The European Phytojournal

The theme of this presentation is encapsulated in the quotation from the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. That quotation is used to draw attention to the fact that many adverse reports on Herbal Medicinal Products are due to poor quality control procedures. Therefore proper attention to quality aspects of medicinal plants could make a serious contribution to preventing further problems. The attribution of toxicity to the wrong plant also highlights problems in accurate citations of reports leading to inaccurate and scientifically inexact information being provided to patients, practitioners and regulators.