Butterbur (“Petasites officinalis”) is a perennial herb and grows on the fields of Europe, Asia and North America. It can reach considerable sizes; only one leaf can grow as wide as an umbrella.
It blooms at the end of April and the roots bearing a finger-like thickness are entwined in an underground net. In Europe, the butterbur has long been known as a medicinal herb. However, it’s well known that butterbur contains an array of alkaloids which are toxic for the human body especially for the liver. For this reason, any consumption of extracts containing alkaloids is to be avoided. To avoid health risks, all the mixtures made of or containing butterbur will be taken only with the recommendation of a specialist. butterbur will not be administrated to pregnant women and children.
In Europe, the butterbur has long been known as a medicinal herb. For centuries the herb has been considered as an effective remedy against fever and spasm. The Greek physician Dioscurides – who described the medicinal propreties of over six hundred herbs and over a thousand types of narcotics – used the butterbur leaves in treating the skin illnesses. Later in the 14th century the butterbur was used for relieving the effects of the “black death” plague and fever.
Native Americans applied butterbur as a remedy for headaches and inflamations. The main usage of the butterbur today is mostly linked to controlling headaches, asthma and allergies. Extracts from the butterbur root are used in the treatment of stomach ulcer, infections and congestions.
The butterbur herb is marketed under different aspects like extracts from the root of the herb and leaves, powder, tincture or medicine and pills. In the United States the easiest to come accross is the extract of butterbur for relieving of headaches and asthma, but it’s not as effective at it as the extract from the butterbur leaves is, though the latter is not so commonly found. The main active components are: the petasin and the isopetasin. The highest concentration of the two substances is found in the root of the herb and they play a very important part in the decrease of spasm, muscle relaxant and the soothing of the inflamed nasal membrane. The anti-spasmodical and anti-inflammatory proprieties of the herb have an important role in adjusting the calcium flow.
In order to reduce headaches it’s recommended a daily mix of 75mg of butterbur with the food, two times a day. This special diet should be maintained for several months and should be stopped when the headaches don’t occur for more than a month. For treating the allergies that appear in the early spring, summer and autumn caused by inhaling pollen which causes a hypersensitivity reaction 8mg of butterbur taken 4 times a day no more than two weeks has proven to be effective. Treating the afflctions that occur because of strees can be done by taking three spoons of butterbur essence a day.
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