Comfrey

Actions: Cell proliferator, astringent, demulcent, wound herb, expectorant

Plant Part: Aerial Parts & Root

Usage:

Aerial Parts:

Tincture: Use a standard dose internally for gastric ulceration, esophagitis, hiatus hernia and ulcerative colitis. Treatment should not be continued beyond 6-8 weeks because of the potential risk of liver damage due to pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Infused Oil: Make by the hot infusion method and use a massage for arthritic joints, sprains, bruises, and other traumatic injuries. Can also be used for inflamed bunions.

Compress: Soak a pad in the diluted tincture for bruises, sprains and other injuries

Cream: for any bone, cartilage, or muscle damage. For osteoarthritis apply cream twice daily for at least two months.

Syrup: Sweeten 500ml of the infusion with 500g of honey for dry coughs or stubborn thick phlegm.

Poultice: Use the pureed leaves on minor breaks that would not normally be set in plaster—such as broken toes, ribs, or hairline cracks in larger bones.

Root:

Poultice: Make a paste of powdered root with a little water and use on varicose ulcers and other stubborn wounds. The same paste can be used on bleeding hemorrhoids.

Cautions:

  • Only take internally under professional guidance; the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids which have been linked by some researchers to liver cancer in rats whose diets were composed of 33% comfrey leaf. Do not take the root internally.
  • Do not use on dirty wounds as rapid healing may lead to trapped dirt.
  • Use is restricted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Germany