The Austrian drug law does not distinguish between medicinal products made from chemical substances and those made from plants or natural substances. An abridged registration is possible for certain non-prescription medicines. This is laid down in section 17a of the Austrian Drug Law [40]. This means that with respect to quality and safety a detailed assessment is not performed. A list of active substances and excipients qualifying for the abridged procedure was published in 1989 [41] and was last modified in 1992 [42]. It lists some 500 substances and medicinal plants/parts of plants/essential oils etc., for which the simplified procedure according to section 17a can be used. The requirements for the documents that have to be submitted are listed in sections 15 and 17a of the Austrian Drug Law.

In principle, medicinal products can only be sold in pharmacies. An exemption is laid down in section 59, para 3 of the Austrian Drug Law stating that certain products which do not have any risk are allowed to be sold outside pharmacies, e.g., in drug stores. A list of these products of which many are medicinal plants has been published officially, and contains a description of the medicinal plant/part of plant, the wording for the indication and the dosage recommendation [43].