2010/04/21 by Anna Sutherland, Burgunda V. Sweet · 1 citation
Medicine · #Migraine and Headache Studies #Medicinal Plant Extracts Effects #Respiratory and Cough-Related Research #Pharmacy #Migraine #Medicine #Library science #Alternative medicine #Family medicine #Service (business) #Psychiatry #Business #Pathology #Computer science
paper · doi:10.2146/ajhp090136
openalex publication_date 2010/04/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/16
Petasites hybridus, more commonly known as butterbur, is a member of the Asteraceae family.1–4 This perennial shrub, which can grow to a height of 3 ft, has a creeping, horizontal rhizome, lilac-pink flowers, and broad leaves that can approach 3 ft in diameter (figure).1,3–5 Butterbur is found throughout Europe and in parts of Asia and North America, typically along riversides and streams and in wet, marshy ground in proximity to damp forests.1–5 The botanical genus name, Petasites, is derived from the Greek word petasos, meaning broad-brimmed hat.1,4,5 The common name, butterbur, likely came from the plant’s large leaves, which were once used to wrap butter in warm weather.1,4,5 Other common names include blatterdock, bog rhubarb, bogshorns, butter-dock, and pestwurz.1,2,5 Butterbur has been used for various medicinal purposes for more than 2000 years.1,3,4 Its medicinal use was described as early as 65 A.D. by Dioscorides, a Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist.6 In the Middle Ages, butterbur was used to treat fever and bubonic plague.1,4,5 In the 17th century, it was used orally to treat cough and asthma and was applied topically to treat skin wounds.1,3,5 Other documented therapeutic uses of butterbur include treatment of lung diseases, urogenital tract spasms, aches and pains, dysmenorrhea, and gastrointestinal afflictions.1–5 In 1951, the popularity of butterbur grew when Karl Bucher was able to demonstrate the antispasmodic properties of the unrefined plant extract in guinea pigs.1,4 Currently, the most common uses of butterbur include prophylaxis for migraines and allergic rhinitis and treatment of allergic skin disease and asthma.1–3,5