Medicinal plants have historically played a vital role in veterinary practices across the globe. Over the past century, European veterinarians have employed a wide range of herbal remedies to treat and prevent animal diseases. However, only a limited number of registered herbal veterinary medicinal products (HVMPs) remain available in the European market today. At the same time, there is a growing demand for natural products to enhance animal health and welfare, particularly in the post-antibiotic era. This trend aligns with the European Commission’s goal of expanding organic farming to account for 30% of total food production by 2030, a cornerstone of the European Green Deal.
Organic farming is expected to contribute to protecting the environment and the climate. Herbal remedies are a crucial tool for achieving these goals, as organic farmers face strict limitations on the using pesticides, synthetic fertilisers, antibiotics, synthetic antiparasitic agents, and other synthetic products to meet consumer demands and expectations.
Herbal veterinary medicinal products (HVMPs) are complex mixtures of pharmacologically active substances, primarily secondary plant metabolites (SPMs). These compounds reduce the likelihood of microbial resistance while their synergistic and hyper-additive effects enhance product efficacy, even at relatively low concentrations of active ingredients. The high variability of SPMs in small quantities within individual products allows for their use with minimal to no environmental impact. This is a significant advantage over synthetic veterinary drugs, which typically rely on single active ingredients.
Introducing MedPlants4Vet COST Action
Despite these clear demands for the availability of herbal products, current EU legislation is insufficient for regulating the market authorisation of HVMPs. This shortfall is primarily attributed to the absence of harmonised national regulations and the lack of clear guidance documents for market authorisation within the EU.
Established in 2023, MedPlants4Vet COST Action, which stands for ‘Medicinal Plants for Animal Health Care: Translating Tradition into Modern Veterinary Medicine’, aims to address critical knowledge gaps in the use of traditional herbal veterinary medicinal products and will continue until 2027. The consortium gathers over 350 experts from science, industry, practice, and regulatory authorities, representing more than 45 European and international countries.
“The large and steadily growing number of members shows how vital and relevant veterinary phytotherapy is. However, we are lagging far behind human medicine, where 20 years ago a legal framework was created at the EU level to ensure the continued existence of traditional herbal medicinal products. This is the EU Directive 2004/24/EC. No such legal framework has yet been created for veterinary medicine. In addition, in many European countries, scientifically based veterinary phytotherapy currently plays only a subordinate role or no role at all in university education. This needs to be improved.”
Dr Theresa Schlittenlacher, Chair of MedPlants4Vet
MedPlants4Vet aims to promote interdisciplinary cooperation and develop unified research methodologies. Through professional training and education, the network will offer accessible and accurate data on herbal veterinary medicine. By establishing a standardised scientific definition and inclusion criteria for ‘traditional veterinary use’, the Action is laying the groundwork for simplified legislative procedures.
What are the benefits of herbal medicine?
Reduced Risk of Microbial Resistance: Herbal veterinary medicinal products (HVMPs) contain complex mixtures of secondary plant metabolites (SPMs), which make it harder for microbes to develop resistance compared to synthetic drugs with single active ingredients.
Synergistic Efficacy: The multiple active compounds in herbal remedies work together to produce synergistic and hyper-additive effects, enhancing their therapeutic efficacy even at low concentrations of active ingredients.
Minimal Environmental Impact: The natural composition and low concentration of secondary plant metabolites in HVMPs result in minimal ecological impact, unlike many synthetic veterinary drugs that can contribute to environmental contamination.
Support for Organic Farming Practices: Herbal remedies align with organic farming principles by providing effective alternatives to synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals, meeting consumer demand for sustainable and natural products.
Enhanced Animal Welfare: HVMPs offer gentle, natural treatment options that support overall animal health and well-being, often with fewer side effects compared to conventional synthetic medications.
A targeted approach
During the next few years, MedPlants4Vet will tailor its research approach according to the key players involved in this field:
Veterinarians
Veterinarians, and para-veterinarians, are the guardians of animal health. They are increasingly exploring approaches to complement traditional treatments for animals.
MedPlants4Vet has created a Knowledge Hub, an ever-expanding resource center created to equip veterinary professionals with the expertise and tools to incorporate herbal medicine into their practice effectively. By consolidating key information and materials, it fosters evidence-based decision-making and promotes the advancement of herbal remedies in animal healthcare.
Animal owners
Herbal medicine and prophylaxis with the use of plant materials are gaining more and more recognition among animal owners.
A dedicated MedPlants4Vet working group will gather the most commonly used medicinal plants in veterinary phytotherapy and highlight the benefits of each of them for both companion and farm animals.
Policymakers
As stewards of public health and welfare, policy makers’ decisions shape the landscape of healthcare.
The MedPlants4Vet database (under construction) aims to provide an overview of the traditional use of medicinal plants in animals, equipping policymakers with the insights and tools necessary to make informed decisions that enhance animal health and welfare. By exploring the efficacy, safety, and regulatory aspects of botanical medicine, we aim to highlight both the opportunities and challenges of integrating medicinal plants into veterinary practices.
Many great communication efforts are already underway such as public sensibilisation of different HVMP plant species (click on the arrows on each picture to learn more about each plant):
Looking ahead
The European Commission must submit a report on traditional herbal products used in animal treatment by January 29 2027. However, there is currently insufficient information available on these products. MedPlants4Vet aims to address this gap by creating a detailed decision tree to inform future regulations and authorization processes. This will serve as the foundation for simplifying the registration of traditional herbal veterinary medicinal products at the EU level, supported by an appropriate legal framework.
MedPlants4Vet aims to provide precise and easily available data on herbal veterinary medicine to support this process. It has already published a list of HVMP plant species based on the current expert opinion of MedPlants4Vet.
Additional information
View the Action website
View the network website: https://www.medplants4vet.eu/