Feverfew,Dioscorides's Fever Reducer or febrifugia,what is the history of this pretty daisy-like flower?

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Medicinal Action and Uses.

Feverfew Extract INCI Name Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract CAS 89997-65-9 EINECS ELINCS No 289-701-2 Tanacetum parthenium photo picture image Since the time of Dioscorides (78 A.D.), feverfew has been used for the treatment of headache, menstrual irregularities, stomachache, and especially, fevers. In fact, its common name is simply a corruption of the Latin febrifugia or fever reducer. The proper scientific name of this strongly aromatic, perennial herb, of the family Asteraceae, is a matter of disagreement among botanists. At different times feverfew has been placed in five different genera!

 Presently, Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip. seems to be the designation most widely accepted in the United States. In the 1970s, persons unable to obtain relief from the painful symptoms of migraine and arthritis by conventional means began to turn to feverfew as an alternative therapy. Consumption of only two or three fresh leaves daily for prolonged periods was found, for example, to decrease the frequency as well as the pain of migraine attacks. Considerable evidence has now been obtained from studies with fresh whole leaves, freeze-dried powdered leaves, and leaf extracts to confirm feverfew's effectiveness in such cases.

 The principal active constituent of the plant was initially identified as parthenolide, a sesquiterpene lactone. A recent prospective study on the use of feverfew in migraines utilized a dried ethanolic extract prepared from fresh leaf, delivering 0.5 mg of parthenolide on microcrystalline cellulose. The placebo-controlled, crossover study in fifty patients for four months found no significant difference between placebo and treatment groups. Previous clinical studies had used various whole leaf preparations. This calls into question the value of parthenolide as a definitive active constituent; therefore, assurance of parthenolide content may not correspond to clinical efficacy. Additional compounds could work in concert with parthenolide to produce the reduction in frequency and severity of migraine attacks, along with a lessening of migraine-related nausea and vomiting. Clearly more studies are required.

 Several sesquiterpene lactones are known to be spasmolytic. That is, they render the smooth muscles in the walls of the cerebral blood vessels less reactive to certain compounds that normally occur in the body and have a pronounced influence on them. Such so-called endogenous substances include norepinephrine, prostaglandins, and serotonin. Thus, the active compound(s) might produce its antimigraine effect in a manner similar to methysergide (Sansert), a known serotonin antagonist.

 Melancholy headaches:Feverfew was used by Greek physicians to treat "melancholy," which may have included head- aches as well as depression. The English used it into the seventeeth century for symptoms that might. translate today into vertigo, depression, and headache, as well as for lowering fever. It faded from popularity after that, and during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was hardly used by herbalists. Feverfew was, however, planted in gardens, perhaps for the small daisylike flowers or because feverfew had a reputation for repelling insects. If that didn't work, it was sometimes used as a balm to ease the itching of insect bites. In many places feverfew escaped from the garden and now grows as a wildflower in much of the northeastern United States. Only in recent decades has it come back into regular use, primarily to prevent migraine headaches. Dried leaves and stems, picked while the plant is flowering (July through October), are the parts used.

 Feverfew has been linked to several measurable changes in physiology. Extracts of the aboveground parts of the plant can reduce the body's manufacture of prostaglandin, a chemical important in inflammation, by up to 88 percent. This and other anti-inflammatory activity might explain why feverfew has been used to treat psoriasis. Despite this, a clinical trial for rheumatoid arthritis showed no benefit over placebo. In the test tube, feverfew extracts can keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots, so feverfew may be useful as a mild anticoagulant. It achieves this through a different chemical pathway than aspirin or other salicylates. Feverfew also blocks platelets from releasing serotonin, which may help to explain how it works to prevent migraines. Feverfew extracts also prevent the release of histamine from mast cells, so feverfew may be useful in the treatment of allergies. Presumably, it is also expected to lower fever, although there don't appear to be modern clinical studies substantiating this traditional use.

