Butterbur can be used for treatment of ulcers, including stomach ulcers, skin ulcers. A German study conducted in 1993 found ethanolic extracts of butterbur blocked ethanol-induced gastric damage and reduced ulcerations of the small intestine caused by indomethacin. The Greek physician Dioscurides used butterbur leaves to treat skin ulcers.
As one of traditional remedies, butterbur was used for hundreds of years as an antispasmodic for treatment of gastrointestinal conditions. The leaves and rhizomes were used to treat spasms of the digestive tract associated with colic, plague, and bile flow obstruction. Today, butterbur has been used successfully in preventing gastric ulcers, and in treating patients with irritable bladder and urinary tract spasms.
Butterbur contains two main active constituents, petasin and isopetasin. Petasin has the antispasmodic properties which reduces spasms in smooth muscle and vascular walls. It also provides an anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting leukotriene synthesis, and appear to have an affinity for cerebral blood vessels. Petasites’ antispasmodic properties to reduce smooth muscle spasm suggests it may be useful to treat smooth muscle spasms caused by urinary disorders, menstrual cramps, migraine headaches, kidney stone, obstruction of bile flow, or gastrointestinal disorders.
The extracts of butterbur (petasites) can be found in health herbal supplement stores. Be sure to consult your doctor before you take butterbur.
