Benefits: Relieves Pain and Inflammation
Background: Symphytum officinale, or Comfrey, has been used as a healing agent since ancient times. (Symphytum is of Greek derivation, from the words sympho, meaning “growing together” and phytum, or “plant”.) The Greek physician Dioscorides (50 A.D.) is known to have prescribed comfrey leaves for the treatment of broken bones. Herbalists in the Middle Ages also recommended using comfrey salve to help promote the healing of bruises and broken bones, hemorrhoids and sore breasts.
Description: Comfrey is a stout, vigorous perennial herb with thick taproots which can reach up to 3 feet in height. The large, dark green leaves are hairy and have a rough texture. Pinkish-blue tubular flowers are borne in drooping clusters in the summertime. Both the leaves and roots contain allantoin, a compound which is known to promote cell regeneration and tissue healing, as well as large amounts of mucilage, which acts as a demulcent (soothing agent).
Cultivation/Growing Conditions: Comfrey grows best in damp soil in partial shade. It is both invasive and deep rooted, and may be difficult to eradicate once established. It cay be started by sowing seed into growing trays inside a heated (60 degrees F) greenhouse in the springtime or by planting root divisions in the summer or fall.
Parts Used: Leaves and roots.
Harvest: The leaves may be picked throughout the summer and used fresh for poultices, compresses or salves. The roots may be lifted during the winter and crushed. The liquid extracted from both leaves and roots is used for preparing salves and ointments.
Research: Numerous clinical studies have demonstrated the ability of comfrey to relieve the pain of arthritis. A study published in the Journal “Advanced Therapy” in 2000 [i] documented the effectiveness of comfrey ointment in reducing muscle and joint pain in 105 patients. Another study in 2005 [ii] compared the effectiveness of two different creams with differing amounts of comfrey extract in treating 215 patients with back pain. This study found that the cream with a higher percentage of comfrey extract was more effective and considered the results to be “clinically highly relevant”. In 2007 the journal “Phytomedicine” published a study [iii] examining the effectiveness of a comfrey root ointment used to treat patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. This study found that patients treated with a comfrey root extract had less pain and greater knee mobility than patients treated with a placebo. Finally, and perhaps not surprisingly, a recent comprehensive review of clinical studies examining comfrey [iv] found that comfrey root extract is “clinically proven to relieve pain, inflammation and swelling of muscles and joints in the case of degenerative arthritis…”
[i] Kucera M. et al “Effects of Symphytum ointment on muscular symptoms and functional locomotor disturbances” Adv. Ther. 2000 Jul-Aug: 17(4):204-10
[ii] Kucera M., et al “Topical symphytum herb concentrate cream against myalgia: a randomized controlled double blind clinical study” Adv Ther. 2005 Nov-Dec;22(6):681-92
[iii] Gube B., et al “Efficacy of a comfrey root (Symphyti office. Radix) extract ointment in the treatment of patients with painful osteoarthritis of the knee: results of a double blind, randomized, bicenter, placebo-controlled trial” Phytomedicine, 2007 Jan; 14(1):2-10.
[iv] Staiger C., “Comfrey Root: from tradition to modern clinical trials”, Wein Med Wochenschr. 2013 Feb; 163(3-4):58-64
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