Feverfew

Tanacetum parthenium

With a name like feverfew, you would expect this herb to have something to do with colds, the flu, or some other contagious ailment.  Instead, the name is a corruption of the word “feather few,” referring to the plant’s fine petals.  Historically, this plant was used for various uterine disorders, or applied externally to ease headaches.  It has been only recently that laboratory research and clinical trials have shown the usefulness of this plant as a prophylactic, or preventative treatment for migraine headaches.

Family:  Composite
Life cycle:  Tender herbaceous perennial.   Zone 4-7.
Native:  Europe, Balkan Peninsula, escaped from cultivation in N. and S. America. Widely grown as a garden ornamental and in herb gardens. Highly varied in looks and chemistry.
Height:  1-3 ft.
Sun:  Full sun to partial shade.
Soil:  Any soil, but prefers a rich loam, dry location.  Adaptable to a wide variety of soil, grows in wild meadows, roadsides, mountains and rocky soils.
Water:  Moderate.
Flowers:  Daisy like white flowers with a yellow center.  Blooms in midsummer and continues until fall.
Propagation:  Stratify seed at least 1 week before sowing.  Plant either indoors and transplant out later, or plant directly in the field in midspring.  Seed needs light to germinate.  Germination will occur within 2 weeks, and about 70 percent germination rate.  Can also propagate through cuttings and root divisions.  Space 12 inches apart in the row.  Feverfew reseeds readily. 
Pests:  Trials in Iowa identified several pests, including aphids, aster yellow disease, fusarium crown and root rot, and septoria leaf spot.  In our trials in Kansas, we observed very few insect or disease problems, with the exception of an occasional plant that could be infected with aster yellows, and poor overwintering ability of the plants in general.
Harvesting:  Harvest aerial parts or flowers only, usually the to 6-8 inches of the plant.  More research has been done on the leaf tissue so some prefer to use the leaf. 
Parts used:  Leaves and flowering aerial parts, fresh or dried.
Used as:  Tincture, infusion (tea), powder in capsules, syrup, medicinal food (fresh leaf).
Medicinal benefits:  This plant has been widely studied for its use in treating migraine headaches.  Research has shown that sesquiterpene lactones, especially parthenolide, are the active compounds in feverview.  Parthenolide, although a key determinant of biological activity, and often used to standardize, or test batches of feverfew, is not the only pharmacologically active constituent.  Feverfew extracts have been shown to inhibit human blood aggregation and serotonin secretion by platelets.   An undetermined substance in a chloroform extract was capable of producing selective, open-channel block of voltage-dependent potassium channels in cells, which resulted in an anti-spasmodic effect.  Several double-blind, placebo controlled studies have determined that both dried, chopped, and dried feverfew capsules were effective in preventing migraine headaches, and/or lessoning their severity if the feverfew was taken prrophylactically.  Feverfew was not effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis, though it has been used that way in folk medicine.  It is also used as a shash for inflammation and wounds, tranquilizer and antiseptic following tooth extraction as a mouthwash.  Some individuals report skin sensitivity, or allergic dermatitis, to feverfew, especially with frequent exposure.
Market Potential:  Moderate to high.  Prices range from $6.75 - $40.00/lb dw for herb with flowers.  Other growers are getting into this market, and the University of N. Carolina is doing research on this herb as a cash/transition crop for former tobacco growers in their state.
 

KSU Field Trial Data - 2000-2002.  

Summary of field trial data:   Feverfew appears to be well adapted to Kansas conditions during its first year of growth, with a survival rate of 90% for transplants, a vigor rating of 3.7, and gross yield of tops of over 3000 lb per acre dw.  However, winter survival was extremely poor, averaging only about 1%.  The plant readily self seeds however, and in some cases we measured the volunteer plants in the second and even third yea (data not shown), but these plants were invariably smaller than the original parent plants, scattered in the plot (would be difficult to mechanically weed), and though acceptable, and even desirable in a home garden setting, these volunteers would probably not make a viable cash crop for a field herb grower.  We aren’t sure why this plant does not overwinter here, but we got this result at several locations over several years, so we are fairly confidant that it wasn’t just a fluke, or particularly bad winter.  One problem in Kansas, that states north of us don’t experience, is relatively warm spells in January and February, that can trick plants into breaking dormancy, and then suffering from frost and/or wind desiccation damage later.  This is possibly what is going on with feverfew.  Our final recommendation for this plant as a crop is that it may be a viable cash crop, if a niche market can be obtained, and if it is treated like an annual crop, rather than a perennial.  In the home garden, this is a beautiful and tangy/aromatic addition to a flower bed, as well as to the herb garden.