Tanacetum parthenium
Part Used: Dried leaf & flower
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a perennial which grows up to 60cm tall, with a downy erect stem. The yellowish-green leaves are alternate, stalked, ovate and pinnately divided with an entire or crenate margin. The flowers, about 2cm in diameter, are arranged in corymbs of up to 30 heads, with white ray florets, yellow disc florets, and downy involucral bracts. The taste is bitter and the odor is strongly aromatic. The active constituents include sesquiterpene lactones (including parthenolide and santamarine), volatile oil, sesquiterpenes (including camphor, farnesene and germacrene), tannins, and monoterpenes. The herb has properties like migraine prophylactic, anti-inflammatory, vasodilatory, antirheumatic, febrifuge, digestive bitter, anthelmintic, uterine stimulant,etc. For more than 2,000 years, Feverfew was a folk medicine taken internally for fevers, headache, or menstrual regulation, or applied externally to relieve pain. Modern use focuses on Feverfew to help prevent migraines. A compound called parthenolide (not found in all feverfew varieties) appears to be responsible for its antimigraine effects. Recently Feverfew has been gaining fame as a effective treatment for migraine headaches.
Feverfew may also help ease diseases caused by chronic inflammation such as arthritis. It is an aromatic plant with a strong and lasting odor, it has been used externally as an insect repellent and for treating insect bites. Clinical tests have shown the use of Feverfew may reduce of frequency and severity of headaches. It may be more effective than other nonsteroidal antiinflammatories (NSAIDS), like aspirin. Additional benefits include lower blood pressure, less stomach irritation and a renewed sense of well-being. Feverfew has long been reputed to help relieve arthritis, particularly in the painful active inflammatory stage. The sesquiterpene lactones, and particularly parthenolide, have been shown to inhibit human blood platelet aggregation and secretory activity in platelets and polymorphonuclear leucocytes (increased secretion is a feature of rheumatoid arthritis). It has been used in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea and sluggish menstrual flow, and an infusion may be taken to cleanse the uterus after childbirth. As per some studies it has shown antimicrobial properties against Gram-positive bacteria, yeasts and filamentous.
References:
All Natural. http://www.allnatural.net/herbpages/feverfew.shtml
Purple Sage Botanicals. http://www.purplesage.org.uk/profiles/feverfew.htm
