Health topic

Migraine Prevention

These are reviewed research connections, not a ranked list of remedies. An ingredient can appear here because evidence was uncertain, preclinical, or limited to a specific preparation and setting.

Ailment-to-evidence view

What the reviewed research points to

This order reflects the depth of the reviewed evidence, not which option works best or what anyone should take. Mixed and negative findings stay in the list because they can be more useful than a promising headline.

Substantial reviewed evidence Promising, with limits

Butterbur

A randomized trial found a positive result for one extract arm and a null result for the lower arm, but the analysis and later butterbur safety concerns prevent broad transfer to the plant or retail products.

Studied form
A named standardized special Petasites hybridus root extract; not raw butterbur, tea, leaf material, or an arbitrary supplement
Outcome
Migraine attack frequency with 75 mg twice daily, 50 mg twice daily, or placebo
Evidence
Three-arm randomized placebo-controlled trial over four months
See the evidence and cautions →
How this order is calculated

Evidence syntheses come before individual randomized trials, which come before early human and preclinical work. Sample-size bands add a small amount. Positive, mixed, negative, and safety-only directions do not change the depth score. Study independence is not yet scored, so overlapping reviews must not be counted as separate confirmation.

Connected ingredients

What appears in the current evidence map

Source-linked records

1 reviewed record

Randomized trial Promising, with limits 245 adults with two to six migraine attacks per month

A named butterbur root extract for migraine: dose-specific efficacy, unresolved safety transfer

The higher-dose extract arm reduced migraine frequency more than placebo in the trial's per-protocol analysis. The lower-dose arm did not beat placebo on the primary endpoints. Those dose-specific results apply to the named processed root extract, and the abstract does not by itself establish that the product was free of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

What was studied
A named standardized special Petasites hybridus root extract; not raw butterbur, tea, leaf material, or an arbitrary supplement
Setting
Studied alone
Why it ranks here
A randomized trial found a positive result for one extract arm and a null result for the lower arm, but the analysis and later butterbur safety concerns prevent broad transfer to the plant or retail products.
Limits and cautions
  • The reported efficacy result was from a per-protocol analysis.
  • The 75 mg twice-daily arm and 50 mg twice-daily arm had different results and must not be collapsed into a generic butterbur effect.
  • The PubMed abstract does not itself establish pyrrolizidine-alkaloid control.
  • The result cannot be transferred to raw plant material, tea, leaf products, or an arbitrary supplement.
  • The most common possibly related adverse effects in the trial were mild gastrointestinal events, mainly burping; this does not settle uncommon or liver-related risk.

Raw or PA-containing butterbur can be dangerous. Even a product represented as PA-free needs credible quality verification, and reported liver injury remains relevant. This card is not a recommendation to use butterbur for migraine prevention.