Christmas feelings, Poisonous Parasite or Panacea?
Mistletoe is a medicinal plant and grows as a hemiparasite on many different trees. It is contained in one of the very few licensed veterinary herbal calmers, with the manufacturer stating, “helps to support the natural calming pathways within the nervous system and helps circulation”. We are now using a locally sourced mistletoe from organic apple orchards for conditions like high blood pressure in cats. Historically Mistletoe was used by Greeks, Romans and Celtic Druids.
The unprocessed plant is slightly toxic, with parts used and time of year playing a role in both therapeutic and toxic properties. A special type of extract is used in oncology, with good evidence for its use in equine Sarcoids and treatment protocols available different types of cancers in dogs and cats.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21039860/
https://www.viscumvet.org/en/vv-home.html
The evidence for the use of mistletoe in cancer treatments is mostly based on injecting the extract. We are keeping a close eye on an ongoing study that investigates the oral use of Iscador in the treatment of Sarcoids in horses.
https://www.fibl.org/en/themes/projectdatabase/projectitem/project/1838
Both injectable and oral formulations are available in the UK. With mistletoe-therapy it is very important to choose formulations that work for the condition as well as for circumstances and the constitution of the patient. For now, we still recommend at least some injections to get started. To make that easier we are offering a discount for courses of treatments booked before the 16th of January with 20% discount on injections until end of March.
