Maybe you have seen this plant during Christmas time. Couples kissing, under this leafy, pretty plant. You might even hear it mentioned in holiday songs and poems. The plant I am mentioning is mistletoe. The festive plant, mistletoe, is mostly known for a kissing tradition, however mistletoe has been very useful in medical events, cultures, and have affected various trees.
Mistletoe has been extremely beneficial to medical science throughout the ages. It has been known to help cure or relieve epilepsy, hypertension, headaches, menopausal symptoms, infertility, arthritis, and rheumatism. Mistletoe is one of the highest alternative medicine remedies for cancer. In European countries, extracts made from European mistletoe are among the most prescribed remedies for cancer patients.” (National Cancer Institute p.2) In the International Journal of Cancer, they ran multiple tests with the mistletoe extract and found that the results of the clinical testing is highly inconsistent. In fact the stronger tests found that there is no improvement in quality of life in the patient. “The search terms were alternative medicine, cancer, controlled clinical trial, Eurixor®, Helixor®, Iscador®, lectin, malignancy, Mistel, mistletoe and derivatives. In addition, manufacturers of commercial mistletoe products and other experts were asked to contribute published as well as unpublished material, and our own extensive files were hand-searched.” (Eduard Ernst,Katja Schmidt, and Miriam Katharina Steuer-Vogt p.262–267) Because of limited data on the efficiency of mistletoe, only patients with primary or secondary brain tumors, leukemia, or malignant lymphoma are treated with mistletoe extract. Mistletoe extract is not used on pregnant or nursing women, ...
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N.p., 6 Aug. 2003. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
"Mistletoe Extracts (PDQ®)." - National Cancer Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
"Mistletoe Uses, Benefits & Side Effects - Drugs.com Herbal Database." Mistletoe Uses,
Benefits & Side Effects - Drugs.com Herbal Database. 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Drugs.com.
Moore, Michael. "Mistletoe." Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico, 2003. 164-65. Print.
Copyright 2003 Michael Moore
Suszynski, Barbara Suszynski, and Sam Abramson. How Mistletoe Works.
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"The Tradition of Mistletoe at Christmas." Mistletoe. James Cooper, 2013. Web. 06 May 2014.
St. John's Wort scientifically known as Hypericum Perforatum, an herbal remedy generally used to treat depression, is making a rise throughout Europe and the United States. St. John's Wort is a perennial plant that produces abundant yellow flowers and grows naturally throughout much of the world, including specifically in northern California, southern Oregon, and Colorado. It usually flowers on “sunlight hills and forest edges” during the summer, between June and August. It was named after St. John the Baptist and is often harvested and in full bloom around St. John's Day, June 24.
Up above her was a tree in a pearly cloud of mistletoe. She did not dare close her eyes, and when a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it she spoke to him. "That would be acceptable," she said. But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air. (143)
Lehner, Ernst, and Johanna Lehner. Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees. New York: Tudor. 1960
This paper discusses pharmacology and terminology related to “Pharmacology” which is the branch of medicine concerned with the uses, effects, and modes of action of drugs“ pharmacology. 2015. In Merriam-Webster.com. The study of different classes of drugs, routes of absorption, and drugs have effects on those consuming them. There are drugs that are necessary for illnesses and healing but, there are medicines that cause concern regarding interaction and harming the body.
Native Americans learned about the plants in their environment through general trial and error and through communication with other tribes (Gilmore 1977). Some of the dyes used by Native Americans of the Missouri River region are discussed below. Far more plants were used for medicines, shelter, and tools than dyes. Various green dyes came from pond scum probably Protococcus, Ulothrix, Chaetophora, and Spirogyra. Another green dye that was used for bows and arrows came from lamb's quarter, Chenopodium album. Yellow dyes came from a variety of places including smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, roots, the lichens Parmelia borreri and Usnea barbata, and young cottonwood (Populus sargentii) leaf buds collected in early spring; this particular yellow dye was used for coloring arrow feathers and quills. An orange dye also used as a feather dye was boiled out of the vines of dodder (Cuscuta paradoxa). Red dyes came from pokeberry (Phytolacca americana) and were used to paint horses and people. The familiar bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) was also used as a skin dye or to dye articles that were boiled with the roots.
The Crowning of Flora. 1816. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 274. Print.
Hochadel, M. (2014). Mosby's Drug Reference for Health Care Professionals (fourth edition ed.). : Elsevier.
Dietary supplements are very beneficial to one’s body if they are taken correctly. There are many pros and cons to taking dietary supplements. In this paper I will discuss the pros and cons and how supplements affect the human body. We will also consider the government’s guidelines regarding dietary supplements.
Frigg loved Balder. She loved him so much that she tried to protect him from everything. Balder was the light of this world and everyone loved him. Frigg went around to everyone in the world and asked for their promise that they would never hurt Balder; she asked the beasts and the elements, she asked mother nature and all the other gods. They had all pledged that they would not hurt Balder, but she missed one little plant since she thought that it was too small and young to do any harm. The mistletoe on the very edge of the world was the only plant that she had not asked for his protection from harm.
While this list may appear to encompass a wide variety of medical issues, the common denominator is the same – relief of pain, symptoms and side effects of
The major use for herbal medicines is for the promotion of health and for therapy for chronic conditions, instead of being used for life-threatening conditions; except in the event of say advanced cancer or new infectious diseases when conventional medicine practices no longer are working an individual may use traditional remedies. While traditional medicines are often mistaken that because they are natural that they are safe, non-toxic, which is not always the case. In cases when an individual is taking herbs with prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, or other herbs that may cause some adverse side affects. As a flourishing commercial enterprise, it doesn’t matter why an individual uses traditional medicines, it provides important health care services for individuals that have access physically or finantually to allopathic
"Marijuana as Medicine: Consider the Pros and Cons." Procon.org. 08 July 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .
Herbal remedies’ qualities are widespread availability, lower cost, effective for chronic conditions. Herbal remedies are the use of plants or plant extract to treat a person’ overall health. Herbal treatments are prominent for developing countries for instance, “in Africa up to 90% and in India 70% of the population depend on traditional medicine to help meet their health care needs” (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011), due to their low cost and availability. Herbal remedies have gained attention in the past decades, and expanding their uses due to the increased interest of natural therapies (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). Herbs used on the remedies grow in the wild throughout the world, therefore making it easy to
The ring of flowers surround the tree. They are made up of many bright colors of red, pink, violet, blue and white. From a distance there appears to be a swarm of them. The flowers’ petals are soft and sweet smelling. They don’t suffocate my senses, though. The flowers are like a weak perfume. They are gentle and subtle. When I touched one of the flowers in my hand, it was as soft as silk. I realized that they were so fragile, because they sliced apart very easily. The flowers are held captive by the army of leaves.
Frequently a person believes that herbal medicine is more naturally safe and soothing than drugs. Nevertheless, there’s no reasonable defense about this. Though many consumers trusted herbal medicine much more than the synthetic medicine because it’s safe and effective, but like anything else, it has its own limitations too. There are several hostile issues related to herbal medicine that has been quite alarming. Notwithstanding, majority of the most popular herbs are at least nearly safe.