[Clinical phytotherapy: opportunities and problematics].

In every country traditional medicines find foundation in magical or religious beliefs, or popular experience. The World Health Organization is engaged to establish guidelines for methodology of clinical research and the appraisal of effectiveness of traditional medicine. In Italy it has been adopted the term non-conventional medicines in order to group one series of therapies and medicines which are radically different one from the other. Phytotherapy uses medicinal plants prepared by means of adapted extractive technologies and proper pharmacological preparations, purified and standardized in their chemical principles. As for any shape of therapy there are possible side effects, contraindications, pharmacological interactions. It is deemed necessary that a basic knowledge of the pharmacological aspects of phytotherapy be included in the regular Course of Medicine.