Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32646417›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary medicine and therapies2020

Phytochemical analysis and in vitro anti-proliferative activity of Viscum album ethanolic extracts.

Carla Holandino, Michelle Nonato de Oliveira Melo, Adriana Passos Oliveira, João Vitor da Costa Batista, Marcia Alves Marques Capella, Rafael Garrett, Mirio Grazi, Hartmut Ramm, Claudia Dalla Torre, Gerhard Schaller and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Systematic analysis of mistletoe prescriptions in clinical studies.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2023
    Pooled it
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  5. Frontiers in physiology · 2025
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  9. A Scoping Review of GenusPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
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  10. The Anti-Inflammatory Activity ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
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  12. PluronicPharmaceutics · 2022
    Article
  13. Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Capacity ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022
    Article
  14. Article
  15. RomanianPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Carla HolandinoMultidisciplinary Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. cholandino@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6441-7281
Michelle Nonato de Oliveira MeloMultidisciplinary Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Adriana Passos OliveiraMultidisciplinary Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
João Vitor da Costa BatistaMultidisciplinary Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Marcia Alves Marques CapellaBiophysics Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rafael GarrettMetabolomics Laboratory, Chemistry Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Mirio GraziHiscia Institute, Society for Cancer Research, Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Hartmut RammHiscia Institute, Society for Cancer Research, Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Claudia Dalla TorreHiscia Institute, Society for Cancer Research, Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Gerhard SchallerHiscia Institute, Society for Cancer Research, Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Konrad UrechHiscia Institute, Society for Cancer Research, Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Ulrike WeissensteinHiscia Institute, Society for Cancer Research, Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Stephan BaumgartnerHiscia Institute, Society for Cancer Research, Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro · BRVerein für Krebsforschung · CHUniversity of Bern · CH

Funding

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior 88881.119813/2016-01
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundViscum album L. (Santalaceae), commonly known as mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant traditionally used in complementary cancer treatment. Its antitumor potential is mostly attributed to the presence of aqueous soluble metabolites; however, the use of ethanol as solvent also permits the extraction of pharmacological compounds with antitumor potential. The clinical efficacy of mistletoe therapy inspired the present work, which focuses on ethanolic extracts (V. album "mother tinctures", MT) prepared from different host trees.

methodsSamples from three European subspecies (album, austriacum, and abietis) were harvested, and five different V. album-MT strains were prepared. The following phytochemical analyses were performed: thin layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). The proliferation assay was performed with WST-1 after incubation of tumor (Yoshida and Molt-4) and fibroblast cell lines (NIH/3 T3) with different MT concentrations (0.5 to 0.05% v/v). The cell death mechanism was investigated by flow cytometry (FACS) using Annexin V-7AAD.

resultsChemical analyses of MT showed the presence of phenolic acids, flavonoids and lignans. The MT flavonoid and viscotoxin contents (mg/g fresh weight) were highest in Quercus robur (9.67 ± 0.85 mg/g) and Malus domestica (3.95 ± 0.58 mg/mg), respectively. The viscotoxin isoform proportions (% total) were also different among the VA subspecies with a higher content of A3 in V. album growing on Abies alba (60.57 ± 2.13). The phytochemical compounds as well as the viscotoxin contents are probably related to the antitumor effects of MT. The cell death mechanisms evaluated by colorimetric and FACS methodologies involved necrotic damage, which was host tree-, time- and dose- dependent, with different selectivity to tumor cells. Mother tincture from V. album ssp. abietis was the most effective at inducing in vitro cellular effects, even when incubated at the smallest concentration tested, probably because of the higher content of VT A3.

conclusionOur results indicate the promising antitumor potential of Viscum album ethanolic extracts and the importance of botanical and phytochemical characterization for in vitro anti-proliferative effects.

Indexed as

AnimalsAntineoplastic AgentsApoptosisCell Line, TumorHumansIn Vitro TechniquesMistletoePlant ExtractsViscum albumAntineoplastic AgentsPlant ExtractsAnti-proliferative activityCytotoxicityMistletoePhytochemistryViscum album L.

Identifiers

PMID32646417
PMCPMC7346636
OpenAlexW3041245112

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.