Feverfew for migraine prophylaxis: a systematic review

J Diet Suppl. 2009;6(2):91-103. doi: 10.1080/19390210902861809.

Abstract

Feverfew has been studied for the treatment of migrane in several studies and the pharmacologic mechanisms are preliminarily understood. We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and present the clinical findings and potential implications. The modality of data collection and reporting in the individual studies does not support a pooling of results, but does suggest benefit of feverfew in migraine prophylaxis for at least subsets of the population with the disorder. Pharmacologically, there is some potential for concern with long-term dosing given its cyclooxygenase-2 inhibiting effects and longer-term studies will be needed to ameliorate these concerns in coronary disease patients.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors / adverse effects
  • Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Migraine Disorders / prevention & control*
  • Phytotherapy*
  • Plant Extracts / adverse effects
  • Plant Extracts / therapeutic use*
  • Tanacetum parthenium* / adverse effects

Substances

  • Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors
  • Plant Extracts