Properties: Cool, bitter
Meridans Entered:
Primary: Liver
Traditional Actions/Indications:
- Clears Wind-Heat, clears Liver Heat, calms hyperactive Liver Yang
Migraine (reduces headache, nausea and vomiting), headache, headache with menstrual disturbance, colds, fever, dizziness
Suggested Daily Dosage: 20-70mg of dried powdered herb 3x daily (Ross, 2010) or 100-300mg, up to 4 times daily, standardized to contain 0.2-0.4% parthenolides (Pareek at al, 2011).
Cautions: Avoid taking while pregnant as it may cause contractions.
Interactions:
- Medications changed by the liver: May interact with Cytochrome P450 1A2, 2C19, 2C9 and 3A4 causing an additive effect for drugs broken down by these enzymes. For a complete list see the Cytochrome P450 Substrates.
- Anticoagulants: May slow clotting causing and additive effect with increased risk of bruising and bleeding.
Notable Constituents:
- Parthenolide
One of over 30 sesquiterpene lactones often touted as the active ingredient in feverfew but poor water soluability and bioavailability make this unlikely. In addition the actual parthenolide content of supplements often bears little resemblance to the content claimed on the product label (Draves AH, Walker SE. 2004. "Parthenolide content of Canadian commercial feverfew preparations: Label claims are misleading in most cases". Canadian Pharmacists Journal. 136 (10): 23-30. No longer available online).
See Pareek et al (2012).
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.): A systematic review for more information on other constituents and research.
Does not appear in any formulae listed on this site
Research Links & References: (click to display)
Research Links:
Reference Notes:
Individual herb information has sourced mainly from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes. Zhou, Xie and Yan (2011): Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Vol. 5, and A+ Medical Encyclopaedia have been used for entries not available from those sources with additional material searched for and filled in where available. Western herbs not appearing in the Chinese literature have used Ross (2010): Combining Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine: A Clinical Materia Medica, White Rabbit Institute of Healing and therapeutika.ch. Choices of which source to use or combine have been my own.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted. Actions and indications are taken from traditional uses and do not necessarily reflect the evidence base which should be researched independently. Dosages are for guidance only and will vary dependening on the potency of the batch and the tolerance of the individual so should be evaluated by a professional based on individual needs.
