Abstract:In an extensive screening, the antiviral, antitrypanosomal and anticancer properties of extracts from 82 plants used in traditional Chinese medicine and European phytomedicine were determined. Several promising plants that were highly effective against hepatitis B virus (HBV), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV)-a flavivirus used here as a surrogate in vitro model of hepatitis C virus, trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei brucei) and several cancer cell lines were identified. Six aqueous extracts from Celosia cristata, Ophioglossum vulgatum, Houttuynia cordata, Selaginella tamariscina, Alpinia galanga and Alpinia oxyphylla showed significant antiviral effects against BVDV without toxic effects on host embryonic bovine trachea (EBTr) cells, while Evodia lepta, Hedyotis Moreover, among fifteen water extracts that combined high antiproliferative activity (IC 50 0.5-20 µg/mL) and low acute in vitro toxicity (0-10% reduction in cell viability at IC 50 ), Coptis chinensis presented the best beneficial characteristics. In conclusion, traditional herbal medicine from Europe and China still has a potential for new therapeutic targets and therapeutic applications.