Multiplasan

Multiplasan is a German line of herbal preparations made by Plantatrakt GmbH, a family-owned company based in Steibis, a village in the municipality of Oberstaufen in the Allgäu region of Bavaria [2]. The range is built mainly around tablets and powders made from whole dried herbs, sold today as dietary supplements, together with a smaller line of blended body and skin oils. Its roots lie in the years after the Second World War, when a herbal mixture for farm animals became the first product sold under the Multiplasan name [7].

The brand's history is shaped by a change in regulation. For decades its products were licensed medicines available only in pharmacies; after a change to German drug law in 2003, they were moved into the food-supplement category under new names and packaging. The company is run by the third generation of the founding family and remains active.

Plantatrakt names Anton Lipp sen. as its founder. According to the company's own account, he grew up as one of 13 children in a family that made everyday home remedies from medicinal plants and herbs for its own use [6]. Before and during the Second World War he worked as a ski instructor. In 1945 he set up his first business in Steibis, refurbishing, repainting and reselling discarded military skis in the village — a venture that preceded the herbal business rather than forming part of it.

The decisive meeting came in 1946, when Lipp met Edwin Nagelstein, an engineer who later became the company's head of production [6]. The company describes Nagelstein as a state-certified expert in pharmaceutical and technical chemistry since 1921, who had also studied law with a focus on patents. He developed the Multiplasan formulas. Lipp's brother-in-law, Paul Zehe, was given charge of making the first products and, the company says, kept working in the business until the age of 90.

No founding year is known for the Multiplasan brand itself or for Plantatrakt GmbH; the company's history dates only the ski business and the meeting with Nagelstein.

The first Multiplasan product to be sold commercially was A10, a herbal mixture for animals. Plantatrakt explains that after the war, livestock diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease threatened the livelihoods of Allgäu farmers, and veterinary care did not yet reach every area [7]. Multiplasan M A10 was developed to support the animals' immune systems and help prevent illness. It was first sold directly to local farmers and advertised in farmers' information bulletins. In the company's telling, word of the product spread among initially sceptical farmers and the customer base grew quickly.

Nagelstein, who already held patents on industrial manufacturing processes, tried to patent the method for making A10, since there was then no legal way to protect the recipe itself. Protection came later, when A10 was approved as a veterinary medicine.

The move to human products followed an unusual route. According to the company, farmers reported that after trying the mixture in the barn they had begun taking it themselves. Nagelstein then developed formulas adapted to the human body, and these too received approval as medicines. All Multiplasan products became pharmacy-only drugs, and when prescribed by a doctor their cost was covered by health insurance.

Production began in Lipp's house in Steibis. It later moved to Paul Zehe's neighbouring bed-and-breakfast guesthouse, which was rebuilt step by step to meet the strict hygiene rules of German drug law.

The turning point came in 2003. A change in German pharmaceutical law excluded multi-ingredient natural herb mixtures from approval as medicines [7]. Since then, Multiplasan products have been sold as dietary supplements under new names and in new packaging. Plantatrakt states that the composition of the products stayed largely the same, but that as a manufacturer it may no longer make health-related claims about them.

Multiplasan belongs to Plantatrakt GmbH, which manufactures the products and also operates the brand's online shop. The company is registered at the Kempten local court, and its legal notice lists Andreas Lipp and Anton Lipp as managing directors [2]. Brand and company are effectively one family business: Plantatrakt describes itself as continuing in the third generation what the founders' grandfather began. Product labels name Plantatrakt GmbH, with its address in Steibis, as the manufacturer [11]. No acquisitions or outside owners are known.

Plantatrakt's product concept rests on a few stated principles. The company says it uses only whole, dried herbs and pure natural essential oils, which it presents as the natural and authentic choice. It selects the parts of each plant it considers richest in active substances — leaves, fruits, roots or the whole plant. Because the herbs are dried and ground rather than extracted, the company argues that both fat-soluble and water-soluble constituents remain in the finished product, along with fibre and other secondary plant substances. It cites a phytotherapy textbook by a Professor Weiss in support of treating a medicinal plant as a whole natural product rather than a set of isolated compounds.

Herbs are always combined into blends. In Plantatrakt's description, the mixtures are balanced so that natural variations in the strength of individual plants even out. The dried herbs are milled into fine powders and pressed into tablets.

Sourcing and testing form the other part of the brand's self-presentation. Herbs come from wild collection or controlled cultivation, and the company says its wild-collected herbs are gathered in the last untouched natural landscapes of Europe. Plantatrakt states that it relies on no quality seals and instead has every batch of herbs checked by an independent, accredited laboratory for contaminants and residues [5]. The product label specifies tests for heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides and radioactivity before the raw material is released for processing [11]. No third-party certifications are held.

All production takes place in-house in the Allgäu, which the company highlights as a core value alongside its family ownership. Its slogan, "Multiplasan Präparate – direkt vom Hersteller" ("Multiplasan preparations – direct from the manufacturer"), reflects a focus on selling straight from the production site.

The current Multiplasan range falls into two groups. The larger group consists of tablets and powders made from whole dried herbs, for people and animals. It includes several mineral complexes numbered 17, 33 and 53, a product called Stoffwechselaktiv 46, Antistress 80, and Mineralstoffvital 10 for animals. Mineralstoffkomplex 33, for example, is labelled as a mineral-containing dietary supplement and combines juniper berries, nettle leaves, peppermint leaves, fennel, calamus root, anise and caraway with mineral salts.

The beauty-relevant part of the range is a line of three oil blends, each a mix of base oils and pure essential oils:

- Hautpflegeöl (skin-care oil), described by the company as intensive care for dry, sensitive skin, based on olive oil and essential oils with a fruity scent. - Entspannungsöl (relaxation oil), a massage oil made with jojoba oil and fruit oils. - Vitalfluid, a blend of essential oils with a cooling, minty scent, intended for use around sporting activity.

According to the company, none of the oil blends contains auxiliary substances, additives or preservatives [4]. All three carry German pharmacy product codes.

Multiplasan is active. Its owner's website carries a 2025 copyright notice, and the online shop was operating with a current product range in October 2026 [9]. The products are sold directly by the manufacturer, through a separate shop for therapists and resellers, and through pharmacies. Distribution is concentrated in Germany, and the brand's websites are published in German only.

Accounts of the brand's age differ slightly. Plantatrakt's company site says its products have been available for more than 70 years and that many customers already knew them from their grandparents [5]. The undated product label instead states that the underlying recipes were designed more than 60 years ago [11]. Both describe the same family business, now in its third generation.