Chemical Constituents of Viscum album L.: Implications for the Pharmaceutical Preparation of Mistletoe

Early results of the pharmacological effects of Viscum album have challenged the field of phytochemistry to identify active compounds. A broad spectrum of different proteins, polysaccharides, phenolics, lipophilic molecules and other compounds has been detected in the three European subspecies of V.album. The results of the chemical constituents of V. album have been compiled in this review, which illustrates the chemical and pharmacological potential of this plant. The spatiotemporal distribution of the main active compounds, the viscotoxins and mistletoe lectins, which are responsible for the characteristic and chemical features of V. album, is shown. The impact of these chemical results on pharmaceutical processing and quality control of mistletoe extracts is described in detail.

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