As discussed in the Medicinal Mistletoes blog post, mistletoe species belonging to the genus Viscum have been shown or speculated to have a range of medicinal values. Extracts of Viscum species have been used to treat cancer, diabetes, and dementia and control immune system responses. Following on from the known traditional uses and recent scientific findings, Shin-Hae Lee and colleagues have recently discovered that extracts from a Korean mistletoe (Viscum album subsp. coloratum) can extend the lifespan of worms and flies.
Korean mistletoe (Viscum album subsp. coloratum). Photo: Shu Suehiro
To process the mistletoe for their study, these researchers mashed leaves from local plants that were growing on oak trees and then boiled them for 3 hours in water before using centrifuging and filtering the material. This was then added to the food of Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies and applied to the agar plates that Caenorhabditis elegans worms were living in.
Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly. Photo: Robert Brucker.
Caenorhabditis elegans worms. Photo: Bob Goldstein.
During the experiment, the researchers measured lifespan and various stress and performance variables of both species. They found that the mistletoe extract successfully extended the lifespan of both the flies and worms.
The following graph shows the survival rate over time for the worms. The dotted and dashed lines are populations treated with KME (Korean Mistletoe Extract) and you can see that the populations that received both the low and high KME doses outlived the control population:
The following graph shows the survival rate over time for the worms. The dotted and dashed lines are populations treated with KME (Korean Mistletoe Extract) and you can see that the populations that received both the low and high KME doses outlived the control population:
Shin-Hae Lee et al. (2014).
This research is likely to lead to more work in the area of mistletoe medicine and lifespan longevity because there are many complicating factors that are not yet understood (check out the article if you're interested in the details).
Some of New Zealand's mistletoes are in the same family as Viscum album but as mentioned in this post, they are not known to have medicinal properties.
Some of New Zealand's mistletoes are in the same family as Viscum album but as mentioned in this post, they are not known to have medicinal properties.
RSS Feed
