June 20th, 2010 by admin

My daughter taught me about feverfew after she learned about it in a summer camp program. I’d always thought of it as a weed (and it does have invasive qualities) but now know that it is cultivated for use in herbal supplements.

illustration from the 1814 edition of Culpeper's complete herbal.

Feverfew (Tanacetum partheneum or Chrysanthymum partheneum) a.k.a. Fetherfew, Featherfew has been used for centuries as a treatment for migraines. John Hill championed it in The British Herbal, 1772, “In the worst headaches this herb exceeds whatever else is known.” A century earlier, Culpeper stated that, in addition to being helpful post-childbirth, feverfew

… is effectual for all pains in the head coming of a cold cause, the herb being bruised and applied to the crown of the head : as also for the vertigo, that is, a running or swimming of the head. The decoction thereof, drank warm, and the herb bruised, with a few corns of bay-salt, and applied to the wrists before the coming of the ague fits, does take them away.

Some texts also suggest making a tea, much like chamomile as the plants are related.  The active ingredient in supplements made from feverfew is parthenolide which, according to Manitoba Agriculture, varies widely among genetic lines. For this reason, it is not expected that the results will be the same for every user of fresh feverfew.

To process the herb for storage and later use, it can be dried and ground into powder. Again according to Manitoba Agriculture,

Feverfew should be dried on screens out of direct sunlight for 10 – 14 days. Feverfew leaf, the only part used in registered anti-migraine preparations, is used in powdered form, best produced by a shear mill. For homeopathic purposes, a tincture can be prepared. The leaf material should be stored in a cool, dark area as it has been found that dried feverfew leaf loses at least 20% of its parthenolide content in the first year and more than 50% after two years of storage unprotected from heat and light.

photo credit Ali Graney, Flickr.

While the plant does grow wild, Ada Teetgen reminds us that it is “not common enough in the wild state to repay collection” but rather should be cultivated. However, she cautions us that,

Few medicinal herbs, properly speaking, are garden plants. They are “chlidren of nature” and in all probability the less gardening to which they are subjected once they are transplanted the better. Most of them are perennials, and are quite equal to taking care of themselves year by year, provided they are weeded and properly protected.

The good news is that feverfew is tolerant of poor soil and is drought-resistant but to prevent it from taking over your garden, it should be cut back in the fall. Happily, its daisy-like flowers also look lovely in containers along with other herbs or edible flowers such as calendula. Constraining the plant to containers will also help to keep it from spreading too far afield.

feverfew, medicinal