The 22nd International Congress PHYTOPHARM 2018 was successfully held in Horgen and ZHAW Wädenswil from 25 till 27 June 2018! Ever since the first Phytopharm conference in 1990, it has become one of the important events of the year in Phytopharmaceutical Science, aiming to present interesting, state-of-the-art research relevant to professionals working in various fields of herbal medicinal plants and natural product research, and to foster networking and collaboration across the globe and building bridges between East and West. This year, more than 270 participants from 40 countries, namely Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Brazil, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, United Kingdom, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Moldova, Nigeria, The Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, USA, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe have accepted our invitation and have come to Switzerland. The scientific program of PHYTOPHARM covers natural product research from phytochemical studies, safety, efficacy and quality aspects until phytotherapeutic and other health related applications. The aim of the congress is to serve as a forum for discussions on trends, and the latest results, and to exchange ideas relating to phytochemical analysis, ethnopharmacology, TCM and Tibetan medicine, pharmacology, safety and clinical trials of natural products as well as biotechnology. In total, 105 posters, 15 plenary, and 47 short lectures were presented during the three days of the congress. In addition to plenary lectures – 8 parallel sessions allow an appreciable number of participants to present results in oral talks – featuring one special young research session each day. 171 abstracts were published in the special issue of the journal and “Reviews on Clinical Pharmacology and Drug Therapy”. Most active were scientists from Switzerland, Germany, and Russia.
The poster sessions at central time frames within the congress also provided an opportunity for scientific discussions. After close evaluation of the posters by the scientific board, the six best had been granted with an award. The best posters were presented by Elena Vasileva (first price) from G.B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Vladivostok, Russia (poster title: “Echinochrome A analogues as potential cardioprotectors”), Angélique Bourqui (second price) from Antenna Santé, Geneva, Switzerland (poster title: “Field application of phytochemistry – experience with traditional plants against hypertension in Senegal”), Isabelle Guinobert (second price) from Groupe Pileje, Paris, France (poster title: “Administration of a standardized extract of Rhodiola rosea in mice reduced acute mild stress-induced corticosterone release and altered stress-responsive gene expression”), Chhaya Gadgoli (third price) from Saraswathi Vidya Bhavans College of Pharmacy, India (poster title: “Crocin from Nyctanthes arbortristis L. (Oleaceae): Enhancement of stability and effect on collagen type 1 and elastin gene”), Nguyen Thi Hai Yen (third price) from Saint Petersburg State Chemical and Pharmaceutical University, Russia (poster title: “Development of a procedure for quantitative determination of hydroxycinnamic acids in the herb catnip (Nepeta cataria L.)), and Lisa -Anna-Maria Pihan (third price) from Technical University Dresden, Germany (poster title: “Development of HPTLC fingerprint method for Sideritis spec. ethanolic extracts and biological effect directed experiments”).
In addition, the Natural Health Science Foundation (NHSF) held its inaugural meeting at the Congress and has offered a poster price for outstanding applied research in Quality Assurance and Clinical Equivalence. The price has been awarded to Dr. Olaf Kelber (Bayer-Steigerwald) and coauthors Prof. Karin Nieber (University Leipzig) and Prof. Karin Kraft (University of Rostock) for their poster “ Safety assessment of herbal products: common pitfalls”.
The visit of the TCM Garden (www.tcm-garten.ch) at ZHAW Wädenswil as well as the excursions to Max Zeller Söhne AG, Romanshorn, Vitaplant AG, Uttwil and Bioforce AG, Roggwil provided for a real and practical insight into plant based natural products and their sources.
Many companies and people have contributed in the preparation and the organization of this congress. On behalf of the Organizing Committee we want to thank ZHAW Wädenswil, Society for medicinal plants and natural products research (GA), Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE), Swiss Medical Society of Phytotherapy (SMGP SSPM), Swiss Society of manufactures of Complementary Medicine (SVKH ASMC), Umbrella Association for Complementary Medicine (DAKOMED), University Hospital Zurich, the main partner Zeller AG, gold partner A. Vogel/Bioforce AG, silver partners: BIONORICA SE and Natural Health Science Foundation (NHSF), bronze partners SFI, Padma, Bayer-Steigerwald, and the other partners (Evalar, Mospharma, Cfm Oskar Tropitzsch, Phytolab, CAMAG, Büchi, Martin Bauer Group, Bocken, ESCOP), as well as the members of the scientific and local organizing committees and the TCM garden team for their great engagement.
Detailed information about congress as well as lectures are available on the web-site:
We are looking forward to seeing you at the 23th International Congress PHYTOPHARM 2019 in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, on June 24-26, 2019!