Hanging mistletoe over the doorway during Christmas holidays is an age-old tradition, but scientists suggest that the plant could do much more than just ignite festive passions.
German researchers have found that an extract of the plant could help fight bowel cancer and reduce the side effects from toxic chemotherapy.
The extract is thought to help the body's immune system fight tumours and speed up the disposal of toxic 'debris' left by chemotherapy, Daily Mail reported.
The team treated 429 cancer patients with the mistletoe jab and compared them with 375 receiving conventional care.
They observed that patients who had mistletoe treatment regularly injected into their blood had fewer side-effects from toxic chemotherapy and radiotherapy and survived longer than those who did not.
Only 19 per cent of those in the mistletoe group suffered side-effects from toxic treatments, compared to 48 per cent in the other group. They were also 32 per cent more likely to still be alive five years after starting therapy, the team found.
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"The results suggest convincing evidence that there is a significant benefit from treatment with mistletoe extract," said lead researcher Kurt Zanker from the German Institute of Immunology and Experimental Oncology.
The results were published in the journal The Society For Integrative Oncology.