Gemmotherapy is a branch of phytotherapy that uses buds and young shoots of trees and shrubs. They are gathered in the spring, at a key stage of the natural growth cycle, and freshly prepared in a macerate process using water, alcohol and glycerine.
Made of developing tissues, buds and young shoots are a true concentrate of the plant’s energy and vitality. They also contain many active principles that are no longer present when the plant is fully developed. This explains the wide range of applications and effectiveness of gemmotherapy remedies.
Gemmotherapy was created in the 1960s by Dr Pol Henry, a Belgian doctor. He published his research findings and clinical results in1970, calling this new therapy “Phytoembryothérapie”. This discipline was further detailed and developed by Max Tetau, a French homeopath, who also gave it a new name, “Gemmotherapy”. This term derives from the latin ‘gemmae’ which means both plant bud and precious stone, and is the name now universally adopted.