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Feverfew, a member of the sunflower family, grows in flower gardens throughout Europe and the United States. The round, leafy, branching stems bear alternate, bipinnate leaves with ovate, hoary-green leaflets. The flowers are small and daisy-like, with yellow disks and from ten to twenty white, toothed rays. The name feverfew is a corruption of the word febrifuge, used to signify its tonic and fever-dispelling properties.
Feverfew has been used for centuries as a febrifuge and for the treatment of migraines and arthritis. Other historical uses of feverfew have been in the treatment of anemia, earache, dysmenorrhea, dyspepsia, trauma, and intestinal parasites. It has also been used as an abortifacient, and in gardens to control noxious pests.
Feverfew has demonstrated some remarkable pharmacological effects in experimental studies. Its long history of use in the treatment of inflammatory conditions such as fever, arthritis, and migraine suggests that it acts like the more common, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs), such as aspirin. Extracts of feverfew inhibit the manufacture of compounds that promote inflammation. Unlike aspirin, inhibition by feverfew is at the initial stage of synthesis.
Feverfew also has a favorable effect on the behavior of blood platelets: it inhibits platelet aggregation and inhibits the secretion of inflammatory and allergic mediators such as histamine and serotonin. Parthenolide components also exert a tonic effect on vascular smooth muscle. Feverfew's combined action on smooth muscle and platelets is probably why it is effective in the prevention and treatment of migraine headaches.
Feverfew has been used for centuries to relieve fever, migraines, and arthritis. The only condition with confirmed scientific documentation at the present time is in the prevention and treatment of migraine headache
Migraine headache: In the worst headache a person could have, this herb exceeds whatever else is known. Recently, interest in feverfew as a treatment for migraine headache has increased tremendously. This renewed interest began in the 1970s in Great Britain, where increased public awareness of the herb led to scientific investigation. A 1983 survey found that 70 percent of 270 migraine sufferers who had eaten feverfew daily for prolonged periods claimed that the herb decreased the frequency and/or intensity of their attacks. Many of these patients had been unresponsive to orthodox medicines. This prompted two clinical investigations of the therapeutic and preventive effects of feverfew in the treatment of migraine.