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Ethnopharmacological relevance From the 16th up into the 18th century botanical and medicinal knowledge in Europe was documented and spread in magnificently illustrated herbals. For the most part modern science has neglected this source of knowledge and old remedies have not been systematically evaluated pharmacologically. Aim of the study Rheumatic disorders and chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal system were chosen in an attempt to discuss remedies described in the old herbals in the viewpoint of modern science. Materials and methods Five of the most important European herbals of the 16th and 17th century were searched for terms related to rheumatic diseases, and plants and recipes described for their treatment. An extensive search of the scientific data banks Medline and SciFinder scholar was done to find recent results concerning the phytochemistry and possible antiphlogistic activities of the plants. Results Sixty-three plants were identified in the herbals for this indication. More than half of them have shown in vitro or in vivo antiphlogistic activities. Conclusions European herbals may be a valuable source of information for the selection of plants for focussed screening programmes. Information contained in these herbals should be explored in a systematic manner.