Evaluation of Preclinical Assays to Investigate an Anthroposophic Pharmaceutical Process Applied to Mistletoe (Viscum albumL.) Extracts

Abstract

Extracts from European mistletoe (Viscum albumL.) developed in anthroposophic medicine are based on specific pharmaceutical procedures to enhance remedy efficacy. One such anthroposophic pharmaceutical process was evaluated regarding effects on cancer cell toxicityin vitroand on colchicine tumor formation inLepidium sativum. Anthroposophically processedViscum albumextract (APVAE) was produced by mixing winter and summer mistletoe extracts in the edge of a high-speed rotating disk and was compared with manually mixedViscum albumextract (VAE). The antiproliferative effect of VAE/APVAE was determined in five cell lines (NCI-H460, DU-145, HCC1143, MV3, and PA-TU-8902) by WST-1 assayin vitro; no difference was found between VAE and APVAE in any cell line tested (P>0.14). Incidence of colchicine tumor formation was assessed by measurement of the root/shoot-ratio of seedlings ofLepidium sativumtreated with colchicine as well as VAE, APVAE, or water. Colchicine tumor formation decreased after application of VAE (−5.4% compared to water,P<0.001) and was even stronger by APVAE (−8.8% compared to water,P<0.001). The high-speed mistletoe extract mixing process investigated thus did not influence toxicity against cancer cells but seemed to sustain morphostasis and to enhance resistance against external noxious influences leading to phenomenological malformations.