Plantago lanceolata L. crops - source of valuable raw material for various industrial applications.

Plantago lanceolata L. (ribwort plantain) belonging to Plantaginaceae family is a perennial cosmopolitan species which shows high ecological plasticity, being found naturally in grassy areas on roadsides, in pastures and in crops as weeds. The species has a wide range of more or less developed industrial applications. In this review are presented data regarding ribwort plantain cultivation (cultivated area and input requirements), the main biologically active constituents, review of existing industrial applications, potential directions of use based on new achievements in biotechnology or on improvement of extraction and formulation technology (pharmaceutical products, supplements for veterinary use, cosmetics, insecticides, other intermediary products), restricting factors that could inhibit larger industrial use (issues related to the crop input, inconsistency in quality of the end-product, etc.), recommendations to use bio-products based on Plantago lanceolata raw material. Although Plantago lanceolata L. is considered a weed, scientific data prove its importance in various domains and also open new directions for development of new and valuable natural products.