Feverfew clover is a mildly toxic marsh and aquatic plant of the northern hemisphere. Both the roots, leaves and herb components of the plant are applied as a remedy and are used in this context, especially in tea mixtures. Feverfew has an appetizing and digestive effect, but can also cause headaches or diarrhea in overdoses.
Occurrence and cultivation of feverfew clover.
Feverfew clover is also known as bitter clover and is the only monotypic species in the feverfew genus. Feverfew clover is a perennial and herbaceous marsh and aquatic plant. The plant is related to gentian and can be classified as a mildly poisonous medicinal plant. Feverfew is also called bitter clover and is the only monotypic species in the feverfew genus. It reaches heights of growth between about ten and 30 centimeters. Bitter clover species are distributed over the entire northern hemisphere of the earth. In Central Europe, the plant blooms between April and June. Its flowers are white-reddish and grow in raceme-like arrangement. Fever clover is rooted in the lowlands and at subalpine elevations either in water or in marshes. The clover species often grows submerged or even swimming in shallow waters. In raised bogs the plant is hardly found. In intermediate bogs, however, it is all the more common. Other popular habitats are the headwaters of rivers or swamp forests. Botanists refer to this plant species as an arctic-nordic flora element. Within Germany, feverfew is now considered an endangered species due to the abandonment of natural marshes and water bodies. Without permission, feverfew may no longer be removed from nature here.
Effect and application
Both the herb and the roots and leaves of feverfew are used for medicinal products and thus the treatment of diseases. The dry foliage leaves of the plant are often referred to as a medicinal drug. The leaves are used today mainly in connection with tea mixtures. Most often, these teas are mixtures of equal parts of feverfew, sage, wormwood and centaury. One teaspoon of the mixture is usually added to 250 milliliters of boiling water. A patient takes this infusion about half an hour before a meal. Due to the slightly toxic effect of the plant, a daily dose of between 1.5 and three grams is considered the maximum. Occasionally, extracts of bitter clover are also found in brandies or herbal liqueurs. In the case of throat ailments, the tea of fever clover was also used in the past for gargling. In the 19th century, some patients even took bitter clover as a juice because of its healing properties. For this purpose, people used the freshly squeezed juice of the plant that was just beginning to bloom. They mixed this bitter clover juice with alcohol in equal proportions. Meanwhile, bitter clover juice is no longer commonly used in pharmacy. In modern homeopathy, the fever clover remedies Trifolii fibrii from the potency D1 are used for it from time to time. For all applications and products made from feverfew, stomach and intestinal ulcers as well as intestinal inflammation or existing diarrhea are considered contraindications. Apart from that, the user must consider the slight toxicity and anticoagulant effect of bitter clover in all types of application. Thus, those who have wounds should not use the plant because of the anticoagulant effect of the medicinal plant. The toxicity is primarily due to the alkaloids it contains. In the case of overdoses of feverfew, headaches sometimes occur due to these active substances. Vomiting or diarrhea may also occur as part of a severe overdose.
Health significance, treatment and prevention.
According to records, bitter clover was first used as a remedy in the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, farmers handed the dried leaves or an infusion of them to sick grazing animals to treat gastrointestinal complaints. Presumably, the medicinal plant was already used in ancient times. However, no documentation of its use has been found so far. Although in the 17th century the plant was also given to reduce fever, this effect of bitter clover has not yet been confirmed. However, the plant is still used today against loss of appetite and digestive disorders. Besides the appetite stimulating effect, homeopathy associates a blood purifying, blood improving and blood multiplying effect with the bog plant.Anti-inflammatory, diuretic, diaphoretic and antispasmodic effects are also associated with bitter clover. A general stimulation of digestion and purification of the body. The crucial active ingredient of the plant are the bitter substances. These substances include, for example, the secoiridoid glycosides, dihydrofoliamenthine and menthiafolin, which the feverfew clover contains. Flavonoids are also produced during digestion of the plant. Flavonoids are particularly associated with antioxidant and antiviral properties. The tannins in feverfew also promise healing effects due to their anti-inflammatory properties. In the past, feverfew clover was used primarily in private settings. However, since bitter clover is now considered an endangered plant species in Germany, private individuals are not allowed to collect it without further ado. Thus, the medicinal relevance of feverfew has now declined, despite its medicinal ingredients. However, selected garden stores offer the bitter clover as a pond plant. If you have a feverfew clover in your garden, you may theoretically collect and dry its leaves. The proper time to collect is when the plant is in bloom. The leaves are removed together with a small petiole and dried in a shady as well as airy place. In dried form they can be kept for three years. They can be used in tea mixtures, observing the dosage instructions.
