To speak about phytotherapy, two distinction are necessary: traditional phytotherapy and rational phytotherapy. Traditional phytotherapy is based exclusively on many years of experience and traditions as a remedy (traditional and folklore medicinal uses).
Rational phytotherapy applies evidence-based approach involving strict official and scientific benchmarks for the efficacy and safety of the therapy. The pathway that includes rational evidence-based approach for phytotherapy is now widely known as evidence-based phytotherapy [1].
Evidence-based phytotherapy must employ rational approaches, based on scientific and/or clinical evidence, to ensure therapeutic efficacy and safety of plant-based therapy, and to offer informed and enhanced patient care. This evidence-based approach is difficult to standardize, as many variables are associated with phytotherapeutic products.
In fact, some of the main bottlenecks present in evidence-based phytotherapy include the qualitative and quantitative variations, and phenotypic and genotypic variabilities in phytotherapeutic products [1]. Furthermore, it is necessary to take in account different extraction methods, geographical and climatic differences affecting the quality of phytotherapeutic products arising from considerable variations in the content of active and/or toxic principles exerting different and inconsistent therapeutic outcomes for the patients.
However, despite these challenging issues, evidence-based approach in phytotherapy is the most preferred way of offering optimum patients’ benefits.
To achieve the best possible treatment outcomes and care for patients, one must recommend phytotherapy only on the basis of best quality scientific/ clinical evidence, provide safety data on toxicology and possible interactions with other conventional drugs and/or food, optimise clinical practice, and assess the quality of phytotherapeutic products [2].
There is a pressing need for further work on compiling evidence for phytotherapy, and it is always preferable to adopt an integrated approach incorporating the above evidence sources or routes to obtain enough evidence for phytotherapy to ensure patients’ safety and best clinical outcomes [2].
[1] Evidence-based phytotherapy: what, why and how?; Satyajit d. Sarker and Lutfun Nahar – Trends in Phytochemical Research (TPR); 2(3) 2018 125-126
[2] Challenges in phytotherapy; Panossian A. – Frontiers in Pharmacology; (2023), 14.
