Research Division: Phytotherapeutics

The main focus of the Phytotherapeutics division is the research on the therapeutic potential of
molecules of plant origin, plant extracts, and essential oils. Since ancient times, plants have played
an essential role in therapeutic approaches in human medicine. During the different periods of
human civilisation, the use of medicinal plants underwent a profound metamorphosis, whose
culmination was the isolation of the first biologically active substances in the 19th century, with
which the foundations of modern pharmacy are being laid.
Despite progress in the synthesis of new molecules, plants are still a valuable multilayer reservoir
for compounds with high therapeutic potential. These days, a lot of essential medicines contain
molecules of plant origin or plant extracts, and many future drugs are expected to have natural
origin as well.
The key points of the Phytotherapeutics division are the isolation of new molecules of plant origin,
determination of the chemical composition of plant extracts and essential oils, optimisation of
extraction approaches, development of new approaches for chemical analysis, study on biological
activity, and targeting molecules of natural origin or extracts with high therapeutic potential.
The researchers from this research division have extensive experience in the development,
validation, and conducting of research to establish the chemical composition of plant extracts and
essential oils by using highly specialised equipment such as GC-MS, HPLC-MS, HPLC-UV and
HPTLC, as well as in the isolation of plant-derived molecules. On a global scale, researchers from
the team have contributed to the research on medicinal plants by performing and describing for the
first time a histochemical analysis of particular plant species and establishing new biological
activities of molecules of plant origin and plant extracts.