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According to Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy, mistletoe is "insanely aristocratic," because it grows according to its own rhythms, "as if the Earth were not there." It grows in any direction, often forming a strange ball up in a tree, it flowers in the winter, and it has berries all year long. He argued that mistletoe was the perfect remedy for cancer and developed it into a specially crafted medicine called Iscador, which is used in Europe (and which is not the same thing as an extract - mistletoe is poisonous). Mistletoe is also known as Birdlime, Herbe de la Croix, Mystyldene, and Lignum Crucis. This is chopped mistletoe harvested in Europe from apple trees.<br>see also : [[Iscador Therapy]]

All species of mistletoe are not recommended for the home herbalist and are best left to professional practitioners. While there are valuable medicinal uses for this herb, all parts of the plant are acutely toxic and there are much safer and less toxic choices available to the home herbalist to treat the same conditions. The berries are considered to be especially toxic. Call your health care practitioner if you experience any of these possible side effects of mistletoe: 

Folk healers in Europe and particularly in Asia have long relied on mistletoe for treating everything from rapid heart rates and high blood pressure to epilepsy. But by far the most popular use of mistletoe today--particularly in Europe--is for treating cancer. Despite mistletoe's known toxic effects, some people still use it as a natural remedy. Certain chemicals in mistletoe have shown antitumor activity, but more studies must be done to evaluate the herb's effectiveness and long-term safety. In the United States, intravenous mistletoe preparations aren't standardized, so researchers probably won't evaluate the herb as a tumor treatment in the near future.In Europe, the plant is used in oncology therapies under the trade names Iscador® and Helixor®.* Cancer of : It is hypothesized that water soluble mistletoe lectins are the breastactive anti-cancer constituents in the plant, colonalong with polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, and stomachviscotoxins (14, 23). Lectins in particular induce programmed cell death, or apoptosis, in cancer cell lines, and exhibit direct cytotoxic (cancer cell killing) activity. Commercial methods of aqueous mistletoe purification are not able to extract water insoluble triterpenoids, which have anti-melanoma effects. **[[Breast Cancer]], [[Colon Cancer]], and [[Stomach Cancer]] : Early research suggests that a specific European mistletoe extract (Iscador, Weleda, Germany) given by injection might improve survival in patients with solid tumors of the breast, colon, or stomach. But these results have been questioned because the study wasn’t designed well. So far, there isn't enough reliable evidence to support using European mistletoe for any type of cancer. Stick to proven treatments.**[[Bladder cancerCancer]]. Some evidence suggests that administering a specific European mistletoe extract placed into the bladder for 6 weeks might reduce bladder cancer recurrence rates in certain patients.**[[Melanoma]] : Although human trials are conflicting, in vivo and in vitro studies have highlighted anti-tumor effects of mistletoe against acute lymphoblastic [[leukemia]], various carcinomas, and melanoma cells.** In addition, mistletoe has prolonged survival in patients with [[Pancreatic Cancer]] as well as breast and gynecological cancers in human studies ** [[Immunotherapy]] : Mistletoe extracts have also been used in cancer immunotherapy in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The field of immunotherapy, particularly encouraging our own bodies to fight cancers, is a particularly exciting field at present, using our own T-cells (from their origin in the thymus gland); many novel compounds serve to stimulate the immune system and/or activate the natural immune response, or function to aid and strengthen it. As mistletoe can enhance both humoral (antibody-mediated) and cellular immune responses when injected into cancer patients, potentially increasing the ability of the immune system to eliminate cancer.