What about that! A remedy for gout. I wonder if it has colchicine in it, or maybe allopurinol...I am curious as to what exactly the active chemical is. These sorts of things really interest me. Understanding the pharmacology is very interesting. I wonder if she perhaps knows. This thread is really provoking all sorts of interesting comments and knowledge. I am well chuffed.
I never knew i needed to grow comfrey before. found this--> Here ---> http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dspltr06.html
Thanks for that little bit of info, Wrennie. I was not happy to read that info, in terms of the apparent hepatotoxicity of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids that seem to be contained in the comfry plant. I do not think that eating this plant is at all advisable if the FDA's info can be believed. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids can cause serious liver disease, their symptoms can sometimes be seen within two weeks and sometimes longer. The pathology that these alcoloids cause to liver and other tissues are not to be taken lightly. Call me a scardy cat, but I would not take any chances with it. Palm Tree... please be careful.
I was so worried about this information that I just had to speak to our doctor. I must thank you all for this warning BUT I am also glad to report that I am actually allowed to eat some comfrey (though not a lot - only about four times a year) This is mainly because we have haemophilia in our family and comfrey is a natural haemostatic.
Where can one buy comfrey I would like to add some comfrey to my garden. Is there anyplace online that sells them?
comfrey as a skin product Does anyone know of any information, even folklore, about the use of comfrey to heal skin. I have a freind who swears it cured some lesions on her grandmother's legs in tea form, used as a soak. I'd like to try some method on a pervasive subcutaneous (under the skin)cyst I have that doctors have never been able to diagnose, treat or cure. But I wouldn't know where to start....a tea, a poltice, juiced leaves?? Application times? Any thoughts or info appreciated!
Safety of Comfrey In regards to the older post by Wrennie about the FDA warning on Comfrey....I wouldn't worry much about anything the FDA says. The FDA is not here to protect your health. The FDA is paid off by companies like Monsanto to protect THEIR interests, not yours. Interestingly, after targeting Comfrey, they are now starting to target Stevia....a beautiful natural sweetner. And why? Monsanto wants to protect it's poisonous Asperatame. So they are trying to get Stevia to be labeled dangerous. I have gotten to the point where I don't trust anything the FDA says.
Constituents in comfrey are: Mucilage; allantoin (to 0.8%); tannic acid; resin; traces of alkaloids comprising consoilidine and symphyto-cynoglossine (BOY! If that ain't a tongue-twister!); sugars; essential oil; choline. The cell proliferant action is due to the allantoin content. Certain strains of the plant contain almost 35% total protein, which is the same percentage as that of soya beans and 10% more than Cheddar Cheese. Attemps, however, to extract the protien in a form suitable for human consumption and to develope the plant as a food source in underdeveloped countries have so far been unsuccessful. Despite containing harmful-to-humans carcenogens, comfrey is used as an important animal feed in some parts of the world. I, personally, would NOT recommend anyone taking the herb internally, keep its usage to EXTERNAL ONLY!! Use its leaves in the garden, mulch pile, or in a "tea" for plants; for bug bites; bruising and helping with the healing process of broken bones (hence its nickname "knitbone").
Comfrey is amazing, I sometimes use comfrey or nettle juice instead of tea. I harvest the leaves and chop them up small and but them in a bucket, I add a cup or 2 of water and put a rock on top. After a few hours, I will come back and get another bucket and put an old t-shirt on it and then pour the comfrey leaves on to it. I then gather the t-shirt into a ball and squeeze out as much juice as as possible, I dilute the mix 20 to 1 and water my plants with it. To make a useful lotion with the roots, I get the roots, wash them and grate them and put them into a pestle and mortar, then I add some olive oil and work it in with the pestle and mortar, afterwards can apply directly to a painful bruise or bone damage and wrap up with a bandage if needed. You can also filter it, so that you have a lotion. Change the bandage every 3 days and your broken bone will knit very quickly. Never use it on an infected cut. We use the tall Comfrey with the blue purple flowers that we call Russian comfrey. There is also a wild comfrey here that is smaller and has yellow flowers.
You need to read the report that the "gooberment" uses to claim the "toxicity" of comfrey...researchers used concentrated and extremely high amounts of extracted alkaloids on rats, causing tumors. Amounts that would take a person ingesting comfrey to have to take in ridiculously enormous amounts of the plant to receive the dangerous amounts of the alkaloids. It's another "scare tactic" because comfrey is better than anything they have. I eat comfrey 2-4 times a week in my omelets, drink the tea, etc and have for several years. I take no modern pharmaceuticals, not even an aspirin, and I have no health problems at 50 years of age. People have got to learn that the Creator made things (plants) that work better than things (chemical pharmaceuticals) that man can make. Do as you wish....but I will continue with what I know works.
Thanks for placing your comments on this thread, Odif and DeepWoods. Comfrey is such a good plant to use in the garden...I hope that others will try it. It is so inexpensive and yet so good for the plants.
S, instead of making a stinky fertilizer can I just use the leaves and mulch my tomatoes under the plastic I use as a ground cover when planting? how many leaves would be safe to use? or is the number unimportant when using them as mulch instead of a liquid fertilizer? I have a small patch just getting ready to flower I just noticed.
