ABSTRACT
Medicinal and aromatic products are derived from both spontaneous and cultivated plant species. Herbs have been cultivated since ancient times and have been used as medicines, in cosmetics or as ingredients for various culinary preparations. In Romania, as everywhere in the world, there is currently increasing interest in the use of medicinal and aromatic plants. The medicinal flora of Romania comprises 800 species, among which 283 possess specific therapeutic properties. Medicinal and aromatic plants are represented by annual, biennial and perennial species, whose products (vegetable raw materials) – flowers (Flores), leaves (Folium), grass or the entire aerial vegetative mass (Herba), fruits (Fructus), seeds (Semen), roots (Radix), etc., serve various purposes, becoming primary sources of raw materials for:
the extraction of active ingredients and volatile oils;
the medicinal and pharmaceutical industry;
the cosmetics industry (perfumes, syrups, detergents); and
the food industry (flavors, dyes).
