Feverfew is a bright, cheery flower with a long stem, yellow bee, and white petals. The feverfew is part of the daisy family and goes by the monikers of wild chamomile, feather few, and bachelor’s buttons as well. The flower is native to the Balkans, but due to its therapeutic properties, feverfew now grows in commercial herbal operations all 0over the world.
Feverfew has potent anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties, and it’s a natural sedative with similar effects to chamomile. Supplement manufacturers offer feverfew as an herbal tea, and as a crushed powder or essential oil extract. You can use the remedy to resolve many ailments.
Feverfew gets its medicinal value from its high polyphenol content, including the sesquiterpene lactones, which include parthenolide. Parthenolide is a potent anti-inflammatory compound with cancer-fighting properties. Feverfew also contains the volatile oil, camphor – which has excellent anti-bacterial properties.
Feverfew is also known as “medieval aspirin,” for its use in treating symptoms of disease and infection during the Medieval ages. Here are eight benefits of feverfew for the modern era.
1. Halt Migraines and Headaches
Feverfew has historical use as a natural painkiller for resolving the effects of headaches and migraines. Studies show that supplementing with feverfew reduces the intensity and duration.
Headaches come in different categories, each with their unique effects. For people that suffer from tension headaches and migraines, they typically find that medication has little effect on reducing the pain.
Headaches can occur due to changes in blood pressure, as well as an increase in intracranial pressure. As tension rises in the fluids surrounding the brain, it leads to the onset of inflammation, and the start of a headache.
People who regularly suffer from headaches should consider supplementing with feverfew in the form of tea or extract. Studies show that drinking a cup of feverfew tea each evening reduces the frequency of migraines in sensitive patients.
Parthenolide is the active ingredient found in feverfew that blocks pain in the nervous system, reducing the symptoms of headaches.