Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jul-Dec;11(22):153-157.
doi: 10.4103/phrev.phrev_16_17.

A Hidden Treasure: The Borneo Mistletoes

Ya Chee Lim  1 , Rajan Rajabalaya  1 , Sheba Rani David  1
Affiliations
Review

A Hidden Treasure: The Borneo Mistletoes

Ya Chee Lim et al. Pharmacogn Rev. 2017 Jul-Dec.

Abstract

The European mistletoe, Viscum album, is the most common consumed adjuvant among cancer patients in Europe. Its success warrants a report on three most apparent mistletoes found in Borneo Island, namely Scurrula ferruginea, Macrosolen cochinchinensis, and Dendrophthoe curvata. The traditional and pharmacological uses of these mistletoes include antibacterial, anticancer, antiviral, antihypertensive, antioxidative, and cytotoxic effects. Phytochemicals such as flavonols, alkaloids, tannins, and gallic acid have been reported in one of these mistletoes. This review discusses the potential of these mistletoes as therapeutic agents.

Keywords: Cancer; Dendrophthoe curvata; Macrosolen cochichinensis; Scurrula ferruginea; plant; traditional medicine; tropical.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Luscious bush of Scurrula ferruginea on a tree alongside the road in Brunei Darussalam. (b) A stalk of Scurrula ferruginea with the brown flower
Figure 2
Figure 2
Macrosolen cochinchinensis parasitizing on a tree
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Okubamichael DY, Griffiths ME, Ward D. Host specificity in parasitic plants-perspectives from mistletoes. AoB Plants. 2016;8:plw069. - PMC - PubMed
    1. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III. An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Bot J Linn Soc. 2009;161:105–21.
    1. Kahle-Zuber D. Biology and Evolution of the European Mistletoe (Viscum album) 2008
    1. Moghadamtousi SZ, Kamarudin MN, Chan CK, Goh BH, Kadir HA. Phytochemistry and biology of Loranthus parasiticus Merr, a commonly used herbal medicine. Am J Chin Med. 2014;42:23–35. - PubMed
    1. Murwani R. Indonesian tea mistletoe (Scurrula oortiana) stem extract increases tumour cell sensitivity to tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) Phytother Res. 2003;17:407–9. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources