Abstract :
[en] Towards a sustainable use of medicinal plants. Historical perspective on foraging, cultivation and use of medicinal plants in European countries.
Medicinal plants have been used by humans since ancient times. Medicinal gardens for healing purposes appear in Europe during the Middle Ages, with monastic hospitals providing enclosed vegetation gardens. In later centuries medicinal plants became an integral part of daily life, being used as medicines, foods or materials for household equipment.
The knowledge and interest in medicinal plants, their foraging from the wild and cultivation in rural areas were transferred from generation to generation and remained an important economic and social activity in many European countries until 20th century.
In Belgium, Hainaut and the region 'Pays des Collines' are known as an example for the use and cultivation of medicinal plants since the 16th century. In 1929 more than 23 hectares were cultivated with medicinal plants in the area of Flobecq-Wodecq-Lessines. Garden angelica, camomile, greater burdock, henbane, mint, valerian, mallow and other medicinal plants were grown in large scale in this region until 1950. The second half of the 20th century brought intensive industrialisation and urbanisation and medicinal plants became an important target for the development of new medicines in the pharmaceutical industry and became of little interest for the general public, even in rural areas. Despite the survival of healer traditions ('guérisseurs, rebouteux') in some regions and centuries of written records, it is likely that some low-use and specialized herbs have been forgotten and lost.
With the green, nature and environmental movements, the increasing empowerment of citizens and the development of personalized medicine, many herbal products are now widely proposed for well-being and self-medication purposes, in the form of raw materials, herbal medicines, botanical food supplements, cosmetics, or even medical devices, which brings new challenges to human health and the environment.
To ensure responsible, safe, sustainable and rational use of herbal products and to protect the biodiversity of medicinal plants, several interdisciplinary initiatives were developed and established. They promote the interface between agriculture, medicine, food, ethnobotany, traditional cultures and connect different academic fields to foster collaborations between institutions and various stakeholders around Europe and the world.
The main aim of those scientific interdisciplinary projects is to understand current trends in medicinal plants cultivation, foraging and use in the light of historical developments, to identify the main challenges in preservation and use of medicinal plants and to prepare recommendations for future policy decisions at the local, governmental and global level.
Scientists are investigating how historical, geographical, political, demographic, environmental and legal factors shape the sustainable use of natural resources. In this panel, analyses of several case studies with different historical and political systems will help to understand how historical developments determine the current knowledge and use of medicinal plants in our modern society.
During the workshop the following research questions will be raised:
- What specific plants have been collected, grown and used in EU countries in the 20th century and how has this been documented?
- Do the historical use and local knowledge of medicinal plants in various European countries/regions influence modern foraging, growing and use patterns of medicinal plants?
- Can historical traditions and local transferred knowledge be bases for encouraging modern society to preserve as well as sustainably consume medicinal plants, though good agricultural and collection practices (GACP)?
- How do medicinal plants foraging, cultivation and use in rural and urban environments evolve in times of societal changes and transition?
