Bioactivity of Viscum album extracts from Olive and Almond host plants in Palestine

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murad Abualhasan ◽  
Nidal Jaradat ◽  
Nael Abu-Hasan ◽  
Motasem Almasri ◽  
Adham Abu Taha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Viscum Album

Effects of Viscum album (mistletoe) from three host plants (cocoa, kola and coffee) on semen quality of wistar albino rats

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chem Int
Keyword(s):  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Wistar Rats ◽  
Semen Quality ◽  
Repeated Administration ◽  
Viscum Album ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Semen Parameters ◽  
Albino Rats

Toxicity evaluation of medicinal plants is useful to know their safety profile. Male infertility arising from administration of drugs of plant origin is a major health concern. In the management of chronic health issues, the adverse effects of these agents are often down-played in favour of the beneficial medicinal values. This encourages repeated administration or consumption of part or whole plant products. Viscum album (mistletoe) is a popular medicinal plants used in the treatment of various chronic diseases. However, there is paucity of research on the effect of mistletoe from different host plants on male fertility. The study investigated the effects of aqueous extracts of Viscum album obtained from three host plants (Cocoa, Kola and Coffee) on semen parameters of Wistar rats. Animals were divided into four groups Control, Cocoa, Kola and Coffee respectively. Group 1 served as control (received distilled water, 10 ml/kg), groups 2, 3, 4 and 5 had four sub-groups each. Each sub-group received 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 mg/kg doses of extract respectively daily for 24 days. Five animals were allotted to each group (control) and sub-group (extracts). Administration of 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 mg/kg doses of extract of Viscum album obtained from three host plants (Cocoa, Kola and Coffee) caused dose-dependent significant (P<0.05, 0.01) decrease in semen quality (count, motility, morphology, concentration and viability) respectively. However, semen volume was not significantly altered (P>0.05). The results suggest that Viscum album obtained from the three host plants adversely affected sperm parameters in male wistar rats. Thus, people who consume the plant extracts should be careful and medical practitioners who prescribe Viscum album in the management of chronic diseases should be cautious.

Nutritional relationships between hemi-parasitic mistletoe and some of its deciduous hosts in different habitats

Biologia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cengiz Türe ◽  
Harun Böcük ◽  
Zerrin Aşan
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Viscum Album ◽  
Mineral Nutrient ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Nutrient Partitioning ◽  
Host Parasite

AbstractParasitism of plants by other plants provides an exceptional opportunity for investigating correlative nutritional relationships. Because of lacking a usual plant-root sytem capable of active uptake, the best correlation for predicting the concentrations of elements in parasitic plants is often those in the host plants. This study, therefore, mainly focuses on determination of i) mineral nutrient partitioning between hemi-parasitic white berry mistletoe (Viscum album L. subsp. album) and four of its deciduous hosts growing in different habitats namely wetland and semi-arid and ii) effects of these habitat types on nutrient absorption. During the research, leaf samples of both hemi-parasites and their host plants were chemically analysed, mistletoes on each host plants were counted and the results were considered statistically. Concentrations of some elements (N, P, K, Na, S, Cu, Zn) were higher in mistletoe whereas some others (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn and B) were higher in the hosts (p< 0.05). Habitat type was also determined to be effective in host-parasite systems. Revealing information about nutritional interactions between multi-host hemi-parasites and their host plants is a useful tool to understand their functions in ecosystems, population-community dynamics and their co-evolution process.

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