Butterbur Helps Hay Fever

As effective as antihistamines without the drowsiness
A herb used in cough medicines since the Middle Ages has shown great promise as a treatment for hay fever. Swiss and German researchers have found that the purple butterbur, Petasites hybridus, is as effective as antihistamine drugs in treating seasonal allergies. But unlike antihistamines, butterbur does not cause drowsiness, so allergy sufferers can drive automobiles and operate machinery while taking the herb.
Butterbur is a perennial herb found in Europe, Asia and parts of North America. Traditionally the roots were used, but recently the plant's leaves have attracted attention. Both the leaves and the roots contain compounds called petasines that inhibit the body's ability to produce leukotrienes involved in allergic reactions. A U.S. and German study published last year in the journal Neurology showed that butterbur is highly effective against migraine headache.




Approximately 20 percent people in industrialized nations suffer from hay fever. Symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion and itching of the mucous membranes. In some patients headaches and fatigue can be debilitating enough to interfere with work and normal social functioning. Antihistamines are effective in reducing runny nose and sneezing, but drowsiness is a common side effect, even for newer so called "non-drowsy" antihistamines. 

In the butterbur study, published in the journal Phytotherapy Research, three groups of patients received pills made from either butterbur extract, fexofenadine or a placebo. Fexofenadine, a non-drowsy antihistamine, is sold as Allegra in the U.S. and as Telfast 180 in Europe. Patients taking either butterbur or fexofenadine showed similar improvements in total symptom scores while patients taking a placebo showed no improvement. The results were statistically significant, which is a way of saying that the effect of butterbur on hay fever is unlikely to be explained by pure chance.
Although side effects were reported in each treatment group, three-quarters of side effects in the fexofenadine group were related to drowsiness, compared to just over one-third in the groups receiving placebos or butterbur.
"Because butterbur does not cause the drowsiness that is so often associated with other antihistamines, it could be particularly useful for patients who cannot tolerate other therapies," lead researcher Andreas Schapowal said.
In its raw form butterbur contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can cause liver damage. The butterbur extract in the study is made from only the leaves of plants in specially controlled conditions and uses carbon dioxide extraction to reduce the level of pyrrolizidine alkaloids below the level of detection, 35 parts per billion. In the study liver function was normal in the patients receiving the butterbur extract. Butterbur products are commercially available in the U.S. under the names Migravent and Petadolex but have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Schapowal also led a 2002 study published in the British Journal of Medicine in which it was found that butterbur compared favourably with cetirizine, another non-drowsy antihistamine. Cetirizine is sold in the U.S. under the name Zyrtec.
Adapted from an United Press International report by Eva A. Sylwester, Aug. 23, 2005 

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Debbie