Feverfew:  Pain Reduction and Cancer Prevention

Feverfew has a long traditional use as a natural anti-inflammatory nutrient, commonly used to help reduce the pain of arthritis or migraine headaches.  One of its primary active components is parthenolide.  New gene array science is showing that parthenolide¹ helps regulate many genes in a healthy direction, including those involved with inflammation.  Not only does it reduce the core inflammatory gene signal known as NF-kappaB Protein complex that controls DNA transcription and is involved with cellular responses to stress, cytokines, free radicals, UV radiation, oxidized LDL, and infections. , it is now shown to influence many genes relating to cancer – helping to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.

Cancer cells hijack healthy function of normal cells and use a cell’s natural defense system to protect themselves.  Cancer cells use the cell’s antioxidant defense system to protect themselves.  Parthenolide has been shown to directly undermine the antioxidant defense system of cancer cells, lowering the core cellular antioxidant known as glutathione, thus causing an increase in free radical damage within the cancer cell and killing it. 

Feverfew is yet another example of a nutrient that behaves in harmony with human physiology.  Feverfew actually helps regulate cellular inflammation in healthy cells, thereby helping to lower the amount of free radical production within inflamed cells.  Thus, our bodies use feverfew in a way that helps healthy cells survive while simultaneously killing cancer cells.  Many nutrients share this sort of anti-cancer intelligence, quercetin and green tea are two examples that come to mind.  The more we learn about how nutrition works at the gene level the more we stand in awe of the potential ability of the human body to heal if given the chance.