![]() Comfrey is widely used topically in forms such as poultice, salve, oil, liniment and baths. Comfrey grows very well locally and you may have even encountered it unknowingly in the gardens or yards of your neighborhood! Comfrey has been traditionally used to promote wound healing as well as helping to heal injuries such as sprains and breaks. A hearty plant with thick, slightly hairy, dark green leaves and beautiful light purple flowers. Spiritually comfrey can support you with your energetic and emotional boundaries, just like it creates strong physical boundaries with your skin! - BethanyĬomfrey is a magical and traditional remedy for wound care. If you have a broken bone or damaged skin comfrey leaf can be used as a poultice or compress and within a week of daily use you can see dramatic results. All that said, topically comfrey is one of the most important healing herbs in our materia medica. It is not recommended for people with a history of liver disease. This phytochemical can cause damage to the liver so it is no longer recommended for use in pregnancy or for long term use. This is one reason why it’s important to know the effects of herbs before using them! Internally comfrey has been used to heal broken bones, leaky gut and even growing a baby! Recently we discovered that comfrey leaf and root has a plant chemical called pyrrolizidine alkaloids in it, also called PA’s. It can actually heal the skin so fast that the flesh underneath doesn’t heal at the same time and bacteria can get trapped under the new skin. This is why it’s important not to use it on wounds. It's the most potent skin healing herb I know of. If the form doesn’t fit, if the cells aren’t aligned, comfrey will create a new matrix for healing to occur upon, not unlike a spider with its web.Ĭomfrey is a wonderful herb. This knit texture and coloration exemplifies the essence of comfrey: this is a plant that weaves, knits, repairs, restores, reinvents if needed, in ways that are not only physical, but beautifully beyond such limitations. You will also see pale, almost white, and even yellow flowers depending on the variety. We also largely identify this plant by the broad leaves with textured “knit” like patterning and purple flower. Most herbalists use the plants for only short periods (6 weeks or less) internally. It is essential to know what variety of comfrey you are growing or harvesting for medicine making, as they contain different quantities of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are toxic in large or continuous quantities. Hardy and hard-working, this perennial plant is medicine for your mind, body, soul, AND soil! Used commonly in permaculture, there is not limits to the nourishing transformation that this green ally creates. ![]() Comfrey is generally considered unsafe, with numerous toxicological effects in animals and humans.Symphytum officinale, or comfrey, is a cooling plant that grows in a variety of locales. ![]() The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an advisory in July 2001 recommending that comfrey products be removed from the market because of cases of hepatic veno-occlusive disease. The internal or extensive topical use of comfrey cannot be recommended because of numerous reports of liver damage. ![]() Pregnancy/Lactationĭocumented adverse effects (the pyrrolizidine alkaloids, have substantial risk of causing fatal liver damage and can cause abortion). Definitely do not use during pregnancy or nursing, with infants, and if you have liver or kidney disease. Patients with hypersensitivity or allergic reactions to the plant should also avoid external use. ContraindicationsĬomfrey is not recommended for internal use because of the liver damage caused by its pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Limited trials have evaluated the effectiveness of alkaloid-free preparations for external use however, these studies did not examine how much liver damage occurred in patients. Additionally, because its alkaloids are absorbed through the skin, use of comfrey as a poultice should not exceed an exposure of 100 mcg/day of the alkaloids. Oral use of comfrey is not recommended because of potential liver damage. Although not examined in clinical trials, comfrey may possess antifungal and anticancer activity. A limited number of clinical trials show short-term efficacy of topically applied, alkaloid-free comfrey preparations in skin abrasions and inflammatory conditions. Therapeutic use of comfrey is limited because of its toxicity.
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