The joint congress of the Swiss, German, Austrian and Dutch Societies of Phytotherapy, with ESCOP as co-organiser, was held at the University of Zurich on June 16-18 2022. The congress was in hybrid mode, with approximately 200 participants on site and more than 50 people joining via Zoom.
The organisers provided a very interesting program which demonstrated the options of phytotherapy in the supportive treatment of severe diseases e.g. multimorbidity, in palliative care, oncology or psychotherapy. Another focus of the event was on traditionally used medicinal plants and plant products which have not received much interest in the recent years, such as gallipot, tormentil, knotgrass or white horehound.
An animated panel discussion highlighted different ethnomedicinal research perspectives on the “traditional use” concept.
In a parallel session, veterinarians received new information on the potential of phytotherapy in veterinary medicine.
Numerous posters presented new research in analytics, molecular biology, pharmacology as well as results from case studies, clinical studies, studies of interactions, and the influence of the microbiome.
Finally, the participants enjoyed a selection of excursions in the flood plains, heathland, and botanical gardens around Zurich.
L. Krenn