On 27 October, students from the Faculty of Pharmaceutics of VSU. Alexander Dunilin and Fedor Evsikov, and volunteers from the Botanical Garden of VSU gave presentations on the scientific approach to phytotherapy. The event was held as a part of the project PhytoLab run by the Atomic Energy Information Centre.
“For thousands of years people have been using plants to treat diseases. Discoveries of new medicinal plants resulted in a number of drugs used to treat certain serious diseases. This is only possible thanks to the systematic approach and researchers who specialise in pharmacognosy. This is a field of pharmacy which studies medicinal plants and animals and some products of its primary processing as sources of drugs”, said Alexander Dunilin.
“The variety of therapeutic effects of herbal medicinal products on human body is explained by the complexity and variability of the chemical compositions of plants. It’s a good idea to used herbal medicinal products in the autumn for the prevention and treatment of cold-related diseases, because the substances in their composition (essential oils, flavonoids, polysaccharides, etc.) enhance the general resistance ability of our bodies and stimulate immunity functions”, said Fedor Evsikov.
“People, from scientists to laymen, have always been interested in phytotherapy, even despite the development of chemical and drug industry. A larger number of established pharmaceutical companies are now focusing on the production of herbal medicinal products. This is explained by the fact that they are highly effective, have a broad spectrum, have a harmonized effect on the organs and systems in human body, low toxicity, and a minimum number of side effects, not to mention their economic efficiency. It’s good to have at least some basic knowledge about the properties of plants. As Paracelsus put it, nature can provide us with a cure for any disease, we just need to know how to use it”, said the students’ supervisor Alevtina Gudkova, Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Engineering of the Faculty of Pharmaceutics of VSU.
Text by: Polina Kobeleva
