Comfrey
Health Benefits

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Comfrey: The Comforting Herb

| Modified on May 16, 2024
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Comfrey Health Benefits and Side Effects

Comfrey is a perennial plant that grows profusely with little care. In fact, it can be downright difficult to eradicate if you wish to remove it. A tiny piece of root will yield a new plant in no time. Comfrey is an herb that brings soothing comfort to a variety of conditions through its anti-inflammatory action. Additionally, comfrey in a nutritious herb that promotes cell regeneration, slows bleeding, and speeds bone healing.

1. Digestion

Comfrey has a soothing and regulating effect on the digestive system. When the leaves are cooked and consumed liked spinach or added to a smoothie, constipation is relieved. Comfrey made into a tea can relieve diarrhea or irritation in the digestive tract.

Comfrey salve is wonderful for hemorrhoids.

2. Skin

Comfrey speeds the process of cell regeneration, making it a superior healer to burns and wounds. Fresh leaves can be bruised, scalded and cooled to apply to skin that is damaged. Dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema can all benefit from comfrey. Comfrey salve is another alternative for topical use.

Comfrey should NOT be used on deep or puncture wounds. It can cause the outer layers of tissue to form before the deeper layers, increasing the risk of infection. Consider raw honey for deep wounds.

3. Skeletal System

Not only does comfrey benefit the outside structure of the body, it is healing to the entire skeletal system. Comfrey is nutritive to the joints and bones. Comfrey is used to speed the healing of broken bones. In fact, comfrey is sometimes called, “knitbone.” Comfrey also benefits joints, muscles and ligaments. Its mucilage properties are especially helpful for the joints.

Comfrey is used for acute and chronic structural issues. Not only do breaks, sprains, and strains respond well to comfrey, more chronic issues like arthritis, sciatica, and osteoporosis benefit from comfrey use.

4. Lungs

If its usefulness to the skin, bones and digestion were not enough, Comfrey is also indicated for lung issues including coughing, pertussis, emphysema, asthma and bronchitis. It has expectorant properties and again, its mucilage content makes it a great soother to the lungs.

5. How to Use Comfrey

Fresh or dried comfrey can be used. If you are able to have a comfrey plant you will always be finding new ways to use this plant. But dried comfrey can be used with success as well.

Comfrey Tea

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to use comfrey is in a tea. It has a mild flavor. Hot comfrey tea is wonderful for a cough, especially with a bit of raw honey.

Comfrey tea can be taken internally or it can be used topically on any external inflammations.

If you pour comfrey tea onto sanitary pads, freeze them, and use them instead of regular sanitary pads in days following childbirth, postpartum mothers will experience pain relief and quick healing.

Comfrey Tincture

Comfrey tincture is an easy way to benefit from comfrey. Comfrey tincture can be applied to old wounds or taken internally for lung issues. For other issues, teas, salves and smoothies tend to be superior ways to benefit from comfrey.

Comfrey Salve

Once you have comfrey salve in your house, you will wonder how you lived without it. It will be used constantly for scratches, scrapes, wounds, burns, hemorrhoids, eczema, dry lips and poison ivy.

Comfrey Salve is not difficult to make.

Add ½ cup dry comfrey leaves to a jar. Pour olive oil over the leaves to cover and a little more. (Oil should be ½ -1 inch above the leaves.) Stir the oil and leaves daily for 2 weeks. Use an old t-shirt to strain out the leaves. Heat the oil in a double boiler. For every 4 ounces of comfrey oil, melt in1 Tablespoon of beeswax. Pour the salve into a clean jar. Cool. Enjoy!

Cooked Comfrey

Comfrey leaves can be cooked like spinach. Wash and chop the leaves and steam them or saute them in some coconut oil. Add salt and a dash of hot sauce or vinegar.

Comfrey Smoothie

Comfrey blends beautifully into a smoothie. Its flavor is not strong and can be enjoyed a number of different ways.

Comfrey Cautions

While comfrey is a folk remedy that is still commonly recommended by herbalists, some scientists are concerned about the safety of comfrey, believing it to be harmful to the liver. You should do your own research and use wisdom and common sense about the use of any herbs. A natural practitioner will be able to help you understand any specific concerns about comfrey use for your own situation.

Have you tried comfrey for healing? Please send us some feedback!

Sources:

Fritchey, Philip, Practial Herbalism, 2004

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Acne, Scars, Wounds

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Posted by Heidi (Narvon, Pa) on 09/15/2014
 ★★★★★

I've been using comfrey for my acne. It works wonders!!!! It also takes away scarring also! It works wonders...but just a little hint...fresh is always better tho the dried comfrey works also. Another story:

My sister's neck was really scraped up and brush-burned really bad and looked terrible...she was screamingcrying a lot! I put a crushed, fresh comfrey leaf on.. and in seconds she calmed down and was relaxed!!! The next morning it didn't look half as bad!!!!!! Thank God for healing herbs :) :)

Ankle Sprains

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Posted by JoCarol (United States) on 04/10/2019
 ★★★★★

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I had an individual sprain his ankle really bad, it had a huge knot on the side of the ankle and was swelled up the side of the leg. I sent him home with some dried comfrey and told him to make a large kettle of comfrey tea and add some apple cider vinegar. By the end of the evening the swelling was almost all gone. And the next day the swelling was all gone and he could walk on it with no pain, as if nothing had happened.

