In the case of some species of comfrey, a particular PA called echimidine has caused special concern as it is toxic to the liver in animals. PAs can also found in honey, grains, milk, offal and eggs. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are a group of 660 phytochemicals found in over 6,000 plants. This is because comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs).
You may have found warnings or restrictions on the internal use of comfrey on the internet.
Symphytum uplandica skin#
It is also used in cosmetics because comfrey contains substances that help skin regrow, including allantoin, rosmarinic acid and tannins.Īlthough herbal medicines are widely considered by the scientific community to be of lower risk than synthetic drugs, they can still sometimes cause toxicity or side effects (De Smet, 2004). Comfrey is often used in ointments such as this Napiers Organic Comfrey and Hypericum Soothing Salve
Symphytum uplandica trial#
A clinical trial showed that the ointment works significantly better than a placebo ointment, with five times the effect in pain reduction and four times improvement in quality of life (Grube, Gr ünwald, Krug & Staiger, 2007). (It’s botanical name comes from the Greek word symphyo meaning to unite.) Comfrey root ointment is used to treat painful osteoarthritis of the knee.
The name comfrey comes from the Latin ‘confera’ which means to knit together, hence the old country name for comfrey of Knitbone. Incidentally, comfrey is one of the few plants that takes up vitamin B12 from the soil, the vitamin that vegans need to supplement with to avoid pernicious anaemia. This is because comfrey is very high in both vitamin K and vitamin K2 which promote fracture healing (Hodges, 1995). In herbal medicine, comfrey is traditionally used to repair damaged joints, broken bones and torn tendons.
In other countries it has been grown as a vegetable and prepared as a ratatouille – and very tasty it is too! The leaves are used a lot as a herbal tea. It isn’t eaten a lot, as it has a slightly hairy, rough texture as the leaves age, but the young leaves and buds are very tender and delicious in recipes such as Comfrey Leaf Lemonade Fritters. It is a nutritious plant, being very high in Vitamin A, riboflavin, potassium, manganese and dietary fibre, and also a source of other vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and selenium needed by our bodies. Tuberous comfrey (left) with cream flowers, Russian comfrey (right) with purple flowers.Ĭommon comfrey is a wild-growing herb that has a long tradition as both an edible and a medicinal species.
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