The Emerging Role of Herbal Medicine in Health Care in Europe

Abstract

Europe has a very long tradition in phytomedicines, dating back to the first century A.D. Today, almost 40% of all drugs listed in the German Physicians Desk Reference are derived from plant material. Fifty percent of the world sales of herbal remedies occur in Europe with a retail sales volume of over $6 billion. In several countries such as Germany and France health insurance companies cover the reimbursement of several herbal drugs. Within Europe, Germany is the leading country for herbal drugs with annual sales of $2.5 billion and per capita spending of $37 on phytomedicines, followed by France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

At the moment, the licensing of herbal drugs differs in Europe from country to country. Germany, for example, established a monograph system and France a list of plants and indications. In other Member States phytomedicines are still nonregistered dietary supplements such as in the Netherlands and partially in the United Kingdom. The situation will change in the near future since the European laws declare all herbal preparations are drugs which have to be licensed on the basis of their quality, safety, and efficacy. The leading plants prescribed as mono-preparations in Germany are Ginkgo biloba, Horse-chestnut, Hawthorn, and St. John’s Wort with very high growth rates that are stronger than most of their chemical competitors. The phytomedicines industry is in the process of concentration. Smaller phytomedicines companies are being bought up by multinational pharmaceutical companies. In other cases, specialized small companies produce products for multinational companies.

Europe has the most developed market in the world in the area of phytomedicines with the best established criteria for licensing and quality control. It can be regarded as a model for other international development.