Comfrey: The Healing Herb
Comfrey: The Healing Herb
Comfrey is an herbal plant which is commonly grown large-scale as
forage for animals. It is a hairy plant with short, thick, tubular roots.
Comfrey has been cultivated since about 400 BC as a healing herb.
Greeks and Romans used the herb to stop heavy bleeding, relieve
bronchial congestion, and heal wounds. The herb can be used as a
poultice for external wounds. It can also be drank as tea to cure
stomach ailments.
Comfrey-pepsin capsules, sold as a digestive aid in herbal and health
food stores across the USA, have been found to contain alkaloids which
can damage the liver and even induce the growth of cancer cells. These
findings have temporarily stopped the use of comfrey as a food crop.
Wild or common comfrey is native to England and extends throughout
most of Europe into Central Asia and Western Siberia. Russian or
Caucasian comfrey was first shipped to Canada in 1954 and it was
named Quaker comfrey. Majority of comfrey grown in the United States
are of this variety.
Prickly comfrey was considered for use as forage for pigs, sheep and
poultry by the USDA more than 80 years ago.
Comfrey has long established itself as a folk medicine for healing
wounds, sores, burns, swollen tissue, and broken bones. Its allantoin
content appeared to affect the rate of cell multiplication. Wounds and
burns seem to heal faster when comfrey is applied due to an observed
increase in the number of white blood cells.
Comfrey has been reported to promote healthy skin with its mucilage
content that moisturizes and soothes, while the allantoin promotes
cellular growth.