Number Significance of over-the-counter (OTC) herbal medicinal products (HMP): ATC code R

Respiratory diseases, partially the flu, affect millions of people and are of global social significance. Common symptoms are cough, rhinorrhea and fever. The study focuses on the diversity of HMP classified in ATC code R in the current “List of medicinal products without prescription in the Republic of Bulgaria” [1].

The mentioned list has been used to estimate the HMP proportion, assess the ATC code and pharmaceutical form distribution and determine the significance of native plants used.

19% out of 218 OTC medicines classified in ATC code R are registered as HMP. Most of them are expectorants (R05CA). Syrups are the most common pharmaceutical from (39%). 16 of the 29 plants used to produce the active substances of the HMP are native to the Bulgarian flora. Only 34% of the 26 species used to treat respiratory disorders according to traditional medicine scources overlap with the ones found in the current study [2].

There is potential for creating new HMP shown by the biodiversity and the ethnopharmacological knowledge in the country.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the EXTREME project, funded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, D01-76/30.03.2021 through the programme “European Scientific Networks”.

Publication History

Article published online:
13 December 2021

• References

• 1 Bulgarian drug agency (BDA), Medicinal products without prescription in the Republic of Bulgaria to date 18.05.2021, https://www.bda.bg/ (accessed 18.05.2021).
• 2 Ivancheva S, Stantcheva B. Ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants in Bulgaria. Journal of ethnopharmacology 2000; 69: 165-72