This e-Seminar explores the role of medicinal plant research in advancing women’s health through evidence-based insights and emerging therapies. With several women-specific health conditions, facing unmet needs in care, management and/or treatment, evidence-based phytotherapies could provide a promising approach. In this e-Seminar, we will explore scientific advances, therapeutic potential, and emerging innovations that support the sustainable improvements in women’s well-being and healthcare.
Topics and Speakers
Gender pharmacology in herbal medicinal products: Data from the PhytoVIS study
Prof Dr Karen Nieber (Kooperation Phytopharmaka GbR, Bonn and University of Leipzig, Institute of Pharmacy, Leipzig, Germany)
Gender differences in the safety and efficacy of medicinal products are increasingly attracting attention, also as they are a precondition for personalized medicine. However, for medicinal plants and herbal medicinal products, data are rare. To address this gap, data from the PhytoVIS study, presumably the world”s largest pharmacoepidemiological study on the use of herbal medicinal products, were assessed.
The PhytoVIS data set contains information on epidemiology of patients and therapeutic indications, efficacy and tolerability of herbal medicinal products used by them, which have been
captured in pharmacies and in doctor´s practices in Germany, in compliance to the ENCePP Code of Conduct, and was evaluated regarding gender differences.
Overall, 24,056 data sets were evaluated, thereof 16,443 were from women and 7,613 from men. The efficacy of the therapy was rated very good in 45.9 women and 42.5% men. Only app. 4 % on women und men rate medication unchanged to worsened. The tolerability was good in 91.5% of the women and 90.6% of the men. Besides differences in medicines for menopausal/prostate complaints, the proportion of men taking herbal drugs for cough and cold and for joint pain was higher, while women were more likely to take herbal drugs for anxiety, sleep disturbances, and bladder dysfunction.
The data provide a gender-specific overview of the use of herbal drugs in a non-selected patient cohort. Although there were clear differences in the relevance of certain therapeutic areas, the safety and efficacy of herbal drugs were comparable between men and women.
Research on herbal medicines for breast cancer treatment – efficacy and safety aspects
Prof Dr Clara Bik-San Lau (LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong)
Prof. Clara Lau has been focusing on evidence-based research of herbal medicines in breast cancer management for more than two decades. This talk will cover the research findings of some potential anti-cancer herbal extracts and natural products in treating breast cancer in preclinical models. A systematic approach, comprising of breast cancer cells, tumor-bearing mice and breast cancer patient-derived cells models, for studying the safety of estrogenic herbs in breast cancer will also be presented. It is anticipated that scientific findings from the evidenced-based efficacy studies will support the use of herbal medicines in breast cancer management.
Co-Chairs
Dr Banaz Jalil, University College London, United Kingdom
Prof Lyndy J. McGaw, University of Pretoria, South Africa
This seminar will take place on the 20th of February 2026, at 3.00 PM (CET).
