Comfrey

comfrey

Information about the herb Comfrey. Learn how this herb might benefit your health.

You could call comfrey the herbalist’s “best kept secret.” Comfrey grows wild, like most herbs, or it can be cultivated as a perennial plant in several places around the world. There are many varieties of comfrey… the most useful for medicinal use is Russian Comfrey, or Symphytum x uplandicum. Other names for Russian Comfrey include Blackwort, Knitbone, Bruisewort and Healing Herb.

Even practicing herbalists may consider the internal use of comfrey controversial, although the name “Knitbone” is a clue to how powerful this herb can be for certain external usage. Comfrey has a natural compound called allantoin, which can speed up the replacement of cells in the body. It produces a rapid healing of sprains, broken bones, cuts, open wounds and bruises.

The use of comfrey is restricted in several countries, including the U.K., Canada and the United States. These restrictions are usually confined to internal use, and they are because comfrey also contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, or PAs. PAs can be the cause of liver disease and liver failure in high doses.

Some herbalists feel that internal use of comfrey should be avoided, while some feel it is safe. There are others who will use variations of the herb.

If you’ve never seen how well comfrey works as an external application, prepare to be amazed. If you mix some comfrey with aloe vera and a little oil, or beeswax or even petroleum jelly, you’ll get a salve that you can use immediately that will work wonders on a variety of everyday ailments.

Staphylococcal bacteria, which cause staph infections, can easily be killed by applying comfrey or comfrey salve directly onto the affected area. Applying it to open wounds can make them heal very fast—normally within 24 hours or less—and in most cases, won’t leave a scar. Comfrey is also well-known for healing broken bones quickly when applied externally, and torn tendons and ligaments respond to comfrey applied as a salve or a poultice as well.

Comfrey not only speeds up the healing process, it helps relieve pain as quickly as it comes into contact with an injured spot. It also is a good remedy for swelling and inflammation.