The short answer
Some standardized extracts may reduce migraine frequency, but studies are small and inconsistent.
- Evidence and scope
- Mixed evidence
This status does not grade the ingredient for every goal, outcome, or person.
- Important limitation
- Trials are inconsistent or small, so a reliable clinically important benefit is not established.
- Before deciding
- Key concern: Pregnancy, anticoagulants, ragweed allergy, mouth ulcers, surgery, and abrupt discontinuation require review.
01 / PRACTICAL GUIDE
Dose, absorption, and combinations
These are indication-specific reference or studied ranges—not a personalized prescription. Start with the objective, then check the form, label, medicines, and health conditions.
Reference or studied range—not a personalized prescription. The product label or a clinician may specify a different dose.
Dose source ↗More is not automatically better. A clinician or product label may specify a different amount.
Not usefully classified as a fat- or water-soluble vitamin; absorption depends on the salt, extract, delivery system, and meal.
Take daily for prevention, not acute treatment.
Pregnancy, anticoagulants, ragweed allergy, mouth ulcers, surgery, and abrupt discontinuation require review.
Dose and use links lead to primary or official source material. Search links are discovery tools, not proof that every returned paper applies.
02 / EVIDENCE
What the research says
We keep supportive, mixed, negative, safety, and contextual findings together. The headline never replaces the underlying papers.
These are audited counts for this JIVANA collection, not search-result totals. Participants are counted once when multiple papers use the same cohort; review papers are not added again to participant totals.
Open the research timelineResearch timeline+
Entries are ordered by publication year. A study period appears only when the source reports it.
Feverfew for preventing migraine
The largest rigorous trial found only 0.6 fewer attacks per month than placebo, with no significant improvement in intensity, duration, nausea, vomiting, or global assessment. Earlier trials were mixed; overall evidence was low quality and inconclusive.
Study design and methods
- Design
- Cochrane systematic review of 6 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials
- Population
- 561 people with migraine
- Intervention
- Feverfew mono-preparations versus placebo
- Outcome
- Migraine frequency, intensity, duration, associated symptoms, and adverse events
Funding or conflict note: The review authors reported no known conflicts of interest.
Unscreened discovery appendix—not evidence11 candidate publicationsSearch run: Aug 21, 2026
Complete for the displayed PubMed query at the search timestamp—not for all databases or every possible synonym. Candidates can be irrelevant, duplicate the same study, or report negative findings. They are never summed as evidence or participants until screened.
03 / SOURCES
Start with the source material
The live search is for discovery only. Search-result counts change and are not included in the audited totals above.
Recent PubMed discovery recordsDirect links to the first 12 records returned by the reproducible search. These are discovery candidates—not reviewed summaries or a count of supportive findings.
- Feverfew for migraine prophylaxis: a systematic review.Saranitzky E, White CM, Baker EL et al. · 2009 · Journal of dietary supplements · PMID 22435410Open on PubMed ↗
- Tanacetum parthenium and Salix alba (Mig-RL) combination in migraine prophylaxis: a prospective, open-label study.Shrivastava R, Pechadre JC, John GW · 2006 · Clinical drug investigation · PMID 17163262Open on PubMed ↗
- Efficacy and safety of 6.25 mg t.i.d. feverfew CO2-extract (MIG-99) in migraine prevention--a randomized, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled study.Diener HC, Pfaffenrath V, Schnitker J et al. · 2005 · Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache · PMID 16232154Open on PubMed ↗
- A combination of riboflavin, magnesium, and feverfew for migraine prophylaxis: a randomized trial.Maizels M, Blumenfeld A, Burchette R · 2004 · Headache · PMID 15447697Open on PubMed ↗
- Feverfew for preventing migraine.Pittler MH, Ernst E · 2004 · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · PMID 14973986Open on PubMed ↗
- The efficacy and safety of Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) in migraine prophylaxis--a double-blind, multicentre, randomized placebo-controlled dose-response study.Pfaffenrath V, Diener HC, Fischer M et al. · 2002 · Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache · PMID 12230594Open on PubMed ↗
- The efficacy and safety of feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium L.): an update of a systematic review.Ernst E, Pittler MH · 2000 · Public health nutrition · PMID 11276299Open on PubMed ↗
- Feverfew for preventing migraine.Pittler MH, Vogler BK, Ernst E · 2000 · The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · PMID 10908545Open on PubMed ↗
- Feverfew as a preventive treatment for migraine: a systematic review.Vogler BK, Pittler MH, Ernst E · 1998 · Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache · PMID 9950629Open on PubMed ↗
- Randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of feverfew in migraine prevention.Murphy JJ, Heptinstall S, Mitchell JR · 1988 · Lancet (London, England) · PMID 2899663Open on PubMed ↗
- Efficacy of feverfew as prophylactic treatment of migraine.Johnson ES, Kadam NP, Hylands DM et al. · 1985 · British medical journal (Clinical research ed.) · PMID 3929876Open on PubMed ↗
04 / EXPERT CONTEXT
Expert context—not evidence
Expert positions are dated context—not scientific evidence. They never raise the evidence status or become consensus by repetition.
No direct, source-verified endorsement is currently recorded. Research authorship or discussion alone is not treated as endorsement.