Feverfew Extract

Feverfew P.E.Parthenolide>0.8%HPLC
Parthenolide. Feverfew, 0.8%,
Feverfew, 4:1, Feverfew PE, 0.1%, Parthenolide.
Fevervine Herb,
Feverfew / Parthenolide
TERMS FOB USD30/kgs

What follows is a brief discussion of some historical, botanical, and pharmacolo
gical aspects of feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) as well as some of the misconcep
tions about it.
Medicinal History
Tanacetum refers to a genus of the Compositae (Asteraceae) family. This is the f
amily of plants characterized by such well known species as thistles, dahlias, go
ldenrods, daisies, and sunflowers. With over 19,000 species growing worldwide, me
mbers of the Compositae family are found in virtually all terrestrial habitats. O
riginating in the Balkans and cultivated for centuries in Europe for ornamental a
nd medicinal purposes, feverfew is now widely distributed throughout the America
s. Feverfew is commonly found in waste places and old gardens. It also grows alon
g roadsides and the borders of woods. In North America it can be found from Queb
ec to Maryland and west to Ohio.
Feverfew has had a long history of medicinal use. Steven Foster, one of America'
s most eminent herbalists, points out in his excellent monograph on feverfew that
Dioscorides, a first century Greek physician, recommended it over 1900 years ago
. Foster further informs us that feverfew has been used throughout the world in v
arious cultures in a number of other ways. It has been used as a carminative (rel
ieves stomach problems-gaseous distention and flatulence), emmenagogue (substance
which promotes menstrual discharge), tonic, vermifuge (expeller of parasitic wor
ms), and anti inflammatory agent for arthritis. It has also been used for the tr
eatment of kidney pain, vertigo, and relief from morning sickness.
Parthenolide content
A strongly aromatic perennial, feverfew bears a daisy-like disc, or head, of str
ongly crowded bisexual yellow flowers with a single row of white ray florets. Tw
o well publicized British studies, one conducted at the City of London Migraine C
linic in collaboration with Chelsea College, and the other at Nottingham's Univer
sity Hospital, used material conforming to this description. Dried leaf, acquired
from the Chelsea Physic Garden with a parthenolide (a sesquiterpene lactone thou
ght to be the active ingredient) at a concentration of 0.42%, was used in the Lo
ndon clinical trial. However, it should be noted that the parthenolide content
varies in the three or four varieties available and that the greatest percentage
of parthenolide is not to be found in the leaves of the variety chosen for the Br
itish studies but in a form (T. parthenium flosculosum) without ray florets.
Migraine Treatment
Both above mentioned studies produced significant results. The London study feat
ured a double-blind preliminary effort with 17 participants, all of whom were alr
eady feverfew users. The nine participants who received placebos all experienced
significant increases in the frequency and severity of headaches, nausea, and vom
iting. The Nottingham study was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, c
rossover study with more participants and of longer duration (nearly a year). Par
ticipants (59 completed the study) consumed capsules of dried leaves (0.66% parth
enolide) which weighed 40-114 mg., an amount approximately equivalent to two drie
d leaves. The consumption of feverfew resulted in decreases in the frequency and
severity of migrainesýíCthe duration of the attacks, however, remained unaffected.
Roughly 70% of the participants showed improvement. This compares very well with
claims that only 50% of migraine sufferers benefit from pharmaceuticals. Within
the last decade feverfew has been indelibly linked with migraine abolishment or a
melioration. It will, no doubt, eventually gain a solid reputation for this as r
egulatory agencies put in place mechanisms to assure the quality of phytomedicina
ls, like feverfew, which have proven to be efficacious. The evidence for this the
rapeutic claim comes primarily from investigations done in the last decade in Bri
tain where feverfew long ago became a mainstay of traditional folk medicine.
Bioactive Agent
The proof that parthenolide is the principal bioactive agent in feverfew is stil
l scant. However, no feverfew product without parthenolide content has been show
n to be effective in ameliorating migraine. Parthenolide has been found to reduc
e degranulation and the subsequent release of serotonin (5-HT, a neurotransmitter
and vasoactive amine) from platelets. As serotonin release is thought to precipi
tate attacks due to cerebrovascular spasm, parthenolide has been accepted as feve
rfew's main pharmacological agent. However, many other compounds have been disco
vered in T. parthenium. These include tanetin (a lipophilic flavonol), centaurei
din, quercetagetin, apigenin, luteolin, and other bioflavonoids, some of which ha
ve been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects. As with ginkgo biloba and other
phytomedicinals, feverfew's chemical composition is complex, and as the etiology
of migraine is only poorly understood, it will be left to future research to exp
lain feverfew's capacity to reduce migraine attacks.
Cultivated vs. Wild Feverfew
Contrary to reports in some popular health magazines, there is no evidence that
wild-crafted feverfew contains more parthenolide than cultivated feverfew. Intere
stingly, the head florets contain as much as four times the amount of parthenolid
e as the leaf, however, have never been used as material in clinical trials.Lastl
y, some manufacturers claim that either the leaf material must be consumed fresh
or the extract produced must be freeze dried. They suggest that ordinary air dryi
ng renders the leaf useless. The fact that the material used in the Nottingham st
udy was air dried casts doubt on this concern. True, prolonged storage under ordi
nary conditions does lead to significant parthenolide loss. People who buy feverf
ew in bulk may want to refrigerate it.
Long Term Use
Now a word about VRP's Feverfew Extract and its use. The long term effect of pro
longed feverfew consumption is still unknown. For this reason pregnant women, sma
ll children, and nursing mothers should not use feverfew. In the London study of
long-term users, approximately 12% of the participants developed minor ulceratio
ns of the mouth. They chewed doses of the leaf regularly for at least three month
s before the trial. Therefore, it seems reasonable to curtail use after this peri
od. Mouth ulceration may be a systemic effect and not due to contact dermatitis a
s consumption of encapsulated product did not reduce incidence of minor ulceratio
ns. Canada's HPB (Health Protection Branch) has advised people to continue consum
ption after four months only with the approval of their physician. VRP is aware o
f the research discussed above and the presence of many valueless feverfew produc
ts on the market. In response to this we have formulated a product meeting Canada
's HPB requirements. Our product, a 4:1 extract, has tested at 0.28% parthenolide
by HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography) and is formulated to provide at le
ast 250 micrograms of parthenolide per dose. According to the research, one capsu
le per day should be sufficient for migraine prophylaxis. Take only on advisement
of a physician.