Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai is a well-known medicinal plant. However, the optimal harvest time for V. coloratum is unknown. Few studies were performed to analyze compound variation during storage and to improve post-harvest quality control. Our study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the quality of V. coloratum in different growth stages, and determine the dynamic variation of metabolites. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify 29 compounds in V. coloratum harvested in six growth periods, and the associated biosynthetic pathways were explored. The accumulation of different types of compounds were analyzed based on their synthesis pathways. Grey relational analysis was used to evaluate the quality of V. coloratum across different months. The compound variation during storage was analyzed by a high-temperature high-humidity accelerated test. The results showed that the quality of V. coloratum was the hightest in March, followed by November, and became the lowest in July. During storage, compounds in downstream steps of the biosynthesis pathway were first degraded to produce the upstream compounds and some low-molecular-weight organic acids, leading to an increase followed by a decrease in the content of some compounds, and resulted in a large gap during the degradation time course among different compounds. Due to the rapid rate and large degree of degradation, five compounds were tentatively designated as \"early warning components\" for quality control. This report provides reference for better understanding the biosynthesis and degradation of metabolites in V. coloratum and lays a theoretical foundation for rational application of V. coloratum and better quality control of V. coloratum during storage.

Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai is a well-known medicinal hemiparasite widely distributed in Asia. The synthesis and accumulation of its metabolites are affected by both environmental factors and the host plants, while the latter of which is usually overlooked. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the effects of host and habitat on the metabolites in V. coloratum through multiple chemical and biological approaches. The metabolite profile of V. coloratum harvested from three different host plants in two habitats were determined by multiple chemical methods including high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV), gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS). The differences in antioxidant efficacy of V. coloratum were determined based on multiple in vitro models. The multivariate statistical analysis and data fusion strategy were applied to analyze the differences in metabolite profile and antioxidant activity of V. coloratum. Results indicated that the metabolite profile obtained by various chemical approaches was simultaneously affected by host and environment factors, and the environment plays a key role. Meanwhile, three main differential metabolites between two environment groups were identified. The results of antioxidant assay indicated that the environment has greater effects on the biological activity of V. coloratum than the host. Therefore, we conclude that the integration of various chemical and biological approaches combined with multivariate statistical and data fusion analysis, which can determine the influences of host plant and habitat on the metabolites, is a powerful strategy to control the quality of semi-parasitic herbal medicine.

BACKGROUND: The genus Viscum comprises approximately 100 species that are mainly distributed across Africa, Asia and Europe. The extracts and preparations of Viscum species are widely used as common complementary and alternative medicines in the treatment of rheumatism and cancer.
OBJECTIVE: This review aims to explore the medicinal properties of twelve species belonging to the genus Viscum for potential therapeutic applications.
METHODS: We collected online information (including PubMed, CNKI, Google Scholar, and Web of Science) from January 1915 to April 2021 and knowledge from classical books on Chinese herbal medicines available for 12 species of the genus Viscum, including Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai, Viscum album L., Viscum articulatum Burm. f., Viscum liquidambaricola Hayata, Viscum ovalifolium DC., Viscum capitellatum Sm., Viscum cruciatum Sieber ex Boiss., Viscum nudum Danser, Viscum angulatum B.Heyne ex DC., Viscum tuberculatum A.Rich., Viscum multinerve Hayata, and Viscum diospyrosicola Hayata.
RESULTS: At least 250 different compounds have been reported across twelve Viscum species, including amino acid and peptides, alkaloids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, lipids, and other types of compounds. In particular, for Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai and Viscum album L., the plants, preparations, and bioactive components have been thoroughly reviewed. This has allowed to elucidate the role of active components, including lectins, viscotoxins, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic acids, and polysaccharides, in multiple bioactivities, such as anti-cancer, anti-rheumatism arthralgia, anti-inflammation, anti-cardiovascular diseases, enhancing immunity, and anti-chemotherapy side effects. We also evaluated quality control methods based on active compounds, in vivo exposure compounds, and discriminated chemical markers.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report to systematically review the pharmaceutical development history, chemical composition, clinical evidence, pharmacological activity, discriminated chemical markers, in vivo exposure, and quality control on twelve distinct species of Viscum plants with medicinal properties. The significant safety and efficacy, along with the minor side effects are constantly confirmed in clinics. The genus Viscum is thus an important medicinal resource that is worth exploring and developing in future pharmacological and chemical studies.

Viscum coloratum (Viscaceae) is a kind of semiparasitic shrub used as medicinal plant. The complete chloroplast (cp) genome of V. coloratum was sequenced and characterized in this study. Length of total cp genome is 128,744 bp, which is constructed by four typical regions including a large single-copy region (LSC, 73,684 bp), a small single-copy region (SSC, 8630 bp) and a pair of inverted-repeat regions (IRs, 23,215 bp). 100 unique genes are predicted including 68 protein-coding genes, 28 tRNA genes and four rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis were performed based on 30 shared genes of 12 species in Santalales using maximum likelihood method. The results showed a close relationship between V. coloratum and V. album. The complete cp genome of V. coloratum would provide valuable genetic resources for further study on phylogeny, population genetics and identification in Viscum.

A new diarylheptanoid, (1 R,2S,3S,5S)-2,3-dihydroxy-3\',3\'\'-dimethoxy-4\'-de-O-methylcentrolobine (1) and a new bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoid, (1 R,7S)-1,12,13-trihydroxybisabola-3,10-diene (2), together with nineteen known compounds (3-21) were isolated from the EtOH extract of the stems and branches of Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai. Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of 1 D and 2 D NMR spectra and from the HRESIMS. All the compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against eight human tumor cell lines.

