The Wonders of Comfrey

Symphytum officinalis, or Knit bone, is now generally referred to as Comfrey. This is a long-established stalwart of the herbal medicine chest. As the old name suggests, this common plant has been used to help repair broken bones and all manner of injuries. The leaves and roots are found to contain allantoin, a very useful constituent used for healing and softening problem/dry skin. Allantoin is still used in many skin care products.

These days, Comfrey is only used externally and internal use is discouraged. The plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can harm the liver if taken over a period of time.

Comfrey cream and oil are available in herb shops and a poultice is easy to make at home. Simply use fresh, chopped and bruised leaves or rehydrated dried herb, apply the poultice to an area that needs help, wrap in cling film, or similar and leave for a while. The plant has been shown to speed up granulation of wounds, thus helping them heal more quickly. This is not recommended on deep wounds as we don’t want to seal in any potential infection, but is very useful for shallow cuts, grazes and abrasions.

Comfrey is also a remedy for arthritic joints, as an oil externally. The oil has repairing qualities and the action of massaging is also beneficial.

Most Comfrey growing in this country is the Russian Comfrey which is a bit more of a thug than our indigenous English Comfrey and is therefore more successful as a plant. It also contains more of the poisonous alkaloids. There are also many cultivars of Symphytum with different habits, all of which are useful medicinally, to some extent.

Gardeners have homemade fertiliser, which is very effective, but terribly smelly if made with water. An alternative method is to add the leaves to a double bucket with holes in and allow the juice of the plant to drip through into the lower bucket. Bottle and use when needed on fruit and vegetables in social environments due background noise.

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