Symphytum officinale 

Medicinal Preparations:

Tea: Standard infusion of the leaves: 4-8 oz / Decoction of the root 4-8 oz  
Times a day: 3x

Honey: Root 1:4; consume 1 tsp 3x a day

Topical Preparations: Prepare the leaf oil using the alcohol intermediary oil method or infuse the leaves or the root using a double boiler method. Use the root or the leaves in topical applications such as poultice, fomentation, cream, salve, ointment, balm, paste, wash, bath, mouth wash, douche, or enema.

Habitat and Botanical Description:

Comfrey is native to Europe and temperate Asia and was brought to the U.S by European settlers. It is a perennial that is easily cultivated and once established grows prolifically. Gardeners may consider it an invasive, because once planted it is almost impossible to eradicate. The root can grow up to ten feet and will sprout when even the smallest root chunk is left in the soil. Comfrey has an angular, hairy stem with bristly, oblong shaped leaves that grow low on comfreys stem which can reach up to three feet tall. Its purple bell-shaped flowers have five lobes and grow in forked, scorpiod racemes that appear from May through August. It has a black skinned tap root with a fleshy white inside.

Medicinal Uses:

Harvesting:

Harvest the leaves of comfrey before the flowering buds appear. To delay harvest pinch off any flowering buds before they bloom. Once comfrey blooms the nutrient value of the plant fades. The flowers can be harvested for poultices. Within 10 days to two weeks more flowering buds will appear, cut these as well to help the plant grow and encourage an extensive root system with more and larger leaves. In the fall, harvest the roots. Take your garden fork and unearth. Shake and wash. Comfrey is also a great self-mulching system in the garden. Chickens and turkeys love the high protein low fiber content that comfrey provides and will increase egg production and make the yolks a deeper orange color.

Recommended Products:

• Pacific Botanicals Comfrey Leaf
• Herb Pharm Comfrey Leaf

Contraindications:

Young children, pregnant, lactating women, elderly and individuals with compromised liver function should avoid the internal use of comfrey. Topical use is acceptable. Individuals taking prescriptions or occur the counter medications that induce liver damage or compromise liver function in any way should avoid the internal use of comfrey. Use caution when harvesting the leaves, has been known to cause contact dermatitis. Wear gloves.  Comfrey should not be consumed internally in high doses for long periods of time due the cumulative effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The root concentrates pyrrolizidine alkaloids a lot more than the leaf. When used in moderation for shorts periods of time it is unlikely to cause problems in healthy individuals. While it is important to be mindful of this it is also important to not isolate a single constituent in a plant and overlook all the potential protective benefits of nutrients found in the whole plant. Although S.asperum and S.x.uplandicum contain higher alkaloids that should not be consumed internally.