Canadian Feverfew
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Nancy K. Davison
Posted on: February 18, 2002

Thank you very much for your response in regards to the parthenolide levels in different feverfew seeds. I have another question for you: how do you differentiate between the Canadian feverfew and the other form of feverfew? Do they look different? If they do not look any different, then how can one be sure that the seeds they purchased are on or the other?

I am not sure what you mean by the "other form" of feverfew. There are many varieties of feverfew and potentially thousands of forms. The regular green form we are selling has been grown commercially in Canada and elsewhere since the early 1990s, and our golden form has been grown since the mid 1990s. Our own research has shown that the majority of commercially available feverfew varieties are low in parthenolide. Of the forms that were found to have higher parthenolide, the range of concentrations was great. Morphologically, our green variety is variable in height and growth habit, forming sprawling clumps 30-60cm in height. The golden form is much smaller, and much more compact, with unique twisted leaves; because of its smaller size, it produces less bulk material than the green variety – about two-thirds less.

In case you are not aware of this, there was recent Yale research done in regards to parthenolide and its association with arthritis.

Feverfew has had a long folkloric history as a treatment for arthritis, so we are not surprised that its chemical components would be looked at in connection with arthritis. We are not aware of the Yale research in question and would appreciate learning more about it.

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