COMFREY BENEFITS, HEALTH NUTRITIONAL FACTS AND SIDE EFFECTS

What does comfrey contain?
Comfrey is a good source of allantoin; allantoin facilitates the
growth of new cells including bones.

In general, comfrey is considered as a medicinal plant with
anti-inflammatory, analgesic and tissue regenerating properties in
Germany. A clinical study shows its efficacy on acute ankle
sprains, pain and edema. [2] Topical application of comfrey shows
improvement of morning joint stiffness with good tolerability in
another trial. [3]

What are the side effects of comfrey?
The side effects of oral-intake comfrey can be extremely serious.
Comfrey is a rat liver toxin and carcinogen. It tumorigenicity is
related to its genotoxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant. [1]

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been linked to substantial toxicity after
their intake as tea and in the setting of contaminated cereals have
led to endemic outbreaks in Jamaica, India and Afghanistan. Its
leave is a substantial health hazard with hepatic toxicity. The
mechanisms are not fully understood but believed to be related to
the biotransformation of alkaloids. Comfrey causes veno-occlusive
disease first, then eventually liver failure. [4]

[1] Mei N et al, Mutagenicity of comfrey (Symphytum Officinale) in rat liver. Br J
Cancer 2005 Mar 14;92(5):873-5. [2] Koll R et al, Efficacy and tolerance of comfrey
root extract (Extr. Rad. Symphyti) in the treatment of ankle distorsions: results of a
multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Phytomedicine
2004 Sep;11(6):470-7. [3] Koll R., Therapeutic characteristance and tolerance of
topical comfrey prepartions. Results of an observational study of patients Forschr
Med Org 2002;120(1):1-9. [4] Stickel F et al, The efficacy and safety of comfrey
Public Health Nutr 2000 Dec;3(4A):501-8.

WHAT IS COMFREY? What are the health benefits of comfrey? Comfrey [Symphytum officinale. L.] is a vigorous,
perennial garden plant of the borage family. Comfrey is a popular herb for burns, bites, cuts, strains, sprains and
broken bones.