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Comfrey (knitbone)
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Family |
Boraginaceae |
Genus and specie |
Symphytum officinale |
Knitbone, common comfrey, symphytum, blackwort, healing herb and bruisewort.
Comfrey is a stout, bristly haired, perennial herb with thick roots and large tapering lance-like leaves. Purple to pink-white, funnel shaped flowers are borne in summer.
The roots and rhizomes are normally used, but the leaves are also used to a lesser degree.
Comfrey is a sweet, cooling herb with expectorant, astringent, soothing and healing effects. It reduces inflammation and controls bleeding.
It contains allantoin as well as high amounts of mucilage and also contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and their N-oxides (intermedine, symphytine and echimidine), as well as tannins, triterpenes and organic acids (including rosmarinic acid).
It is a superb wound healing herb, but the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) can be carcinogenic and also cause liver damage.
If used topically, do not use it on deep wounds, as healing on the surface will initiate and so cause an abscess to form below.
When taking comfrey internally, great care must be taken to prevent liver toxicity and damage, and for this reason, this herb is subject to legal restriction in certain countries.
The PA contained in comfrey is hepatoxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic, and the use of this herb should rather be avoided all together.
None.
To promote the interest and use of herbs and natural complementary health alternatives, we have included information on the following herbs.
Please note - although we discuss a wide variety of herbs, not all of them are used or sold by us. | |
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