Herbal Extract Reduces Migraines
(NY, Reuters Health, 1/5/05)

In a 16-week trial, Dr. Richard B. Lipton of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, and colleagues, compared two different doses of an extract from the root of the plant, butterbur (Petasites hybridus) to a placebo. The researchers studied 230 migraine sufferers, who had experienced two to six attacks per month for the previous 3 months and found that the group that took 75 milligrams of butterbur twice daily experienced a 45% reduction in attacks, compared with a 28% reduction in the placebo group. These results suggests that butterbur may be an alternative to prescription medications for the prevention of migraine headache; however, the scientists caution that patients should not “home brew” butterbur because its root contains toxins, which are removed from the commercially available forms of the product.

(Neurology, December 28, 2004)