Replied by Marchalle
(Amsterdam)
04/22/2019

Hi JoCarol, Thank you for your post. Can you please give more details. Was this remedy applied topically or taken as a tonic? I'm guessing a tonic, but can you please specify if internal tonic, how much was drunk and how often (1 cup every hour for example)? Thank you.

JoCarol
(Idaho)
03/21/2020
★★★★★

I'm sorry I did not see your post. We just put about a cup in a large kettle and make a tea and he soaked his foot in it. And would do that throughout the day with the same tea just rewarmed it up each time.

Bed Sores

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Posted by Radiance (WA) on 04/22/2022
 ★★★★★

Please, please, for your safety and your readers, remove the comfrey tea! Comfrey, when taken internally damages the liver! It is only to be used topically. I have studied herbs and particularly Comfrey for over 55 years. I make my own comfrey salve every year from my home grown Comfrey plants. Last year, my Comfrey salve completely healed my stage 1 bedsore in one week! Please advise your readers --- don't take Comfrey internally. Do your own research also and let me know what you find out about taking it internally. I do love your website.
Thank You, Thank You, Radiance Swan

Replied by Michael
(New Zealand)
04/23/2022

Radiance (WA), I broadly concur regarding your comments concerning Comfrey!

It always worried me to read that people were advocating taking Comfrey internally, as I had often read that it had the POTENTIAL to possibly damage the liver. As my dearly beloved Aunt would say, "You Have Been Warned!! ".

It's not difficult to do the research on this one but I can see why people get confused! Both my (library) books on Herbs, Spices and Folk Remedies that date from a few decades ago(! ) see no problem with making a tea out of the leaves.

HOWEVER, Asa Hershoff N.D.and Andrea Rotelli N.D. in their more recent publication, "Herbal Remedies"(Avery: 2001), caution that prolonged use is contraindicated. They would also prefer that only the leaf of the American Comfrey variety be used rather than the roots and even suggest not utilizing external ointments for longer than one month. There are other cautions they mention - one really ought to do one's OWN research before diving into the deep end on this one!

Apparently, in most commercially produced preparations, the suspected, implicated alkaloids have been carefully removed but who knows?

I use Comfrey leaves in my compost heap, as, along with seaweed, it is supposed to be a beneficial activator for the workings of the compost heap and, as you folks already know: "The Answer lies in the Soil". I harvest the leaves before I cut the flowers off and this also serves to help stop it spreading, which it would otherwise have a strong tendency to do.

Cheers from Down Under

Replied by Mama to Many
(TN)
04/23/2022
★★★★★

Editor's Choice Dear Radiance Swan,

As Paracelsus said, "The dose makes the poison."

There are quite a few controversial remedies discussed on this website that are difficult to find discussed in other places. Borax, for example. I am thankful that there is a place to discuss and learn about their uses even when various organizations might villainize or ban them.

In his tome, "Medical Herbalism, " David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG says, "Long-term studies with rats have demonstrated that the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in comfrey are hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic...The herb must therefore be recognized as a potentially genotoxic carcinogen in man. However, the risk of genetic damage from these PAs appears to be low...To minimize potential risk, lengthy internal use is to be discouraged." He does go on to describe ways to use it internally.

I have found that many herbalists seem to agree with this approach. Few seem to be inclined to completely ban internal use (except for the root, which is generally considered to be used only externally.)

Recently I used fresh comfrey leaves internally when I had a suspected ulcer (from a prescription I was taking.) I felt that the risk of using comfrey internally was probably less than the risk from another prescription. And all ulcer symptoms did resolve in short order.

I would hate to see the feedback about the internal uses erased from this site, as that would reduce our power as consumers to make our decisions about the remedies we use. And the article that mentions comfrey tea does state, "While comfrey is a folk remedy that is still commonly recommended by herbalists, some scientists are concerned about the safety of comfrey, believing it to be harmful to the liver. You should do your own research and use wisdom and common sense about the use of any herbs. A natural practitioner will be able to help you understand any specific concerns about comfrey use for your own situation."

Definitely everyone should do their own research about what works best for them. No one should use a remedy that they are uncomfortable with.

~Mama to Many~

Replied by Karen Z
(Australia)
10/31/2022

That is rubbish about it being toxic to the liver. I have many of the old books on comphrey/comfrey (Laurence Hills and Doubleday publishing and other authors) and they state unequivocally that comfrey was used internally and externally with NIL issues for both humans and animals. In fact, animals THRIVE on it.

