Ar. Cutlan et al., Intra-specific variability of feverfew: Correlations between parthenolide,morphological traits and seed origin, PLANTA MED, 66(7), 2000, pp. 612-617
Parthenolide, a biologically active sesquiterpene lactone found in feverfew
[Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz Bip., Asteraceae], has been indirectly
Linked to the anti-migraine action of feverfew preparations. Commercial pre
parations of feverfew leaves are known to vary widely in parthenolide conte
nt. Thirty-one feverfew accessions of diverse origin were examined for morp
hological traits and parthenolide content. Significant Variation in parthen
olide content was found among the populations. Mean parthenolide levels ran
ged from non-detectable to 1.68% +/- 0.97 (per dry weight) based upon HPLC-
UV-MS. In general, feverfew plants grown from wild-collected seed from bota
nical gardens and the USDA accessions had higher mean parthenolide levels (
0.72% +/- 0.57) than plants from commercial sources, including the generic
material (0.34% +/- 0.23) and cultivars (0.35% +/- 0.40. Feverfew varieties
with a light green/yellow leaf color had significantly higher mean parthen
olide levels (1.61% +/- 0.61%) than darker-leafed varieties. A significant
positive correlation between days to anthesis and parthenolide content was
observed. Parthenolide levels did not correlate with floral morphology. Thi
s study shows that further selection for improved horticultural attributes
and natural product content has potential to improve feverfew for the botan
ical/medicinal plant industry.