Feverfews Historical and Modern Use

Tanacetum Parthenium, which is also known as Feverfew (i.e. botanical name), is an attractive perennial herb that is found sporadically growing in several part of North America as well as Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. Since this attractive herb is mostly found cultivated, it is usually planted around the house because its believed to have a purifying impact on the atmosphere. Additionally, the plant is grown around the house in these regions because its associated with abilities to ward off disease. This perennial herb grows with relatively little attention once established and can be grown from its seeds, cuttings or root division though root division is the simplest method for growing this herb (Petersen, 2016). Given its significance as medicinal plant, Feverfew (Tanancetum Parthenium) was used by traditional societies and is still used in the modern society. There are some variations in the historical and contemporary use of this perennial herb, which is a member of the sunflower family.

Feverfew was traditionally or historically used as a medicinal herb to prevent migraine headaches and has a long history of use in conventional and folk medicine (Elliott, n.d.). This herb was commonly used by early European and Greek herbalists for treatment of migraine headaches and other conditions like stomach aches, fevers, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis, insect bites, toothaches, and during menstruation and childbirth. In some cases, the herb was utilized to treat vomiting, asthma, psoriasis, nausea, allergies, dizziness, and tinnitus. The historical use of Feverfew as a medicinal herb can be traced back to Greece when the plant was used to treat a Greek workman who fell during Parthenon's construction. Since it was considered too bitter for oral consumption, Tanacetum Parthenium was administered through applying it on the wrists and head for treatment of pain.

Additionally, traditional healers utilized it as an antipyretic while others grew it around the house to ward off malaria and as an insect repellent (Kemper, 1999). According to Pareek et al. (2011), Tanacetum Parthenium has historically been used as an insecticide, abortifacient, and for treatment of colds and coughs. In the Chinese society, this perennial herb was considered to have a sour-cooling flavor or bitter-cooling because of its fire or wood yang element. In Costa Rica, this perennial herb has been utilized to aid digestion, as an emmenagogue, a cardiotonic, and an enema for worms.

Similar to its traditional use, Tanacetium Parthenium is currently utilized as a medicinal herb for treatment of several conditions, particularly headaches. For instance, in Canada, Feverfew is regarded as a non-prescription drug for preventing and/or treatment of migraine headaches (Elliott, n.d.). In Great Britain, a significant portion of the population have reported to feel much better after taking approximately 3 leaves of this herb on a daily basis for treatment of migraine headaches. Recent clinical studies have indicated that taking dried leaf capsules of Tanacetum Parthenium on a daily basis helps in lessening the number of migraines for patients suffering from chronic migraines (Elliott, n.d.). However, unlike in the past, this perennial herb has been found to be beneficial in anti-inflammatory activity because it seems to inhibit prostaglandin synthesis (Pareek et al., 2011). This is because it has additional active constituents like flavonoid glycosides, pinenes, pharmacologic properties, and anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. The other contemporary uses of this herb include treatment of asthma, flatulence, miscarriage prevention, vertigo, depression, diarrhea, amenorrhea, chest complaints, retention of placenta, and nausea. Therefore, Tanacetum Parthenum was historically and is currently used as a medicinal herb for treatment of several conditions.