Priorities and Future Actions for an Effective Use of Phytotherapy in Livestock—Outputs from an Expert Workshop

Abstract

This study reflects on the recognised need for more joined-up, high-quality research on phytotherapy that addresses the current societal challenges in finding alternatives to the use of antibiotics. The study applied a multidisciplinary participatory approach in an expert workshop exercise within the FP7 EU IMPRO project. Prior to this study, a literature review was elaborated on research in the field of phytotherapy as applied to farm animals, cooperation between research bodies and initiatives to reduce the use of antibiotics by using phytotherapeutic remedies. The review was delivered to the participants of the workshop so as to receive feedback on it and enrich the discussion. Different expertise, background in research or veterinary practice, and varying positions regarding phytotherapy were the criteria in targeting participants. A structured workshop was subsequently organised, with questions to experts addressing scientific validation of phytotherapy, effective treatment under farm conditions and necessary developments for the future. Challenges identified by the experts were as follows: poor study designs, lack of reproducibility of studies, poor standardisation of products, cost–benefit concerns, lack of veterinarian training and poor data availability. To overcome obstacles, the need for improved study designs for clinical trials was given priority in order to prove the efficacy of remedies and to implement a monitoring system which enables the assessment of the effectiveness of treatments in farm practice. Reflections in this report are intended to be a resource for scientists, policy makers and end users for an effective use of phytotherapy at farm level.

Systematic Review of Phytotherapeutic Treatments for Different Farm Animals Under European Conditions

“…This approach does not exclude the stringent high-quality research of phytotherapy in research trials, but interventions with phytotherapy must be validated and must be replicable with the overview of efficacy and safety in the farm practice. To overcome obstacles, the need for improved study designs for clinical trials was given priority on a workshop of experts that addressed the current societal challenges of the use of phytotherapy on livestock ( 43 ) in order to prove the efficacy of remedies and to implement a monitoring system which enables the assessment of the effectiveness of treatments in farm practice. From the review, no trials have been repeated under the same or comparable conditions (with respect to species, remedy, context/disease, and expertise).…”

Principes, cadre d'analyse et leviers d'action à l’échelle de l’élevage pour une gestion intégrée de la santé chez les animaux monogastriques

“…Dans le cas des maladies non infectieuses (maladies métaboliques, troubles comportementaux, toxicité des xénobiotiques), le soin des animaux visera avant tout la mise en place de conditions d'élevage propice à la guérison (alimentation adaptée, isolement ou au contraire socialisation, conditions d'ambiance, adaptation du milieu de vie…) et la prise en charge des blessures. Pour traiter les maladies infectieuses, certains élevages, notamment en système « biologique », priorisent l'utilisation des traitements alternatifs aux médicaments vétérinaires (Hellec et al, 2021), telles que la phytothérapie (Blanco-Penedo et al, 2018) ou l'aromathérapie (Zhai et al, 2018) avant de mettre en oeuvre des traitements allopathiques. Ces stratégies visent à éviter l'exposition précoce à des antibiotiques qui modifie le microbiote digestif, le système nerveux entérique et le métabolisme à long terme (Foong et al, 2020).…”

Caracterización parcial del sector ganadero ecológico español y problemática actual

“…A pesar de que existe una gran variedad de especies de plantas que potencialmente se pueden utilizar para el tratamiento de enfermedades del ganado en la Unión Europa, muy pocas están registradas para su uso (Mayer et al, 2014). Parece ser que las principales barreras en la aplicación práctica de la fitoterapia en ganadería en Europa (incluida España) se debe a deficiencias en el diseño experimental de los estudios realizados, la falta de reproducibilidad de estos mismos y estandarización de los remedios fitoterapéuticos evaluados, la preocupación sobre el coste-beneficio de su uso, la falta de formación de los veterinarios respecto al uso de estos productos y la escasa disponibilidad de datos (Blanco-Penedo et al, 2018;Tamminen et al, 2018). Todas estas consideraciones explicarían el bajo número de participantes que indicaron el uso de tratamientos alternativos en la encuesta.…”

“…Por otro lado, la reducción de estos insumos polémicos podría mejorar la confianza del consumidor respecto a los productos de origen animal (Busch et al, 2020). Sin embargo, a pesar del creciente interés en el uso de alternativas, la aplicación de la fitoterapia en granja parece limitada (Blanco-Penedo et al, 2018).…”