Anna Blázovics,Hegyi  Gabriella,
Regulation of Herbal Medicine in Hungary
Clinical and Experimental Investigations
2020
2674-5054
http://dx.doi.org/10.31487/j.CEI.2020.01.07
https://www.sciencerepository.org/regulation-of-herbal-medicine-in-hungary_CEI-2020-1-107 
Abstract: In order to meet the growing needs of the European Union medicinal and aromatic plants, Hungary is still
one of the major exporters today, although earlier, until the 1980s, we were considered a great herb-growing
nation. Therefore, the development of the national medicinal and aromatic herb growing sector is an
essential requirement for maintaining and developing our market position. The natural conditions of
Hungary favor the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants. There are more than 330 herbs in our
country. About seventy percent of the drugs grown and harvested are exported. However, significant
changes are needed in domestic sales and further processing in order to become a leading industrial sector.
Hungary also possesses modern separation techniques and large instruments for analysis, which allow the
proper analytical examination of drugs and the precise determination of their active substances. Our
universities and research institutes are also prepared to study the active ingredients of herbs by molecular
biological methods, which may allow the exact mechanism of action of bioactive substances to be
determined and the herbs to be reassessed.
Our accession to the European Union the palette of products made from former herbs has significantly
changed. From 2013, the category of medicinal product was discontinued, and the preparations were
classified as either food or medicine. However, there are significant costs associated with qualifying as a
drug, so drugs or extracts are largely added to dietary supplements. As a result, the strange situation is that
dietary supplements are prohibited from making any health claims, even though the dietary supplement is
actually not for the benefit of a healthy population, but for those who have a health problem or do not have
suitable foods, which are rich in bioactive substances. The justification of phytotherapy must be
demonstrated, depending on the state of the art. In the context of safe therapy, studies must follow the
requirements of medicines and only then can they become herbal medicines. There is still much to be desired
in this area in our country. Classification as a drug is based on expensive animal tests and clinical studies.
A new problem arises here, as herbal cure is currently part of the arsenal of complementary medicine. With
few exceptions, clinical doctors do not use herbal therapies. Patients usually ask the advice of pharmacists,
naturalists, and more rarely, dietitians.
At the Arteriosclerosis Research Group, at the II. Department of Medicine and Institute of Pharmacognosy
several decades of biomedical research have served and serve the purpose of evaluating and reassessing the
effects of plants used in folk medicine. Over the years, we have been searching for drugs, extracts, and
medicines of natural origin that are useful in liver and intestinal diseases known in folk medicine, and are
believed to have lipid lowering, antioxidant and immune stimulating effects. In the article, animal and
human studies will be also presented.Keywords: Medical plants, current methods, human studies