According to Harvey (1981), Feverfew was being grown in gardens for medicinal use by 995, so although not a native it is now widespread. Medicinal uses for the bitter-tasting leaves have been many, but its current application is mainly in the treatment of migraine.

Some sufferers take it regularly to ward off attacks, others to relieve an attack once it begins. Clinical trials in the 1980s using plants grown at the Chelsea Physic Garden and funded by the Migraine Society confirmed its efficacy (Johnson et al), while chemical analysis at Chelsea College identified the group of anti-inflammatory compounds which the plant contains. Some migraine sufferers taking part in the trial reported that they also found relief from arthritic symptoms, so herbalists sometimes include it in prescriptions for osteoarthritis.

A word of warning – the remedy is unsuitable for a significant number of patients, in whom it causes mouth ulcers.

Caroline Wheeler