 Feverfew has a stimulant effect in the uterus but it also has relaxant properties. Feverfew can be used to bring on delayed or suppressed periods, to relieve period pains and reduce symptoms associated with PMS, such as headaches, irritability and tension. Feverfew has also been used traditionally for hot flashes during the menopause. Taken during childbirth feverfew will equalize the circulation, make the pains and contractions more regular and contractions firmer if the birth is slow in getting going. Feverfew will also relieve tension in a rigid cervix. More recently, feverfew has gained fame as an excellent remedy for headaches and migraine. In clinical trials, 70 per cent of people with intractable migraines improved when taking feverfew, while 33 per cent had no further attacks. The leaves can be eaten fresh every day between slices of bread (taken alone they cause mouth ulcers in some people). Feverfew has a bitter taste, and has a beneficial action on the liver, enhancing the appetite and digestion, allaying nausea and vomiting and helping to clear heat and toxins from the system. Feverfew will help relieve the pain and inflammation of arthritis and reduce symptoms associated with a sluggish liver, such as lethargy, irritability and headaches. Feverfew acts as a tonic to the nervous system, relaxing tension and lifting depression and promoting sleep. Feverfew has also been used to relieve nerve pain, as in trigeminal neuralgia and sciatica. A hot infusion of feverfew will increase perspiration and reduce fevers. Feverfew will also act as a decongestant, clearing phlegm, chronic catarrh and sinusitis. Feverfew has also been used for asthma, hay fever, dizziness and tinnitus.

 Fevers: As its name indicates, feverfew may be used to lower temperature and cool the body.

 Gynecological uses: The herb has been used since Roman times to induce menstruation. Feverfew is given in difficult births to aid expulsion of the placenta.

 Migraine and headaches: In small quantities, feverfew is now used as a preventive for migraine. It has to be taken regularly and at the first signs of an attack. Feverfew is useful for migraines associated with menstruation and for headaches.

 Arthritis remedy: Feverfew can help arthritic and rheumatic pain, especially in combination with other herbs.

 Good for gas, bloating and worms: Feverfew promotes the onset of the menstrual period. Used to treat hysteria and alcoholism with delirium tremens. The flowers act as a purgative.
 Feverfew Extract INCI Name Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract CAS 89997-65-9 EINECS ELINCS No 289-701-2 Tanacetum parthenium photo picture image

 Grow feverfew in the rose garden to attract aphids away from the rose bushes. Leaves and flowers act as a good moth deterrent. It also makes a nice cut flower.

 Aperient, carminative, bitter. As a stimulant it is usefulas an emmenagogue. Is also employed in hysterical complaints, nervousness and lowness of spirits, and is a general tonic. The cold infusion is made from 1 OZ. of the herb to a pint of boiling water, allowed to cool, and taken frequently in doses of half a teacupful.

 A decoction with sugar or honey is said to be good for coughs, wheezing and difficult breathing. The herb, bruised and heated, or fried with a little wine and oil, has been employed as a warm external application for wind and colic.

 A tincture made from Feverfew and applied locally immediately relieves the pain and swelling caused by bites of insects and vermin. It is said that if two teaspoonfuls of tincture are mixed with 1/2 pint of cold water, and all parts of the body likely to be exposed to the bites of insects are freely sponged with it, they will remain unassailable. A tincture of the leaves of the true Chamomile and of the German Chamomile will have the same effect.

 Planted round dwellings, it is said to purify the atmosphere and ward off disease.

 An infusion of the flowers, made with boiling water and allowed to become cold, will allay any distressing sensitiveness to pain in a highly nervous subject, and will afford relief to the face-ache or earache of a dyspeptic or rheumatic person.
 Feverfew Extract INCI Name Chrysanthemum Parthenium Extract CAS 89997-65-9 EINECS ELINCS No 289-701-2 Tanacetum parthenium photo picture image

 Tonic, carminative, emmenagogue, vermifuge, and stimulant. This agent is one of the pleasantest of the tonics, influencing the whole intestinal tract, increasing the appetite, improving digestion, and promoting secretion, besides having a decided action upon the renal and cutaneous functions. The warm infusion is an excellent remedy in recent colds, flatulency, worms, atonic dyspepsia, irregular menstruation, nervous debility, hysteria, suppression of the urine, and in some febrile diseases. In hysteria or flatulency, 1 teaspoonful of the compound spirits of lavender forms a valuable addition to the dose of the infusion, which is from 2 to 4 fluid ounces. The cold infusion or extract makes a valuable tonic. The leaves in poultice are an excellent local application in severe pain or swelling of the bowels, etc.

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citations1.Feverfew,Dioscorides's Fever Reducer or febrifugia,what is the history of this pretty daisy-like flower?

last edit date:20th,June.2009.