Increased plasma total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein levels produced by the crude extract from the leaves of <i>Viscum album</i> (mistletoe).

Abstract

Summary:The effect of an aqueous extract prepared from the leaves of Viscum album (Mistletoe) on plasma cholesterol and albumin levels in male Wistar rats was studied. Lethality studies revealed that the extract had an LD 50 value of 417.0mg/kg mice, intraperitoneally. The rats were randomly divided into seven (7) groups of 5 rats per group with one animal per metabolic cage. Group one served as the control (C1), groups two to six were treated with extract (200mg/kg body weight orally and daily) for a maximum of ten (10) weeks, whereas, group seven (C2) received no extract treatment but was fed on normal rat chow. All the rats had free access to rat food and drinking water. The first group (C1) was sacrificed a fortnight after the commencement of the experiment, while group seven (C2) was sacrificed at the end (10 th week) of the experiment. The extract-treated groups were sacrificed respectively in the order 2,4,6,8 and 10 week of extract administration. Whole blood was collected from these groups for analysis. Results showed significant increases (P<0.01) in the level of total cholesterol (TC) from 1.92 + 0.11mmol/L to 2.59 + 0.02mmol/L (about 35% increase) and high density lipoproteins (HDL) from 0.95 + 0.02mmol/L to 1.50 + 0.08mmol/L (about 58.50% increase) at week 10. The LDL levels, the total protein and albumin levels did not show any significant change from the control values. From the results, it is suggested that the crude aqueous extract from mistletoe leaf may be relatively safe for therapeutic use as it neither predisposes to cardiovascular risk nor adversely affects protein metabolism following prolonged period of administration.

Clinical Evaluation of Viscum album Mother Tincture as an Antihypertensive

“…The lipid profile of the treatment group showed statistically significant reduction in triglycerides ( P < .0001) and no change in serum cholesterol ( P = .142). This observation does not give a clear impression of the antilipidemic property of the drug when viewed in light of research studies conducted by Avci et al 15 and Ben et al 16 The study of Avci et al noted reduction in lipid profile of Viscum album –treated mice rats, whereas the study of Ben et al reported increased serum cholesterol in Viscum album –treated male wistar rats. This uncertainty in the antilipidemic property of the drug is further strengthened due to lack of complete lipid profile analysis in the study.…”

The effects of Korean mistletoe extract on endurance during exercise in mice

“…Methanol or ethanol extracts of mistletoe were reported to decrease total plasma cholesterol levels (Avci et al 2006;Ferrero et al 2007;Bachhav et al 2012) and increase HDL-C levels (Avci et al 2006;Ben et al 2006;Adaramoye et al 2012) in mice or rats. However, the effect of an aqueous extract of Korean mistletoe on the plasma levels of cholesterol and HDL-C was controversial (Kim 2006;Kim & Kim 2009).…”

Role of natural herbs in the treatment of hypertension

“…The results suggested that the mistletoe extract produces antihypertensive effect without alteration in HR, possibly involving sympathetic mechanism. [88]…”