Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, has been used for thousands of years to heal fractures, so much so that one of its common names is knitbone. The officinale part of the name refers to the officina in Latin, a little room in the monastery where monks stored the medicinal herbs. In addition to healing bones, comfrey excels in soothing the mucous membranes of the intestinal tract. It's also good for respiratory issues such as bronchitis and very effective in healing skin tissue. As a vulnerary (which means it accelerates healing through cell proliferation), it dramatically speeds recovery. However, because it has no anti-microbial properties, it should never be used on deep open wounds. The danger is that the skin will heal over, sealing in pockets of pus and bacteria below the skin surface.
And before we go any further with this herb, it's best to come right out front and say that there is a whole lot of controversy surrounding comfrey. It's right up there with colloidal silver and DMSO. They have the same common enemy, the US FDA. It's odd that other countries don't have the same issues. Maybe our government just cares about us more. Or maybe the pharmaceutical companies somehow feel threatened by a naturally-occurring plant. Because then people wouldn't have to use their drugs. Please do your own research. I'll try to present the basic information. Web addresses are provided below to do follow-up research if this is an herb of interest to you.
Time to harvest: Harvest the leaves and flowering tops in the summer; harvest the roots in the fall.
Parts used: Both the leaf and the root are medicinal. The root is much stronger than the leaf. The young leaves are more potent than mature leaves.
Medicinal uses:
- Orthopedic: Sprains, fractures, arthritis.
- Skin: Burns, rashes, and superficial wounds.
- Respiratory: Respiratory expectorant for upper airway, especially a dry, hacking cough; sinus infection; sore throat. It was used historically to treat whooping cough.
- Intestinal: Gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, and esophageal mucosa, especially due to GERD damage.
- Urinary tract: Soothing for urinary tract infections.
Preparations:
Powder. Stephen Buhner, author of Herbal Antibiotics and Herbal Antivirals, recommends using the root powder for treating gastric ulcers, one teaspoon three times per day for thirty days.
Infusion. To treat gastric ulcers and irritable bowel, steep one teaspoon of crushed leaves in boiling water for 15 minutes, 3 times per day. Use for only one week before taking a break. Drinking 1-2 cups of tea per day is also beneficial for broken bones.
Poultice. To hasten the healing of sprains, broken bones, burns, and rashes, and to relieve osteoarthritis, apply a poultice of the leaves and flowers three times per day.
Tincture. Use the dried root in a 1:5 weight to volume ratio, in 50 percent alcohol. The recommended dosage per Stephen Buhner is 30-60 drops, 1-3 times per day, for up to 30 days.
Salve. Put comfrey leaves in a canning jar. Add olive oil to the jar, enough to cover by about one-half inch. Stir the oil and leaves each day for two weeks and then strain out the leaves. Measure the infused oil, and for every four ounces of comfrey oil, add one tablespoon of beeswax. Melt these together in a double boiler. Pour the salve into a clean jar. Apply to arthritic joints, rashes, burns, and sprains.
Listed below are several addresses to clinical studies and other sites for and against the use of comfrey, internally and externally. After reviewing the clinical studies (from around the world, not just the US), I'd have to say that the FDA did not prove their case. A few references say the FDA cites a study in which rats were fed massive amounts of comfrey and developed liver problems. Despite searching for at least an hour, I could not find any further information on this purported study. There are very isolated reports of the toxic effects of comfrey on some individuals that usually involve using enormous doses of comfrey for an extended period of time. Many of the clinical studies use enormous amounts of comfrey, or do not state exactly which species or what part of the plant is being used, or they isolate components of the plant, rather than the whole plant. As noted above, the roots are more potent than the leaves, and young leaves have more pyrrolizidine alkaloids than mature leaves. The Herbal Legacy website refutes the FDA's studies and reasons for withdrawing comfrey from the market for internal use.
I would also note that there are quite a few cases of Tylenol overdoses in this country where people combine over-the-counter or prescription medications with Tylenol and damage or completely destroy their livers, and yet Tylenol is still on the market. The US averages 78,000 accidental poisonings, 33,000 hospital admissions, and 150 deaths per year from acetaminophen overdoses. The FDA has known about this problem with liver toxicity for over forty years and continues to do nothing. Yet comfrey is banned. (And for the record, I don't want any more regulation by the FDA. I just find it interesting that they're so blatantly in the pockets of Big Pharma.)
You'll have to do your own due diligence and research comfrey for yourself, as you should with any medication, herbal or US FDA-approved. In this case, in my opinion, the FDA made an epic fail. I'm going with comfrey. Especially when arthritis kicks in. Or if I ever break a bone or sprain an ankle.
Contraindications. Comfrey is not for use by pregnant or nursing women or those with liver conditions. Do not use in children under three years of age.
Caution: The comfrey root is especially is high in pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which have been shown to cause liver damage in high doses over long periods of time. Reasonable usage for shorter periods of time, like a teaspoon a few times per day for a month, should not be cause for concern, except in people with liver conditions and pregnant and nursing women.
Links to related posts:
Colloidal Silver
DMSO
For further reading:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3580139/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3491633/
https://www.reliasmedia.com/articles/72868-fda-ftc-take-action-against-comfrey-products
https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/regulatory/fda-ahpa-clarify-pa-free-comfrey-guidelines-0
https://www.rxlist.com/comfrey/supplements.htm
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.664.9555&rep=rep1&type=pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2103401
http://www.nantahala-farm.com/comfrey-pyrrolizidine-alkaloids-reducing-s.shtml (reducing alkaloid content)
https://herballegacy.com/Contentions.html (contentions with studies FDA used to support reasons for disallowing internal use of comfrey)
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/pas.htm (safe limits)
https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/acetaminophen-ingredient-in-tylenol-causes-more-than-1500 (Tylenol overdoses)
28 august 2023
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