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Feverfew
Feverfew — what the European monograph actually supports, what it is not for, the form and how long it is meant to be used, side effects, and the 2 medicine interactions documented for it.
This is a reference page, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. Herbal products are real pharmacology: they have effects, side effects and interactions with medicines. Tell your doctor and your pharmacist everything you take, including teas and supplements, and never stop or change a prescribed medicine because of anything you read here.
What it is
Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Sch.Bip. — herb (Tanaceti parthenii herba)
Grouped here under Joints, urinary tract and hormones. Regulatory position: EU herbal monograph — traditional use.
What the evidence supports
The registered indication: Prophylaxis of migraine headaches, after serious conditions have been excluded by a doctor.
The wording of feverfew's registration is the most instructive thing about it. It is a preventive taken daily over months, not something to swallow during an attack, and the indication explicitly requires that a doctor has first excluded serious causes of headache. The trial evidence is inconsistent: a Cochrane review of feverfew for preventing migraine found the evidence insufficient to establish an effect, with the better-conducted trials the least encouraging. Two practical details set it apart. Chewing fresh leaves, the old folk method, causes mouth ulcers and soreness in a substantial share of people. And stopping abruptly after months of use has been described as producing a rebound of headache, anxiety, stiffness and poor sleep — so if you stop, taper.
C — Traditional use only Plausible from thirty or more years of use, which is what a traditional-use registration means. No clinical evidence was required and none has settled it.
What it is not for
Treating a migraine attack, and any new, sudden, severe or changed headache, headache with fever and a stiff neck, or headache after a head injury — those need urgent assessment.
Form, strength and how long
Dried leaf in capsules and tablets, sometimes standardised to parthenolide content, which varies widely between products. Fresh leaf chewing is the traditional method and the one that ulcerates mouths.
Duration. Prophylaxis is judged over months, not days. Taper rather than stop abruptly after long use.
No gram figure appears on this page on purpose. The plant part, the extraction solvent and the drug-to-extract ratio together define a preparation, and a number taken from one does not describe another. The reasoning is set out on the hub; the amount that applies to you is the one printed on the pack you are holding, and a pharmacist will read it with you.
Side effects
Mouth ulceration and tongue soreness from fresh leaf. Stomach upset, bloating. Allergic reactions in daisy-family (Asteraceae) sensitive people.
Who should avoid it
Not in pregnancy — feverfew has traditional use as a uterine stimulant — and not while breastfeeding. Most registrations are for adults only.
Interactions with medicines
| Medicine or substance | What is described |
|---|---|
| Anticoagulants and antiplatelets (warfarin, DOACs, aspirin, clopidogrel) | Feverfew appears on the bleeding-risk list. Evidence is limited to laboratory work and case reports, and the caution is standard rather than proven. |
| Anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs) | Regular anti-inflammatory painkillers are the other common ingredient in a migraine cupboard, and medication-overuse headache is a far more frequent cause of daily headache than most people taking them realise. |
The reverse view — start from the medicine rather than the plant — is in the medicine, food and alcohol interactions reference, and summarised for every herb on this site.
Sources: European Medicines Agency — Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC), European Union herbal monographs · NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health — herb fact sheets · checked 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
What is feverfew used for?
Prophylaxis of migraine headaches, after serious conditions have been excluded by a doctor. The wording of feverfew's registration is the most instructive thing about it. It is a preventive taken daily over months, not something to swallow during an attack, and the indication explicitly requires that a doctor has first excluded serious causes of headache. The trial evidence is inconsistent: a Cochrane review of feverfew for preventing migraine found the evidence insufficient to establish an effect, with the better-conducted trials the least encouraging. Two practical details set it apart. Chewing fresh leaves, the old folk method, causes mouth ulcers and soreness in a substantial share of people. And stopping abruptly after months of use has been described as producing a rebound of headache, anxiety, stiffness and poor sleep — so if you stop, taper.
Does feverfew work?
Graded C here: Plausible from thirty or more years of use, which is what a traditional-use registration means. No clinical evidence was required and none has settled it. Treating a migraine attack, and any new, sudden, severe or changed headache, headache with fever and a stiff neck, or headache after a head injury — those need urgent assessment.
How much feverfew should I take?
This reference does not print gram figures, because they do not transfer between preparations of different extract strength. What can be said honestly is the form and the duration: Dried leaf in capsules and tablets, sometimes standardised to parthenolide content, which varies widely between products. Fresh leaf chewing is the traditional method and the one that ulcerates mouths. Prophylaxis is judged over months, not days. Taper rather than stop abruptly after long use.
What are the side effects of feverfew?
Mouth ulceration and tongue soreness from fresh leaf. Stomach upset, bloating. Allergic reactions in daisy-family (Asteraceae) sensitive people.
Does feverfew interact with medicines?
Yes — documented for Anticoagulants, warfarin, NSAIDs. Each one is described on this page, with a link to the medicine-side reference where one exists.
Others in joints, urinary tract and hormones
Nettle
Leaf: to increase the amount of urine and so flush the urinary tract in minor complaints, and for minor joint pain. Root: lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign enlargement of the prostate.
Saw palmetto
Relief of lower urinary tract symptoms related to benign prostatic hyperplasia, after a doctor has excluded serious conditions.
Cranberry
Reducing the chance of repeat urinary tract infections in some groups — not treating an infection that is already present.
Black cohosh
Relief of menopausal complaints such as hot flushes and profuse sweating.
Devil's claw
Relief of minor joint pain, and of mild digestive complaints such as bloating and loss of appetite.
Keep the whole list in one place
TempoLife logs supplements alongside food, sleep and how you actually felt — so the answer to "what are you taking?" is a screen, not a guess.