Yin") into a teacup or bowl, brew with 200ml of boiling water, cover and let stand for 10 minutes before taking. Take half of it the first time, and add an equal amount of boiled water to take half of it the second time. Take it 3 times a day in this way, and 1 dose for 3 consecutive days. It can be taken before or after meals. 2. Used for rheumatism, pain in waist and knees, etc. This product can not only eliminate rheumatism, but also nourish blood, benefit the liver and kidneys, and strengthen the muscles and bones. Therefore, it can be used to treat rheumatism, pain caused by deficiency of blood and energy, insufficiency of liver and kidney, soreness of waist and knees, weakness of tendons and bones, etc. It is especially suitable for arthralgia caused by liver and kidney deficiency. It is often used together with Duhuo, Qinjiao, cinnamon twig, Eucommia ulmoides, and Angelica sinensis, such as Duhuo Jishe Decoction. 3. Used for miscarriage bleeding and fetal movement disorder. This product nourishes the liver and kidneys and nourishes the blood, so it has the effects of consolidating the Chong and Ren meridians and stabilizing the fetus. It is often used together with donkey-hide gelatin, Dipsacus asper, Cuscuta australis, etc., such as Shoutai Pills. 4. Treat coronary heart disease, angina pectoris and arrhythmia. Combine 12 ml of mistletoe injection (equivalent to 24 g of crude drug) with 20-40 ml of 25% glucose solution for intravenous injection, or add 18 ml to 250 ml of 5% glucose solution for intravenous drip, once a day for a total of 14 days.

Ornamental value

People generally believe that parasitic plants will have a certain impact on the growth of the host, so they are rarely used in gardens. With its excellent characteristics, mistletoe has formed a special landscape in some scenic spots in China and has gradually attracted the attention of garden workers.

1. Artistic beauty: Mistletoe is one of the rare evergreen plants in northern China. Especially in the early spring in the northeast, its thick opposite leaves are very cute, bringing a touch of vitality to the cold north. When covered with ice and snow, mistletoe undoubtedly adds greenery to the monotonous background of the area and is a good early spring ornamental plant. 2. Beauty of form: The growth pattern of mistletoe is typical binary branching, and its perennial individual shapes are graceful and tortuous when viewed closely. Since mistletoe usually grows in clusters on different parts of the host, it looks like bird's nests growing on the tree from a distance, which arouses the curiosity and interest of tourists. 3. Beautiful colors: After September every year, the mistletoe fruits gradually mature, changing from green to red or yellow, and the color can last until November to December. The two types of fruit-bearing plants are often mixed on the same host, creating a red and yellow visual effect; and the mistletoe after the snow presents a contrast between red and white, making it a rare fruit-viewing plant after the broad-leaved trees shed their leaves. 4. Ecological beauty: Field observations show that mistletoe, as a semi-parasitic plant, can carry out photosynthesis on its own and has little impact on the host. The investigation did not find any host death caused by parasitism, and its fruits are one of the sources of food for some frugivorous birds in winter. Therefore, mistletoe is the link between birds and other woody plants in the forest ecosystem, and becomes an important link in regulating forest species diversity.

After reading the detailed answer to the question of what mistletoe is introduced above, I believe that you all have a general understanding of mistletoe. In addition to being a special landscape in many scenic spots in my country, mistletoe has great artistic conception and beautiful colors, and also has great medicinal value. Especially for pregnant women, taking mistletoe can have the effects of nourishing the fetus, calming the fetus, and nourishing the blood, liver and kidneys, etc. Therefore, mistletoe is a very good Chinese herbal medicine.