Medicinal plant: Feverfew

Scientific or Botanical Name: Tanacetum parthenium

Feverfew is specifically native to the Balkan Peninsula, Anatolia and the Caucasus, but cultivation has spread the plant around the world and it is now common in Europe, the Mediterranean, North America and Chile. Feverfew is a traditional medicinal herb, often grown solely for its pretty flowers, found in many old cottage gardens.  Earlier herbalists thought of it as "a general strengthener of the womb". Numerous cultivars have been developed as garden ornamentals.


Source: National Geographic

The plant grows into a small  perennial bush with citrus-scented leaves, and there are numerous daisy-like flowers with bright-yellow centers. The plant spreads rapidly, and will cover a wide are after a few years. Feverfew prefers full sun and well-drainer soil, but tolerates a range of conditions. Flowers are daisy-like flowers, which bloom in summer, mean that feverfew is easily confused with similar plants such as annual mayweeds. The bitter-tasting pale green leaves were traditionally fried and made into poultice for headaches, rather than taken internally. Easily confused with other daisy-like plants; look for its characteristic leaves which have a very bitter taste. Feverfew has white and yellow daisy-type flowers, and care must be taken not to confuse chamomile (chamomile recutita) with this potentially toxic herb. Collect the leaves as required, throughout the growing period before flowering occurs and the whole plant in summer while flowering.

Though its earliest medicinal use is not recorded, it was documented in the first century AD as an anti-inflammatory by the Greek herbalist/ physician Dioscorides who praised it for relieving what was probably arthritis. The word "feverfew" derives from the Latin word febrifugia, meaning "fever reducer". Feverfew has many traditional uses and has often been used to treat hot and feverish states. Feverfew is anti-inflammatory, vasodilator relaxant, digestive stimulant, emmenagogue and anthelmintic. Feverfew has therapeutic properties and use to treat migraine, headaches, fever, stomachaches, menstrual pain, labour pains during child birth (but avoid during pregnancy), infertility, insect bites and rheumatoid.  It has also traditionally been used to treat arthritis and rheumatism.  A strong bitter, it stimulates appetite and digestive activity and has been employed to treat worms. The leaf acts to stimulate menstrual blood flow and can prove helpful in relieving menstrual pain.

Source: Home herbal

Feverfew anti-inflammatory action is useful in treating arthritic aches and pain. It is most likely to relieve arthritic pain when combined with herb such as willow bark (Sail alba) or devil's claw (Hapogophytum procumbens). Research, which has by and large, confirmed the herb's effectiveness, began after a Welsh doctor's wife found feverfew cured her 50-year-long history of migraine. Feverfew proves most effective when it is taken as soon as signs of an impending migraine attack are recognized. The medicinal herb is generally less effective once the migraine is underway. The leaf can be used symptomatically, for example, in tension headache, but for best results, the herb should be taken regularly for several months. Strong-acting and potentially toxic, fever few should be taken at the recommended dosage.  Either one small fresh leaf with food or as capsule or tablet produced to pharmacopoeial standards.

HOW TO USE

Infusion:

Drink 1 or 2 cups of a weak infusion made from 1/2oz (15g) of the aerial parts to 1 pint (600 ml) of water after childbirth to encourage cleansing and tonifying of the womb; take 1 cup 3 times daily for period pain associated with sluggish flow and congestion.

Tincture
Use 5-10 drops at 30 minute intervals at the onset of a migraine. It is most effective for preventing and treating "cold" type migraines involving vasoconstriction, which are eased by applying a hot towel to the head. For the acute stages of rheumatoid arthritis, add up to 40 drops (2ml), 3 times a day to herbal remedies such as celery seed, white willow, or devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens). 

Poultice
Cook a handful of leaves in a little oil and apply to the abdomen as a poultice for colicky pains. 

Cautions:

Avoid during pregnancy or while breast-feeding. If taking blood-thinning medication, take only on the advice of a herbal or medicinal reactions, mouth ulcers, and gastrointestinal upset.
Mouth ulcers can occur after eating the fresh leaves.
Avoid if taking anticoagulant drugs such as warfarin.