Medicinal plants

Medicinal plants have been an indispensable part of healthcare for millennia, and their importance is growing worldwide. Demographic changes, the rising demand for natural products, and the increasing interest in sustainable health solutions are further driving this trend. The growing demand for plant-based active ingredients requires innovative approaches to sustainably producing high-quality medicinal plants.

The global herbal medicine market is growing rapidly, and Europe is emerging as one of the most important growth markets for phytopharmaceuticals and natural substance–based health products. Concurrently, the cultivation of medicinal and herbal plants in Western Europe is becoming more important because regional production systems can increase supply security, reduce dependence on imports, and strengthen climate-resilient value chains.

However, the long-term supply of high-quality herbal raw materials is increasingly at risk. Overuse of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, and harvest failures induced by climate change are limiting their availability. Meanwhile, developing effective and safe phytopharmaceuticals requires standardized plant resources of consistently high quality. Modern breeding approaches play a key role in this regard. They lay the foundation for high-performing varieties with stable active ingredient profiles, high-quality raw materials, and improved adaptability to future environmental conditions.

Despite their economic importance, many medicinal plants have received little attention from plant breeders compared to crops such as corn or wheat. Fundamental knowledge regarding the genetics, physiology, and seed biology of numerous species, as well as the relationships between genotype, environment, and active ingredient formation, is lacking. This hinders the development of varieties with high, stable active ingredient levels; low quality variability; and increased resilience to biotic and abiotic stress factors.

Knowledge- and data-driven breeding approaches are therefore essential for developing resilient, high-value supply chains for medicinal plants. Integrating genetic, biochemical, and phenotypic data enables targeted variety development and paves the way for sustainable, efficient, and competitive medicinal plant production.