Erratum zu diesem Artikel: Erratum Planta Med 1993; 59(03): 292-292
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-959683
Abstract
Preparations of fresh or dried feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium ) are widely consumed in the U.K. as a remedy for arthritis and migraine, but the
pharmacological basis for this has not been established. We have, therefore, compared
the properties of extracts of fresh plants with those of dried powdered leaves available
commercially from health food shops. The two extracts differed radically in their
content of α-methylbu-tyrolactones and in their pharmacological profile when tested
in vitro on the rabbit aortic ring and rat anococcygeus preparations. Extracts of fresh leaves
caused dose- and time-dependent inhibition of the contractile responses of aortic
rings to all receptor-acting agonists so far tested; the effects were irreversible
and may represent a toxic modification of post-receptor contractile function in the
smooth muscle. The presence of potentially -SH reactive parthenolide and other sesquiterpene
α-methylenebutyrolactones in these extracts, and the close parallelism of the actions
of pure parthenolide, suggest that the inhibitory effects are due to these compounds.
In contrast, chloroform extracts of dried powdered leaves were not inhibitory but
themselves elicited potent and sustained contractions of aortic smooth muscle that
were not antagonised by ketanscrin (5-HT2 receptor antagonist). These extracts did not contain parthenolide or butyrolactones
according to a chemical-HPLC assay. We conclude that there are marked differences
in the pharmacological potency and profiles between preparations from fresh and dried
feverfew and that this may relate to their lactone content. As the effects of the
lactones are potentially toxic, it will be necessary to compare the clinical profiles
and side effects of preparations obtained from the two sources.
Key words
Feverfew - blood vessels - contractile agonists - irreversible antagonism - parthenolide
- sesquiterpene lactones