Phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicity of an epiphytic medicinal shrub Viscum album L. (White Berry Mistletoe)

Abstract

Plants have many uses such as healers and health rejuvenators since ancient times. Since the ancient times, man has used plants to treat common infectious diseases, and some of these traditional medicines are still included as part of the habitual treatment systems. Ethnobotanical practices, since remote times, have highlighted the significance of phytotherapy which nowadays has become much preferred choice in treatment and management of diseases than that of lethal conventional chemotherapy. Medicinal plants have been credited with health benefits and have been attributed to multipotent antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-ulcerative, and antidiabetic properties. Medicinal plants are the richest bio-resources of drugs of traditional medicinal systems, modern medicines, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk medicines, pharmaceuticals, and intermediate chemicals entitled for synthetic drugs. Many scientific reports have clearly demonstrated Viscum album as highly valuable medicinal epiphyte with wide spectrum of active components that are traditionally employed in treatment of many health disorders like aging, inflammation, headaches, epilepsy, tumor, plague, fertility problems, and as poison antidote. Nowadays the indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs has led to drug resistance among the common masses. Given the alarming incidence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria of medical importance, there is a constant need to look for new and effective therapeutic agents which could be available from various medicinal plants. In this context the present review is an attempt to put forth pharmacological potential of the plant V. album L. that has arisen due to high level of chemical diversity especially in active lead components that are associated with many biological effects.