Medicinal plants are plants whose parts are used medicinally for the treatment and prevention of various diseases and ailments. The use of medicinal plants in medicine has a long history and is widespread in various cultures around the world. The parts of medicinal plants that can be used for medicinal purposes include roots, rhizomes, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, bark, etc. Medicinal plants (German translation: Arzneipflanzen) are obtained by harvesting wild, semi-cultivated or fully cultivated plants. Cultivation leads to higher yields, but not all medicinal plants can be cultivated. Bearberry, for example, is one such plant.

The most important aspects of medicinal plants include:

• Bioactive compounds: Medicinal plants contain bioactive compounds that can have therapeutic effects on the body. These compounds include alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, essential oils (translation into German: ätherische Öle) and many others.
• Traditional use: Across cultures, there is a long history of the use of medicinal plants in traditional medicine to treat various ailments.
• Medical applications: Medicinal plants can be used in the form of phytotherapeutics to treat a variety of ailments such as colds, pain, inflammation and gastrointestinal disorders.
• Scientific research: Scientific research is being conducted on many medicinal plants in order to explore their pharmacological properties and prove their efficacy and safety.
• Standardization and marketing authorization: There are standards and regulations in different countries for controlling the quality and safety of medicinal plants and the finished drug products they are used to produce.

Examples of medicinal plants are lavender, chamomile, ginseng, echinacea, aloe, hawthorn and many more. It is important to note that medicinal plants should be used with caution and after consultation with medical or pharmaceutical professionals, as they may have side effects and interactions (German: Wechselwirkungen) with other medications. For example, extracts of St. John’s wort (German name of the plant: Johanniskraut) are used as an effective antidepressant, but can also lead to interactions with prescription drugs. The use of phytotherapeutics should therefore be discussed with a doctor first.

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