It’s a symbol of good luck and harmony – that’s why you can see it tied into a bunch with a ribbon and hung under many doorways during Christmas.

In some old traditions, people use it as a love charm as the myth goes it can seal a couple’s love when they kiss under its fresh-cut leaves. Yes, we’re talking about mistletoe.

With hundreds of mistletoe species growing around the world, it is no wonder the plant has long been part of many cultures – in their myths and ancient healing practices. As its name – derived from the Celtic word mil’ioc or “all heal” – suggests, this parasitic plant that grows on many kinds of trees has long been believed to help cure many ailments, thanks to its hallucinogenic 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.  

“Mistletoe is one of the unique species in Indonesian biodiversity,” says Nina Artanti, researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). “It’s unique because on one hand, mistletoe is unwanted due to its parasitic property that harms other trees with economic value such as tea and those that produce fruits, but on the other hand, it’s considered beneficial for its potential as a medicinal plant.”

The medical use of mistletoe, as Nina points out, is engrained in many traditions – the Chinese, Native American, European and Southeast Asian. Among the Native Americans, for example, mistletoe infusion is used to treat headaches and lung diseases.

In China, the plant is believed to be able to strengthen the kidney, calm pregnant women’s uterus contractions, reduce back pain and the pain of swelling, as well as lower blood pressure.

In countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, several types of mistletoe are also used to treat flu, blotches, small poxes, rheumatism and bronchitis.

Given all the mistletoe’s promises of healing, we might wonder, what’s the magic inside the plant?

According to scientific research, the famous flavonoid, an antioxidant agent contained in the mistletoe, brings all those health benefits. Not only does it act an antioxidant agent, flavonoid also has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-virus properties. And it is the flavonoid that has led scientists like Nina to study the mistletoe’s ability to cure cancer.

“Mistletoe contains many flavonoids, which act as antioxidants that can prevent cancer,” Nina explains.

Scientifically speaking, antioxidant agents like the flavonoid help our body fight against damaging free radicals, the rogue molecules that set off a slow chain reaction within the body to destroy cells and degenerate the body’s organs. The onset of many diseases related to the heart or cancerous stem from these free radicals.

Nina has already conducted several studies on the potential of Indonesia’s mistletoe to cure cancer.  

There are, according to Nina, 44 species of mistletoe in Java alone. However, she goes on, Indonesians usually name the mistletoe after the host plant it grows on, such as benalu teh (mistletoe that grows on tea tree), benalu belimbing (on star fruit tree), benalu mangga (on a mango tree) and so on.

“This kind of naming can be misleading as many species of mistletoe can also grow on the same trees,” she says, mentioning species like Scurulla oortiana, Scurulla junghunii and Dendropthtoe pentandra found on many tea trees.

In Indonesia, she says, mistletoe species growing on tea and mango trees for example have been known as alternative medicine to treat cancer. Some of us may have heard about benalu teh extracts, which is believed to be able to cure tumors and can be found in certain herbal stores. According to the traditional practice here, mistletoe extracts are usually placed or boiled in a pot made of clay, as clay is said to be able to neutralize the toxins contained in mistletoe.  

Because the use of this kind of extract as medicine is inherited from past generations, Nina says she also seeks to give the practice more credibility through scientific research.

“So there can be more information about its chemical properties, efficacy and safety,” says the master graduate from the New South Wales University in Australia. “This is important considering traditional medicines are relatively cheap, easy to find and have minimum side effects,” she adds.  

During her studies, Nina focused on mistletoe species growing on star fruit and jackfruit trees, as there weren’t many previous studies that did so.

So, how did she conduct her research? First, Nina placed cancer cells inside two tubes; one of them contained the mistletoe extracts, while the other didn’t. She observed both of the tubes on a daily basis, and later found the cancer cells placed with the mistletoe extracts grew 50 percent slower than the ones with no such extracts.

Nina also carried out similar research using laboratory rats. The animals were first injected with cancer cells, and one was later injected with extracts of mistletoe. The result also showed that the growth of the cancer cells was slower in the rat injected with mistletoe extracts.

According to Nina’s research, the chemical compound quercitrin (quercetin-3-rhamnoside) found in the star fruit’s mistletoe works as an active antioxidant agent, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells.

Nina’s studies complement several clinical studies conducted earlier in Europe. Although these clinical trials are sparse and the results rather inconclusive, mistletoe seems to cure cancer in several ways – by killing cancer cells, stimulating the immune system and helping reduce the size of the tumor.

“I am still at the stage of collecting scientific evidence to prove Indonesia’s mistletoe species really act as an anti-cancer agent,” Nina says, adding that she hasn’t considered yet the commercial aspect of her research, as there’s a possibility to develop her findings into a prescription drug.

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