Long a traditional part of cultures around the world, mistletoe has been shown to have possible cancer-treatment possibilities.

Mistletoe has long been linked to good luck, harmony, love, and has been used to treat ailments such as headaches, high blood pressure and lung disease. It may also have some cancer-fighting properties:

Scientists aiming to find cures for cancer have discovered – through research and clinical trials – that extracts of the plant seem to have an inhibiting effect on tumor growth. Rudolph Steiner, an Austrian Swiss physician and founder of the Society for Cancer Research, first proposed the use of mistletoe to treat cancer back in 1920. Since then, its use has become widespread.

In Europe today, mistletoe extracts from species growing on apple, oak, maple, elm, and pine trees are commercially available as alternative medicine to cure cancer, sold under the Iscador, Eurixor and Isorel brands. And Indonesian scientists are also participating in this race to find a cure for cancer, studying indigenous mistletoe species to support earlier research conducted in Western countries.

Source: The Jakarta Post

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