MedPlants4Vet at the 74th International Congress of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research

The Congress took place from 30 August to 2 September 2026 in Reims, France, bringing together researchers and professionals working on medicinal plants, natural products and their applications.
MedPlants4Vet members made a strong contribution to the scientific programme, particularly through the Vet Symposium: "Animal Healthcare and Veterinary Phytotherapy", as well as the session dedicated to One Health and veterinary phytomedicine during the main congress.

Sharing MedPlants4Vet results

The congress provided an excellent opportunity to present some of the work and emerging results of the MedPlants4Vet project.

Among the contributions was "Contributing to the MedPlants4Vet Project: Ethnoveterinary Plant Knowledge in the Catalan Linguistic Area", presented by Fuencisla Cáceres. The project's work on regulation was also represented through the lecture "Towards a Simplified Regulatory Framework for Herbal Veterinary Medicinal Products in Europe", prepared by Çiğdem Bilgi, Michael Walkenhorst and Sophie Barreteau.

MedPlants4Vet research was also presented during the poster session, with contributions including:

• "Between Tradition and Science: Veterinary Use of Medicinal Plants in a 19th-Century Hungarian Source" – presented by Katalin F. Gerencsér
• "Veterinary Phytotherapy: A Survey of French Historical Resources from Late 18th to Mid-20th Centuries" – presented by Pierre Champy
• "A Multi-Criteria Framework for Prioritizing Medicinal Plants for Herbal Veterinary Medicinal Product Development in the European Union" – presented by Marta Mendel
• "Contributing to the MedPlants4Vet Project: Ethnoveterinary Plant Knowledge in the Catalan Linguistic Area" – presented by Fuencisla Cáceres
• "Ukraine ethnoveterinary phytomedicine research in MedPlants4Vet" – presented by Taisa Bohdanovych

A broad programme on veterinary phytomedicine

The participation of MedPlants4Vet members extended beyond presentations directly linked to the project. Contributors also addressed a wide range of topics relevant to veterinary phytomedicine and One Health.

These included:

• "Herbal Veterinary Medicinal Products: A European Legal Perspective" – given by Sophie Barreteau
• "Veterinary Phytotherapy: Herbs and Medicinal Plants to Prevent and Treat Livestock Diseases" – given by Michael Walkenhorst
• "Safety and Efficacy of Inhaled Essential Oils for the Treatment of Respiratory Conditions in Horses" – given by Isabelle Lussot-Kervern
• "From Orangutan Self-Medication to Antiparasitic Drug Discovery" – given by Ivona Foitová
• "Trees as Natural Shields: Protecting Grazing Livestock from Insects" –  given by Theresa Schlittenlacher
• "Identification of Compounds and Bioactivity of Kalanchoe gunniae Against Staphylococcus aureus Reference Strain and Isolates from Bovine Mastitis Cases" – given by L. McGaw

Connecting tradition, research and veterinary practice

The congress was an important opportunity for MedPlants4Vet members to exchange knowledge with the wider medicinal plant and natural products community and to demonstrate the breadth of work being undertaken within the project.

From ethnoveterinary knowledge and historical sources to regulatory frameworks, medicinal plant prioritisation, safety and efficacy, and innovative approaches to animal health, the contributions reflected the multidisciplinary nature of veterinary phytomedicine and the One Health approach.

The Reims meeting therefore provided not only a platform for presenting MedPlants4Vet results, but also an opportunity to strengthen connections between researchers and practitioners working towards the responsible development and use of medicinal plants in veterinary medicine.