Mistletoe has had a certain mystique about it since ancient times, probably on account of the curious way it grows.\u00a0 The plant is a \u201chemiparasite,\u201d meaning that it can either grow in soil, or, more commonly, it can spring from the branch of a tree.\u00a0 Ladies probably stood under the branch in awe, admiring the pretty flowers, giving gentlemen an opportunity to take a little liberty with the fair sex.<\/p>\n
The original mistletoe,\u00a0Viscum album, (different from the ornamental North American version) got its name from the Anglo-Saxon word \u201cmistel\u201d for \u201cdung\u201d and \u201ctan\u201d for \u201ctwig.\u201d\u00a0 Dung-on-a twig really is an excellent description of the plant\u2019s origin.\u00a0 Mistletoe would often appear on a branch where birds left their droppings which contained mistletoe berry seeds that had passed through their digestive tract.\u00a0 Interestingly, birds are not bothered by the seeds which are highly toxic to humans.\u00a0 The main culprits are \u201cviscotoxins,\u201d small proteins than can destroy cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any substance that has such effects on human health arouses scientific curiosity.\u00a0 Pharmaceutical history is peppered with attempts to use small doses of poisons to wipe out a disease without wiping out the patient.\u00a0 Arsenic, mercury, strychnine and belladonna are obvious examples.\u00a0 So it should come as no surprise that various mistletoe preparations also appeared in drug compendia.\u00a0 Until the 1920s, these remedies were dismissed by the scientific community as mere placebos.\u00a0 But then researchers discovered that mistletoe also harbors some complex compounds called lectins that can bind to cells and induce biochemical changes.\u00a0 Attention now focused on the possibility that these substances at the right concentration might selectively destroy cancer cells.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Early on there was encouragement from laboratory studies and animal trials that showed a slowing of the growth of certain tumors in response to mistletoe extracts.\u00a0 This was enough for the producers of herbal products to get their bandwagons rolling and load them up with mistletoe extracts with intriguing names like Iscador, Eurixor or Helixor.\u00a0 Unfortunately, human trials have not born out the early optimism and there is no evidence from properly controlled trials that such products have a beneficial effect on cancer.\u00a0 There is, however, plenty of evidence that they don\u2019t.\u00a0 It seems that mistletoe\u2019s magic is limited to enticing people to express their affections for each other.\u00a0 And that\u2019s nothing to scoff at.<\/p>\n
Now on to The Three Wise Men and their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.\u00a0 Gold, because of its scarcity, was obviously valuable.\u00a0 But what are we to make of frankincense and myrrh?\u00a0 Why should these substances have been considered to be gifts worthy of the Christ child?\u00a0 Both frankincense and myrrh are natural exudates of certain trees found in the Middle East.\u00a0 When the bark is injured, a sap containing a variety of natural fungicides and bactericides oozes out and prevents the entry of microorganisms into the trees’ circulation.\u00a0 The stuff eventually hardens into a resin which can be scraped off.<\/p>\n
Thousands of years before the first Christmas, frankincense and myrrh had established places in religious ceremonies.\u00a0 Their most appealing feature was the pleasant aromatic odor produced when the resins were ignited.\u00a0 They were incorporated into “incense,” a term derived from the Latin “incendere” meaning to set on fire.\u00a0 Moses was given specific instructions for preparing incense from myrrh and cedarwood.\u00a0 Perhaps the original idea was to send prayers to heaven through the sweet-smelling smoke.\u00a0 Incense was the original “perfume”; the word deriving from the Latin for “through smoke.”<\/p>\n
The ancient Egyptians used frankincense and myrrh in the process of mummification, as well as for treating wounds and skin sores.\u00a0 The antimicrobial properties of the resins would seem to justify these applications.\u00a0 Harder to justify would be the use of incense to drive off demons, a common practice in ancient Egypt and in early Christian churches.\u00a0 Maybe the demons they were worried about were the unpleasant odors noted when people with less than perfect hygiene gathered.\u00a0 Incense nicely solved this problem.\u00a0 Most of the frankincense and myrrh gathered today is still used for the same purpose it was used thousands of years ago, namely as incense in religious ceremonies.<\/p>\n
There have been a number of attempted medical applications of frankincense and myrrh.\u00a0 Hippocrates in the 5th century BC recommended the use of myrrh as a vaginal suppository to increase sexual excitement.\u00a0 Ancient Ayurvedic texts prescribed myrrh to prolong life and lose weight.\u00a0 The Chinese used it for mouth infections.\u00a0 The English navy tried it as a treatment against scurvy.\u00a0 Today, it still finds a use in some cough drops and throat lozenges.\u00a0 So, if you want to give someone a real Christmassy gift, how about some Tungshueh throat pills with 15% frankincense and 10% myrrh?\u00a0 And if you only want to enjoy the smell, “Timeless” perfume by Avon contains frankincense and “Le Jardin” by Max Factor has myrrh.\u00a0 So, have a very myrrhy Christmas.<\/p>\n