CA22109 - Medicinal plants for animal health care: Translating tradition into modern veterinary medicine (MedPlants4Vet)

The use of medicinal plants for the treatment of diseased animals has been historically an indispensable part of domestication. Worldwide, they are still important to control animal diseases. However, only few registered herbal veterinary medicinal products (HVMP) currently exist on the European market.

Nevertheless, the demand for natural products supporting animal health and welfare is increasing in the post-antibiotic era. This is in line with the goals of national and international action plans on antimicrobial resistance and of the One Health paradigm and address not only farm animals, but also companion animals living in proximity and contact with their owners. Herbal products are instrumental in achieving these goals.

The European Green Deal, with its ambition to significantly increase organic farming, further underlines the need for veterinary herbal medicine, as phytogenic products are first line treatments of animal diseases on organic farms.

Despite these clear demands for the availability of herbal products, current EU legislation (EU-Regulation 2019/6) is incomplete in regulating the market authorization of HVMP. This might inter alia be due to absence of concise, easily accessible, and critical reflected information about herbal remedies and their traditional and current use for animals. MedPlants4Vet wants to close this gap.

Along with scientific work and networking, the COST Action will involve and train Young Researchers and Innovators extensively, who will enjoy the support of a multidisciplinary group. Regular meetings, supported by an interactive web-based platform, will help transfer historical knowledge into modern medicinal plant-based health care programs for all animal species.