10 Health Benefits and 4 Adverse Effects of the Forgotten Herbal Butterbur

Butterbur, found in wet, marshy, damp land, including wetland, riverside, forest, etc., is a creeping underground plant, genus Petasites of 15 -20 species, belongings to the family Asteraceae, native to Northern Hemisphere.

The herbal medicine has been used as an pain reliever in digestive system, including stomach, bile ducts, and duodenum, etc.

A. Health Benefits
1. Migraine
Extract from root of Butterbur’ has exerted the activity in prevention and treatment of miograine, according to the study of “Petasites hybridus root (butterbur) is an effective preventive treatment for migraine” by Lipton RB, Göbel H, Einhäupl KM, Wilks K, Mauskop A.(1)

2. Seasonal allergic rhinitis
In a random trial, butterbur has scored well in treating Seasonal allergic rhinitis and should be considered for treating seasonal allergic rhinitis when the sedative effects of antihistamines need to be avoided” according to the study of “Randomised controlled trial of butterbur and cetirizine for treating seasonal allergic rhinitis” by Andreas Schapowal (2)

3. Airway inflammation and hyperreactivity
Extract of Petasites hybridus (butterbur) extract has inhibited airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and eosinophil recruitment into the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid upon allergen challenge, but had no effect in the saline, according to the study of “Petasites extract Ze 339 (PET) inhibits allergen-induced Th2 responses, airway inflammation and airway hyperreactivity in mice” by Brattström A, Schapowal A, Maillet I, Schnyder B, Ryffel B, Moser R.(3)

4. Antioxidant activity
essential oil of Petasites albus has shown to exhibit a moderate antioxidant activity by using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay, according to the study of “Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil of aerial parts of Petasites albus from Iran: a good natural source of euparin” by Mohammadi M, Yousefi M, Habibi Z, Dastan D.(4)

5. Antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effect
Methanol extract from the leaves of Petasites japonicus Maxim (PJ) has exerted the (anti-)mutagenic effect with the SOS chromotest and reverse mutation assay, according to the study of “Antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effect of methanol extracts of Petasites japonicus Maxim leaves” by Kang HG, Jeong SH, Cho JH.(5)

6. Plasma lipid profiles and oxidative stress
Methanol extract of butterbur (Petasites japonicus Max.) (BMP) has demonstrated the properties of improving the plasma lipid profiles and decreasing the oxidative stress by up-regulating the hepatic antioxidant enzymes in mice, according to the study of “Butterbur (Petasites japonicus Max.) extract improves lipid profiles and antioxidant activities in monosodium L-glutamate-challenged mice” by Park CH, Kim MY, Sok DE, Kim JH, Lee JH, Kim MR.(6)

7. Asthma
S-Petasin is the main sesquiterpene of Petasites formosanus found to inhibit Phosphodiesterase Activity and Suppresses Ovalbumin-induced Airway Hyperresponsiveness, thus it is it has been used in treating asthma in Chinese medicine, according to the study of “S-Petasin, the Main Sesquiterpene of Petasites formosanus inhibits Phosphodiesterase Activity and Suppresses Ovalbumin-induced Airway Hyperresponsiveness” by Shih CH, Huang TJ, Chen CM, Lin YL, Ko WC.(7a). Also in astudy of 64 adults and 16 children/adolescents treated for two months with the extract, followed by two months during which the intake of the extract was optional, showed that the number, duration, and severity of asthma attacks decreased, according to “Petasites hybridus (Butterbur root) extract in the treatment of asthma–an open trial” by Danesch UC.(7b)

8. Somatoform disorders
A fixed herbal drug combination, including butterbur and Ze185) has showed to be an efficacious and safe short-term treatment in patients with somatoform disorders, according to the study of “Fixed herbal drug combination with and without butterbur (Ze 185) for the treatment of patients with somatoform disorders: randomized, placebo-controlled pharmaco-clinical trial” byMelzer J, Schrader E, Brattström A, Schellenberg R, Saller R.(8)

9. Neuroprotective effects
Bakkenolides from Petasites tricholobus have exhibited significantly neuroprotective and antioxidant activities by cell-free bioassays, according to the study of “Bakkenolides from Petasites tricholobus and their neuroprotective effects related to antioxidant activities” by Wang YL, Li RP, Guo ML, Zhang G, Zhang N, Ma YL.(9)

10. Antiseizure activities
furofuran lignan of the methanolic extract of the leaves of Petasites japonicus has expressed an antioxidant activity in DPPH radical scavenging assay, and moreover, ameliorated the seizure in kainic acid-treated mice, according to the study of “ A new furofuran lignan with antioxidant and antiseizure activities from the leaves of Petasites japonicus” by Min BS, Cui HS, Lee HK, Sok DE, Kim MR.(10)

B. Side effects
1. Butterbur may cause liver toxicity and induce cancer due to presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids(a), if overdose
2. If you are pregnant please do not use Butterbur with out the permission of the related special field specialist
3. Allergic effect to certain people who are allergic to ragweed, marigold, daisy.
4. Overdoses may cause indigestion, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
5. Etc.

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Biography
Kyle J. Norton(Scholar, Master of Nutrients), all right reserved.
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it’s news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
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Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources

(1) http://www.thepediatricheadachecenter.com/files/articles/Butterbur%20for%20Migraine%20Prophylaxis.pdf
(2) http://www.bmj.com/content/324/7330/144.full
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19827027
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21416453
(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20195065
(6) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20828319(7a) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3094704/(7b) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15005644
(8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19274698
(9) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19085813
(10) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16212231
(a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterbur#cite_note-2