History, origin
Tansy, coming from “athanasia” which means “immortality” in Greek, was used by the ancient Hellenic for embalming procedures. Tansy is a widespread European herb and in folk medicine, it is extensively used as a vermifuge. Tanacetum vulgare or Tansy is also referred to as Moroccan Chamomile or Blue Tansy. The latter is due to the blue hues of the oil.
Oil can also be extracted from another species originating from the Tanacetum family – namely, Tanacetum parthenium, which is also regarded as Fever few oil and is cultivated in Eurasia. Its name originates from the Latin word febrifugia which literally means “fever reducer”.
Description of the flower
Hailing from Asia and temperate Europe, Tansy can be defined as an herbaceous, perennial flowering plant. The plant has neatly divided complex leaves and yellow flowers that resemble buttons. Tansy’s stem is rather reddish, usually smooth, and stout and erect whose length is between 50 and 150 cm (20–59 in), and there is branching around the top. Its leaves are 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) in length, alternate, and pinnately lobed.
Sometimes defined as featherfew or bachelor’s buttons, Feverfew is a medicinal herb whose aesthetically appealing, hardy flowers reminisce of daisies. It possesses citrus-scented leaves and grows up to 46 cm (18 in) into a small bush.
Description of the oil
By using steam distillation of all parts of the Tansy plants, one can get the oil extract. The principal components of Tansy oil are camphor, borneoil, artemisone, thujone, isopinocamphone, piperitone, and camphone. The herb is regarded as poisonous but despite that, it has a host of medicinal properties. The oil reminds of wild apples with sweet aroma and herbaceous hints, and is abundant in azulene.
Feverfew’s most active ingredient is parthenolide, but it also has other volatile oils (camphor, bornyl acetate, p-cymene, and camphene) and tannins with human health benefits. The scent can be defined as subtle and soft with musty hints of green freshness.
Combines well with
Tansy oil can be combined very well with lavender, rosemary, cedar wood, ravensara, and helichrysum, while feverfew makes good blends with peppermint, rose otto, blue tansy, Greenland moss, lavender, frankincense, and spruce.
Uses / effects
The essential oil of Tansy is proven to have potent vermifuge and anti-parasitic effects, especially when it comes to Schistosoma, which affects over 200 million on a global scale. The oil’s poisonous effect annihilates parasitic and intestinal worms that lurk in the human body, including hook worms, tape worms, and round worms. It is also very effective in the battle against the development of worms in wounds, thus aiding in quicker wound healing and regrowth of healthy cells.
Feverfew’s most widely applauded benefit is the great relief it provides for migraines and headaches. It beneficially works on the platelet build-up of blood vessels and capillaries, which is the reason for tensions in the cardiovascular system – the cause of migraines and headaches. Feverfew relaxes and relieves the vessels, thereby eradicating these ailments.
As the name suggest, feverfew is great in reducing fever conditions and infections, such as different viruses (influenza, for instance), bacteria (like yellow or black fever, and typhoid), fungi, and protozoa (such as malaria). Tansy oil, acting as an antiviral, anti-fungal, and antibacterial substance, aids our bodies in countering these ferocious infections and reduces body temperature, thereby acting as a febrifuge.
Both Tansy oil and feverfew oil also possess anti-inflammatory properties and since inflammations may rise body temperature, this means that both oils can further bring down body temperature and cool down the body.
Our body’s histamine availability is responsible for provoking allergies and different allergy-related problems, such as itches, asthma, rashes, severe coughs, hiccups, continuous sneezing, and trouble with breathing. If not taken good care of, allergies may invade our internal organs, including the heart and the liver, thus leading to fatal outcomes. A marvelous prevention measure is reducing our body’s histamine levels and controlling its production. This is where Tansy oil comes to the rescue as it counterbalances histamine and oversees its further creation.
A study of the National Institute of Health in the U.S. suggests that feverfew’s most active compound – parthenolide – might have antitumor and anticancer activities against more than a few human cancer cell lines.
Uses
Therapeutic use
Both the essential oils of Feverfew and Tansy possess therapeutic properties, including, among others, anti-fungal, antiviral, vermifuge, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and febrifuge.
