Safety and Efficacy Assessment of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Derived Products. A Qualitative Research

The complexity of medicinal and aromatic plants products makes difficult to asses their safety and efficacy. A qualitative research method, called hybrid forum has been used in order to better understand the risks and benefits of those products, from the perspective of three key components: the manufacturing process, from raw material to the finished product, safety and quality assurance, consumers’ perception and biomedical context. The discussion forum took place in November 2019 in Cluj-Napoca and it was organized in two parts: the first addressed to researchers and actors in the field (14 stakeholders) and the second to the general public (23 participants). Critical points and limitations in the field of products obtained from medicinal and aromatic plants have been identified by both the specialists (poor cooperation between actors; lack of monitoring of product quality; increase self-medication), and the general public (difficulties in making informed choices; reluctance to pharmacists’ advice).