 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information.(February 2019) |
The European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP) was founded in 1989 [1] as an umbrella organisation, representing national European phytotherapy associations (Herbal Medicine). Associations in non-EU states can also be members of ESCOP. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
In particular ESCOP’s scientific committee [2] produces reviews of the therapeutic use of leading herbal medicinal products or herbal drug preparations (similar to the prior German Kommission E) based on scientific evidence and on leading expertise across Europe. The goal was to advance the scientific status of herbal medicinal products and to assist with the harmonisation of their regulatory status at the European level and thus to promote the acceptance of herbal drugs, also called phytomedicines. Besides that, the aim was to promote scientific research in the field of medicinal plants. Since 1992, ESCOP Herbal monographs are being published on the quality, safety and efficacy of herbal medicines, [3] based on scientific evidence and textbooks. In 2003, 80 monographs were published in bookform, in 2009, 27 additional monographs appeared. [5] [4] Since 2011, 54 new and updated monographs were published online. Publication is ongoing. [6] In total 107 ESCOP monographs have been produced and submitted to the European Medicines Agency. [7]
The ESCOP monographs serve as an invaluable source of scientific information, for health professionals, academics, researchers, regulators, manufacturers, as well as the pharmaceutical industry, that uses them as an orientation to support application or registration of herbal medicinal products. Based on the rules of the Community code for medicinal products, for human use, they can be drawn upon and quoted by the Drug Authorities to support an applicant test. [8] Monographs resemble the format of a Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC), [9] [10] which is a basis for the information required for medicinal products, e.g. in the package leaflet. ESCOP herbal monographs provide a selected overview of the published literature. In different professional publications, ESCOP-monographs are mentioned besides WHO-monographs as literature sources and as expert opinions. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
ESCOP participated in more than five scientific international symposia, in collaboration with its member societies and among others with the «Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research” (GA). In a symposium organised by the „Schweizerische medizinische Gesellschaft für Phytotherapie” (SMGP, CH) in the year 2014, together with the University Hospital of Zürich, the „Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau” (FiBL in Frick CH) and the Phytopharmazie branch of the „Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften“ (ZHAW in Wädenswil CH), ESCOP was active and supportive.
Journal: the journal Phytomedicine is published in affiliation with the European Scientific Cooperative On Phytotherapy (ESCOP). [7]
Books:
Chinese herbology is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A Nature editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that the most obvious reason why it has not delivered many cures is that the majority of its treatments have no logical mechanism of action.
Herbal medicine is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.
Pharmacognosy is the study of crude drugs obtained from medicinal plants, animals, fungi, and other natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs, drug substances, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources".
Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot, is a plant in the tribe Senecioneae in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia. The name "tussilago" is derived from the Latin tussis, meaning cough, and ago, meaning to cast or to act on. It has had uses in traditional medicine, but the discovery of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant has resulted in liver health concerns.
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.
Artemisia absinthium, otherwise known as common wormwood, is a species of Artemisia native to North Africa and temperate regions of Eurasia, and widely naturalized in Canada and the northern United States. It is grown as an ornamental plant and is used as an ingredient in the spirit absinthe and some other alcoholic beverages.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of pharmaceutical products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).
Eurycoma longifolia is a flowering plant in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to Indochina and Indonesia, but has also been found in the Philippines. The plant is a medium-sized slender shrub that can reach 10 m (33 ft) in height, and is often unbranched. The root of the plant has been used in folk medicine of the South East Asian region, and in modern times has common use as supplements, as well as food and drink additives.
Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine based on bioactive compounds in plants and animals and practiced by various ethnic groups, especially those with little access to western medicines, e.g., indigenous peoples. The word ethnomedicine is sometimes used as a synonym for traditional medicine.
The European Pharmacopoeia is a major regional pharmacopoeia which provides common quality standards throughout the pharmaceutical industry in Europe to control the quality of medicines, and the substances used to manufacture them. It is a published collection of monographs which describe both the individual and general quality standards for ingredients, dosage forms, and methods of analysis for medicines. These standards apply to medicines for both human and veterinary use.
Phytotherapy Research is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original research papers, short communications, reviews, and letters on medicinal plant research. Key areas of interest are pharmacology, toxicology, and the clinical applications of herbs and natural products in medicine, from case histories to full clinical trials, including studies of herb-drug interactions and other aspects of the safety of herbal medicines. Papers concerned with the effects of common food ingredients and standardised plant extracts, including commercial products, are particularly relevant, as are mechanistic studies on isolated natural products.
John Wilkinson is an English independent scientist specialising primarily in organic chemistry, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, and synergism in botanical medicines, botanical foods and ecological biochemistry, and who led the first European degree course for herbal medicine, at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom in 1994.
Phytomedicine is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering the fields of phytotherapy, phytomedicine, and toxicology of plants and their extracts. The journal was established in 1994. It is published by Elsevier and the editor-in-chief is Alexander Panossian.
ELOM-080 is the active ingredient of the herbal medicine named GeloMyrtol forte. The acronym ELOM stands for the oils from Eucalyptus, Lemon, (Sweet) Orange and Myrtle that it contains.
Falko Feldmann is a German biologist and practitioner of phytomedicine. He is coordinator of matters concerning approval and registration of active substances and agents for plant protection, including international cooperation on questions about European Plant Protection Laws. He also holds the post of director of the Deutschen Phytomedizinischen Gesellschaft e.V. and is involved in a number of organisations and committees relevant to plant protection.
Dianethole is a naturally occurring organic compound that is found in anise and fennel. It is a dimeric polymer of anethole. It has estrogenic activity, and along with anethole and photoanethole, may be responsible for the estrogenic effects of anise and fennel. These compounds bear resemblance to the estrogens stilbene and diethylstilbestrol, which may explain their estrogenic activity. In fact, it is said that diethylstilbestrol and related drugs were originally modeled after dianethole and photoanethole.
Photoanethole is a naturally occurring organic compound that is found in anise and fennel. It has estrogenic activity, and along with anethole and dianethole, may be responsible for the estrogenic effects of anise and fennel. These compounds bear resemblance to the estrogens stilbene and diethylstilbestrol, which may explain their estrogenic activity. In fact, it is said that diethylstilbestrol and related drugs were originally modeled after photoanethole and dianethole.
Pulok Kumar Mukherjee is an Indian scientist working as the Director of Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development, an autonomous Institute under Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Imphal, Manipur, India; as well as an Associate Editor of the Phytomedicine Plus; Consulting Editor of the Pharmacological Research published by Elsevier. He is the Professor of Pharmaceutical technology at the Jadavpur University and former Director of the School of Natural Product Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
T. Parimelazhagan is currently working as a Professor and Head of the Department of Botany, Bharathiar University, Tamil Nadu. He also serves as the Director of the Centre for Research and Technology Development at Bharathiar University, overseeing research initiatives and fostering technological advancements. Additionally, he plays a key role as the Deputy Coordinator for RUSA, contributing to the academic development of his host institution. He is known for his expertise in phytomedicine and bioprospecting of medicinal plants. He has committed his research to analyse and isolating various phytocompounds and evaluating the valuable properties of traditional medicinal plants.
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