Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a flowering plant belonging to the Asteraceae (daisy) family. Other common names for the plant include featherfew, featherfoil, Santa Maria, midsummer daisy and butcher’s button. Feverfew is a perennial plant that grows as a small bush which can reach heights of up to 70 cm. Feverfew is distributed across Europe, North America and parts of South America. It has distinctive ‘daisy-like’ flowers and in this regard is very similar in appearance to chamomile with the relatively large flowers being up to 2 cm in diameter. Feverfew is traditionally used as a treatment for migraine headaches, and research from scientific studies support its use for this purpose. Other traditional uses for feverfew include its uses as a treatment for inflammation, toothache, insect bites, fever, psoriasis, stomach aches and tinnitus. The effects of feverfew relate to the phytochemicals it contains, with the main active ingredient in the herb being a sesquiterpene lactone called parthenolide.
The phytochemical contained within feverfew are likely responsible for its medicinal effects. Some of the main active ingredients in the herb are thought to be a group of sesquiterpene lactones. Feverfew contains over 30 known sesquiterpene lactones which belong to a number of different subclasses including the eudesmanolides, germacranolides, and guaianolides. The most numerous of the sesquiterpene lactones is a compound called parthenolide. The leaves contain about 0.2 to 0.5 % parthenolide, and parthenolide comprises about 85 % of the total sesquiterpene lactone concentration in the leaves. Other sesquiterpene lactones in feverfew include artecanin, artemorin, balchanin, canin, costunolide, 10-epicanin, epoxyartemorin, 1-β-hydroxyarbusculin, 3-β-hydroxycostunolide, santamarine, reynosin, 8-α-hydroxyestagiatin, 8-β-hydroxyreynosinn, 3-β-hydroxyparthenolide, manolialide, epoxysantamarine, secotanaparthenolide A, secotanaparthenolide B, tanaparthin-α-peroxide, and 3,4-β-epoxy-8-deoxycumambrin B. Sesquiterpene lactones may cause relaxation of blood vessels and this may be why feverfew is effective against migraine headaches.
The mood enhancing effects of feverfew in combination with white willow bark (Salix alba) have been investigated in 12 patients diagnosed with migraine headaches. The primary goal of the research was to test the efficiency of the combination herb on the reductions in the symptoms of migraine headache. Subjects took 300 mg of feverfew and 300 mg white willow for 6 weeks and reported a 50 % reduction in the frequency of headaches. However, the subjects also reported a reduction in their feelings of anxiety and improved memory, suggesting that feverfew also has mood and cognitive elevating effects. Therefore feverfew and white willow in combination may have beneficial effects on mood. It is not possible to state which of the herbs was responsible for the mood elevating effects in this study. However, feverfew does contain the flavonoids quercetin and apigenin which have been shown to bind to the benzodiazepine receptor in the brain. Therefore feverfew may have been partly responsible for the anxiolytic effect.
Feverfew has a phytochemical profile similar to chamomile. This should not be a surprise as feverfew and chamomile both belong to the same family of flowering plants (the Asteraceae or daisy family). As with chamomile, feverfew is a rich source of flavonoids. These flavonoids include apigenin, quercetin, apigenin-7-O-glucoside, luteolin, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, chrysoeriol, santin, jaceidin, centaureidin and tanetin. Apigenin and quercetin may confer anxiolytic properties on feverfew extracts as both compounds have been shown to bind to the benzodiazepine receptor in the brain. This binding may lead to activation of the GABA neurotransmitter system, producing a calmative effect. A volatile oil is also present in feverfew and this contains a number of major components which include camphor (56.9 %), camphene (12.7 %), p-cymene (5.2 %), and bornyl acetate (4.6%). Other minor components that have been identified include tricylene, α-thujene, α-pinene, β-pinene, α-phellandrene, α-terpinene, γ-terpinene, chrysantheone, pinocarvone, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, ρ-cymen-8-ol, α-terpineol, myrtenal, carvacrol, eugenol, trans-myrtenol acetate, isobornyl 2-methyl butanoate, and caryophyllene oxide. Feverfew may also contain a number of coumarins including isofraxidin.
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