Feverfew as a preventive treatment for migraine: a systematic review

Background: Feverfew is a popular herbal remedy advocated for the prevention of migraine. Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to look at the evidence for or against the clinical effectiveness of feverfew in migraine prevention. Data sources: Literature searches were performed using the following databases: Medline, Embase, Biosis, CISCOM, and the Cochrane Library (all from their inception to April 1998). Study selection: Only randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials were included. Data extraction: All articles were read by two independent reviewers. Data were extracted in a predefined, standardized fashion. The methodological qualify of all trials was evaluated using the Jadad score. Main results: Five trials met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The majority favor feverfew over placebo Yet important caveats exist. Conclusion: The clinical effectiveness of feverfew in the prevention of migraine has not been established beyond reasonable doubt.