Comfrey Herb
Found worldwide, extracts of leaves and roots of this herbaceous plant have been used for centuries to heal wounds /skin conditions and reduce pain and inflammation - Dioscorides, a 50 A.D. physician, prescribed comfrey for healing wounds and broken bones, traditional Chinese medicine has used comfrey for 2000 years, and comfrey is listed in the Materia Medica of the MIddle Ages;
Comfrey is used medicinally in oils, creams, salves, poultices and teas.
A member of the borage family, its botanical name Symphytum comes from the Greek word symphyo, meaning unite.
• True / Wild / Common Comfrey. Symphytum Officinale - Native to England, extends to most of Europe, Central Asia and Western Siberia
• Prickly or Rough Comfrey. S. asperum Lepechin (a.k.a. S. asperrimum) - bristly/hairy leaves; brought from Russia to Britain ~1800
• Russian, Blue or Quaker Comfrey. S. x uplandicum Nyman (a.k.a. S. peregrinum) - natural hybrid of S. officinale L. and S. asperum Lepechin originating in Russia. Henry Doubleday, a British researcher and a quaker, promoted use of this hybrid comfrey for food and forage. He shipped cuttings to Canada in 1954. The majority of comfrey grown in the U.S.
This because comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). PAs include symphytine, echimidine, symglandine and lycopsamine; when taken orally in excessive amounts, PA's can cause sinusoidal obstruction syndrome and severe liver injury. Oral forms include herbal teas, capsules and root powders. There is major controversy over the real risk of consuming a moderate amount of comfrey.
