Increased plasma total cholesterol and high density lipoprotein levels produced by the crude extract from the leaves of Viscum album (mistletoe).

The effect of an aqueous extract prepared from the leaves of Viscum album (Mistletoe) on plasma cholesterol and albumin levels in male Wistar rats was studied. Lethality studies revealed that the extract had an LD50 value of 417.0mg/kg mice, intraperitoneally. The rats were randomly divided into seven (7) groups of 5 rats per group with one animal per metabolic cage. Group one served as the control (C1), groups two to six were treated with extract (200mg/kg body weight orally and daily) for a maximum of ten (10) weeks, whereas, group seven (C2) received no extract treatment but was fed on normal rat chow. All the rats had free access to rat food and drinking water. The first group (C1) was sacrificed a fortnight after the commencement of the experiment, while group seven (C2) was sacrificed at the end (10th week) of the experiment. The extract-treated groups were sacrificed respectively in the order 2,4,6,8 and 10 week of extract administration. Whole blood was collected from these groups for analysis. Results showed significant increases (