What are the medicinal values ​​of mistletoe?

Mistletoe is a relatively common plant, most of which parasitize on elm trees or pear trees. It can be picked almost every year. After picking, the plant can be chopped and then dried before use. Most of these plants are used for medicinal purposes, but not many people know about its medicinal value. Most of the time, it is seen in prescriptions written by doctors.

Plant morphology: Evergreen semi-parasitic small shrub, 30 to 60 cm tall. The stems and branches are cylindrical, yellow-green or green, with distinct nodes and 2 to 3 forked branches on the nodes. Simple leaves are opposite, growing at the ends of branches, sessile, nearly fleshy, shiny, elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate, entire, and glabrous on both sides. The flowers are unisexual and dioecious, growing at the ends of branches or at forks; the male flower has 4-lobed perianth, 4 stamens, no filaments, and multi-locular anthers; the female flowers are 1 to 3 and grow on a short and thick peduncle, with a bell-shaped, 4-lobed perianth and an inferior ovary. The berries are spherical, translucent, orange-red when ripe, and rich in mucilage. The flowering period is from April to May, and the fruiting period is September.

It parasitizes on trees such as elm, birch, maple poplar, pear tree, and oak. It is mainly produced in Northeast China and North China.

It can be harvested all year round, chopped, dried and set aside.

Characteristics: The stems and branches are cylindrical, with a diameter of 3 to 8 mm, slightly swollen at the nodes, up to 1.5 cm thick, with purple-black rings; the surface is golden yellow with irregular longitudinal and oblique wrinkles. The leaves are thick, golden yellow to yellow-brown, and have many transverse wrinkles. The stem is hard in texture, light yellow in cross section, with loose cortex, obvious cambium rings, white rays and small pith.

Chemical composition: The stems and leaves contain oleanolic acid, β-amyrin, mesoinositol and flavonoids; the leaves also contain viscum glycosides a, b and iupeol.

The nature and flavor are neutral, sweet and bitter.

Functions and indications: eliminate rheumatism, nourish the liver and kidneys, strengthen the muscles and bones, and stabilize the fetus. Used for rheumatic pain, soreness of waist and knees, and fetal movement disorder.

This article will introduce in detail the medicinal value of mistletoe. It is usually taken by pregnant women or the elderly because it has the effect of strengthening the body and can also stabilize the fetus. You can take this medicine when you feel that your baby's fetal movement is not very stable.