Adulterants in processed food and herbal medicines reduce their safety, quality control, or pharmacological efficacy. Four mistletoe species, including Viscum coloratum, inhabit Korea. Leaves and branches of V. coloratum, defined as edible or medicinal mistletoe species in Korean, are used to prepare Korean herbal medicines as well as leached tea. However, other mistletoe species including Taxillus sutchuenensis var. duclouxii, Korthalsella japonica, and Loranthus tanakae are frequently distributed as authentic V. coloratum in Korean markets because of similarities in the branches morphology and Korean names of these species with V. coloratum. Although herbal medicines and food products prepared from the other mistletoe species are inauthentic, they are sold at high prices because of the rarity of these species. Thus, it is important to distinguish between authentic and inauthentic adulterant mistletoe species. In this study, we developed species-specific primer, based on matK sequences, suitable for both conventional PCR and real time PCR (qPCR) assay. These assays allowed rapid discrimination among all four mistletoe species. Moreover, qPCR assay enabled the detection of trace amounts of adulterant mistletoe species in V. coloratum samples. Furthermore, we used these assays to monitor commercial mistletoe products distributed in Korean markets. Our data suggest that these methods would serve as a reliable genetic tool to prevent adulteration and standardize the quality of commercial V. coloratum products.

A high-Performance liquid chromatography coupled ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) method was developed for a chemical fingerprint analysis of Viscum coloratum. Eighteen peaks were selected as the common peaks and Homoeriodictyol-7-0-β-D-apiosiyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucoside was used as a reference. The relative areas of common peaks were used for hierarchical clustering analysis and similarity calculation. Thirty-seven samples collected from different sources were classified into five groups. The similarities of 21 batches Viscum coloratum samples were beyond 0.90. The results obtained suggest that the Chromatographie fingerprint can efficiently identify Viscum coloratum. Additionally, the fingerprints can then be used to evaluate the correlation between Viscum coloratum and hosts.

Viscum coloratum is a perennial evergreen, semi-parasitic plant. It is generally used for treating cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hepatitis and hemorrhage. In this study, reliable methods were developed for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the common constituents in Viscum coloratum and its corresponding host. In the rapid qualitative analysis, a method of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry was established for identification of the same compounds. Based on the retention times, accurate mass measurement and previous literatures, 23 components were clearly identified by comparison with reference substances. In the quantitative analysis, a method for Viscum coloratum and its corresponding host was developed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. 13 common compounds of viscum coloratum and host plants from 19 batches were analyzed with a good linearity (r2≥0.9991), intra-day precision (RSD≤3.24%), inter-day precision (RSD≤3.31%), repeatability (RSD≤2.43%), stability (RSD≤2.63%), and recovery (98.2-102.4%). The overall limits of quantification were less than 5.0ng/mL. The results indicated that these effective and comprehensive methods can be applicable to simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of these common compounds presented in Viscum coloratum and corresponding host plants.

OBJECTIVE: Microsatellite primers were developed for Viscum coloratum (Santalaceae), a semiparasitic medicinal plant that is known for its anticancer properties. Due to excessive human harvesting and loss of suitable habitat of its populations, it has become a potentially threatened species requiring immediate conservation efforts.
RESULTS: Based on transcriptome data for V. coloratum, 124 primer pairs were randomly selected for initial validation, of which 19 yielded polymorphic microsatellite loci, with two to six alleles per locus. The usefulness of these markers was assessed for 60 individuals representing three populations of V. coloratum. Observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.033 to 0.833 and 0.032 to 0.672, respectively. Cross-species amplification for 19 loci in the related species V. album was conducted.
CONCLUSIONS: The 19 newly developed loci are expected to be useful for studying the population genetics and ecological conservation of V. coloratum.

BACKGROUND: Viscum coloratum (Komar) Nakai, known as Hujisheng in china, has been widely used as a herb medicine to treat a variety of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hypertension, hepatitis and hemorrhage.
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate pharmacokinetic interactions among co-existing ingredients in V. coloratum after intravenous administration of three different preparations (four monomer solutions, the mixture of them and Viscum coloratum extracts) to rats.
METHODS: After protein precipitation pretreatment with plasma samples, high performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed and applied to quantitatively determinate the four components [syringin (Syri), homoeriodictyol-7-O-β-D-glycoside (Hedt-III), homoeriodictyol-7-O-β-D-apiose (1 → 2)-β-D-glycoside (Hedt-II) and homoeriodictyol-7-O-β-D-apiosiyl-(1 → 5)-β-D-apiosyl-(1 → 2)-β-D-glycoside (Hedt-I)]. The pharmacokinetic parameters (Area under the curve [AUC(0-t)], AUC(0-∞), t 1/2) were calculated using DAS 2.1 software (Chinese Pharmacological Society, Shanghai, China) and compared statistically by One-way analysis of variance using SPSS software (18.0, Chicago, IL, USA) with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: Good linearities were achieved in the measured concentration range with R (2) it0.9920. Precision, accuracy and extraction recovery were all within the acceptable range. For Syri, there was a significant difference only on t 1/2 among three treatment groups. For Hedt-I, Hedt II and Hedt-III, three flavonoid glycosides, the change of AUC(0-t), AUC(0-∞) and t 1/2 were markedly distinctive and even converse.
CONCLUSIONS: Complex, extensive pharmacokinetic interactions were observed among these components in V. coloratum. They were mutually influenced by the in vivo absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination. The result suggested traditional Chinese medicine was a complicated system, and we should take a scientific and dialectic view in the research and development processes.