BOOKS ON COMFREY

Note the WARNINGS further down this page.

Parts used - Leaves and Root (from seasilver.threadnet.com with thanks)

Comfrey is one of the most valuable herbs known to botanic medicine. It has been used for centuries with success as a wound-healer and bone knitter. It feeds the pituitary with its natural hormone and helps strengthen the body skeleton. It helps in the calcium-phosphorus balance by promoting strong bones and healthy skin. It helps promote the secretion of pepsin and is a general aid to digestion. It has a beneficial effect of all parts of body, being used as an overall tonic. It is one of the finest healers for the respiratory system, [particularly for diseases of long duration like pneumonia.] Comfrey is a powerful remedy for coughs, catarrh, ulcerated bowels and stomach. It is one of the best remedies for internal bleeding anywhere in the body and can be used both internally and externally for healing fractures, wounds, sores and ulcers.

It can be used as a strong decoction for bleeding and to build new flesh during wasting diseases. It is excellent for dysentery and helps regulate blood sugar.

The common herb Comfrey seems to possess extraordinary healing powers when used as a poultice or tea drink. As a poultice, bruise the fresh leaves, apply to first and second degree burns, wounds, open sores, gangrene and most ulcers. Comfrey tea and decoction can be used as a fomentation for the above mentioned ones also. The dosage is 2 oz. of the decoction several times a day for internal hemorrhaging. Poultice can also be made by mashing leaves and moistening them with Comfrey tea or oils, tinctures, infusions, etc. which is good for swellings, cuts and wounds. Comfrey is a cell proliferator and will help heal broken bones, sprains and slow healing sores.

Doctors have used its medicinal extract - Allantion - in cases of stubborn ulcers, burns and open wounds with spectacular results.

Comfrey is a very good source of calcium. It is also good for varicose veins.

Green Comfrey is a miracle medicine for hay fever. My daughter, who is now 15, used to fall sick very frequently during winter season, which made her miss school. About two years ago I put her on a program of eating a Comfrey leaf (about 6" long) twice a day, once in the morning and once in the night for about 15 days. Since then she has not fallen sick.

Comfrey leaves chewed thoroughly are also good for ulcers. Tea is good for Asthma. It can also be sweetened with honey if desired.

Comfrey is a good…

1.Expectorant - It facilitates excretion of mucus from the lungs.
2.Demulcent - It has mucilaginous quality that soothes the throat, stomach, lungs, small intestines and bowels during inflammation.
3.Tonic - It is a good tonic for the whole body.
4.Vulnerary - It promotes the healing of wounds, cuts and broken bones.
5.Alternative - It alters (purifies) the blood. It promotes the cleaning action of spleen, liver kidney and bowels.

Comfrey is rich in Vitamin-A and Vitamin-C. It is high in calcium, potassium, phosphorous and protein. It contains iron, Magnesium, Sulfur, Copper, Zinc as well as eighteen Amino acids. It is a good source of Amino acid hysine, which is usually lacking in diets that contain no animal products.

Vitamin and mineral content:

Rich in vitamin A, C, and trace minerals. High in protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron. Moderate amounts of magnesium, sulfur and zinc. Contains eighteen amino acids. Small amounts of selenium, germanium and some B-complex vitamins as well as B12 (usually only found in animal protein).

Specific uses:

Bones, skin, muscles, general [beneficial] effect on the whole body, cleans up dead tissue while healing, eliminates bloody urine, healing for respiratory system, suppresses bleeding, great cell proliferant or new cell grower on flesh and bones, destroys amoebic-like bacteria and prevents their further growth, can dislodge mucus from inside lung chambers.

Ailments:

Allergies, anemia, Arthritis, Asthma, Bladder, Bleeding, Blood cleanser, Boils, Breaks (bones), Bronchitis, Bruises, Burns, Bursitis, Cancer, Colds, Colitis, Coughs, Cramps, Diarrhea, Digestion, Emphysema, Eczema, Fatigue, Fractures, Gangrene, Gout, Hay fever, Infections, Insect bites, Kidney stones, Leg cramps, Lungs, Pain, Pleurisy, Pneumonia, Respiratory problems, Sinusitis, Skin problems, Sores, Sprains, Stomach trouble, Swelling, Tonic, Tuberculosis (2).

Warning!

According to: http://www.selene.com/healthlink/toxic.html

The Associated Press stated:
Comfrey is banned in Canada and severely restricted in Germany, comfrey root originated as a poultice to reduce swelling but later was used internally. It contains alkaloids toxic to the liver, and animal studies suggest it is carcinogenic, said Varro Tyler, an emeritus professor at Purdue University and author of The Honest Herbal.'' FDA knows of one death.

Comfrey has been linked to four cases of veno-occlusive disease in the world throughout the last 20 years. It should be noted, however, that these cases involved long-term, abusive doses of comfrey tea (e.g., 10 cups of comfrey tea plus handfuls of comfrey-pepsin tablets every day for years).

Like chaparral, comfrey has been used externally and internally by millions of people throughout the world without evidence of significant dangers. Aspirin, coffee or alcohol are more likely to cause life threatening side effects than both these herbs taken together. Most herbalists feel that short-term, common sense use of comfrey where indicated is perfectly safe. The type of comfrey that should be used is symphytum officinale (medicinal comfrey), not Russian comfrey (symphytum xuplandium) which is typically used for composting and should never be taken internally.

Are there any side effects or interactions? Comfrey contains potentially dangerous compounds known as pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The roots contain higher levels of these compounds, and mature leaves contain very little if any of these alkaloids. Fresh young leaves contain higher amounts (up to sixteen times more than mature leaves) and should be avoided. Other related forms such as Russian comfrey (Symphytum uplandicum) and prickly comfrey (Symphytum asperum) are sometimes available or mistakenly sold as regular comfrey but contain higher levels and/or more toxic types of alkaloids.10 One study found that twenty-nine persons who had consumed comfrey from one to twenty years developed no sign of liver disease. Nevertheless, several reports of individuals who developed liver disease or other serious problems from taking capsules or tea of comfrey have been reported over the years.

Because there is usually no indication on comfrey products whether they contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, it is best to avoid internal use of products made from the root and to use products made from the mature leaf for no more than one month consecutively. Topical use of root or leaf is safe unless applied over broken skin, in which case comfrey should be used for no more than three days consecutively. Comfrey should not be taken internally during pregnancy or lactation.

And one last warning from: http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/vege011/vege011.htm

Besides alcohol, there apparently is another nasty among us that can cause serious liver damage in humans, not to mention rats. Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, is an herbaceous perennial plant commonly grown in gardens. Its leaves are sometimes eaten, but most often they are used in brewing a tea for which its devotees claim a long list of benefits. Apparently none of the claims are true; to the contrary, long term use of comfrey tea may cause severe scarring in the liver and may even cause cancer. Comfrey contains a number of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are the damaging agents. They are in fact the same compounds in tansy ragwort, an invasive pasture weed which has been implicated in more than a few deaths of farm animals. This one, too, destroys the liver.