Buds and young shoots are made of embryonic tissues and enclose all the genetic information of the future plant. In addition to containing vitamins, oligo-elements, and minerals, buds and young shoots are richer in nucleic acids and growth hormones than other plant tissues. They also contain other active substances, such as auxins and gibberellins, which start to disappear after a plant reaches a certain point in its growth.

Given that they are extracts of developing tissues, gemmotherapy remedies combine the properties of the whole plant, including the flowers, the leaves, the fruits, the sapwood, and the rootlets. For example, the Linden Tree (TiliaTomentosa) gemmotherapy extract not only possesses the sedative properties of the flowers, but also the purifying and diuretic properties of the sapwood. The same is true of the Hawthorn bud (Crataegus Oxyacantha) which has the properties of the flower which regulate cardiac rhythm and relieve palpitations, and those of the fruit which maintain heart muscle vitality.