The "science" denigrating comfrey is fake and like many herbs, the medico/pharma junta set out to discredit anything that they can't make money from (ie cheap and effective herbs).

Please DO some REAL research and find out the truth and stop being a mindless repeating station for bunkum that that Big Pharma want you to keep repeating and scare people off.

There are enough people, including myself who eat, drink and have in smoothies. I grow it and make comphrey oil and give it to people to injure themselves or have skin issues and it HEALS.

There is NO ISSUE with ingesting the stuff. If you want to be scared off, you will. If you want to do some actual research (and get behind the smokescreen they have generated - and I have discovered that also includes the "prestigious" Australian CSIRO (which has also a reputation for killing off Peter Andrews wonderful work on regenerating farmland so water is attracted to it)).

You have to really drill into the historical documents to find the truth. I believe the CSIRO scientist who did the research (finding "so many more alkalysing pyrroloids" than ever before) was put up to it, to kill people's faith in this remedy.

My advice: If you are sick, try it. It will NOT kill you. You are more likely to be cured more than anything else.

Yes I have Honours in Biochemistry, and I research until I get to the truth.

I suggest the people squarking about the "liver damage" danger, do likewise.

Go back to Lawrence Hills' well researched work. It isn't easy to find but there are pdf versions if you hunt them up.

Take it and get healed and avoid the medical/pharma juganaut that is NOT for your health. They just want to empty your bank account into theirs.

Cindy
(Illinois, USA)
05/08/2024
524 posts

I guess apples and cherries will be next. After all, if you extract and concentrate the cyanide in them and other produce, then inject that concentrated extract into rats at rates that would require a rat to eat 10 truckloads of apples or cherries, guess what's going to happen.

If comfrey was dangerous, man would have died out millennia ago, when the hunters and gatherers parted ways.

Bone Fractures

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Sent to Earth Clinic in 2002 by Cloe Jazwinski of Los Angeles, CA. Cloe knows a thing or two about healing a bone fracture. Cloe is a 2nd Dan black belt in karate who has used comfrey salves to heal two bone fractures.

She writes, "Comfrey is one of the most well-known healing plants, especially for its ability to heal tissue and bone (due to its allantoin content, which promotes the growth of connective tissue, bone, and cartilage, and is easily absorbed through the skin). Besides broken bones, these externally poulticed leaves and roots are also used for cuts, bruises and sprains."

Recipe: Comfrey is best used fresh and simmered. Use the sticky paste to make a compress and attach it with an elastic bandage. Use every night. This will speed the healing of the fracture dramatically.

To heal her fractures, every night Cloe would grind several tablespoons of comfrey with a mortar and would bring it to a boil with a few spoons of water. She then would make a paste out of it, spread the paste on a cotton cloth, wrap it around her arm, and put elastic bands or safety pins in to secure it. Even though she had 2 fractures, Cloe decided not to wear a cast but a sling, which is why she could take off the sling at night.

Writes Cloe, "The feeling of that compress was heavenly. Even though everyone said I'd always know where my arm was broken (rain and humidity brings back the pain for the rest of your life), I never felt it and I attribute that to the comfrey compress routine. It's known to heal wounds extremely fast as well (I use a pre-made ointment of comfrey and aloe on scratches and minor wounds and they disappear overnight). I see comfrey as the crazy glue of broken bones and skin..."

Comfrey Caveats:

Not recommended for internal use as there is some controversy about carcinogenic effects. The controversy around the use of this plant concerns its pyrrolizidine alkaloid components, which are considered carcinogenic to the liver; however, these studies have been performed on rats that were fed up to 33% of their diet in comfrey leaf. Studies done with the whole plant (rather than with isolated constituents) do not show carcinogenic effects but rather the opposite. In fact, the Japanese use comfrey vinegar extracts for treating cirrhosis of the liver.

Broken Bones

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Posted by HisJewel (New York) on 10/04/2021
 ★★★★★

Greetings Mama to Many and EC,

Mama to Many you asked me to report back and post how well the bottled comfrey extract helped and here it is. This is an update on my fall in front of Penn Station in New York in early June. It is now four months later.

I used two different companies, one with alcohol and one without alcohol. I rubbed the wrist and hand with comfrey several times of day to hasten the healing my wrist which was complicated by my senior plus pre-diabetic physical conditions. I did the above lavishly for about a month until the pain began to subside.

The x-ray revealed that my bone was fractured in two places. The Comfrey Extract relieved the pain in the early healing process. As my wrist started to heal, I would forget it was sprained because of the lack of pain. Sometimes I put too heavy a load on that hand in the spur moment without thought.

One such moment I thought I smelled smoke in the middle of the night during a visit with my aunt. Quickly as I pushed up (my knees need help) I seemed to have stretched the ligaments in my wrist in that hand, the pain was so great. After that nothing helped to move the pain, however I continued to use the comfrey a while longer. Soon read about Silica and Horsetail to help in mending the bone. I have been taking the Silica and Horsetail supplements for about two months. My wrist no longer feels detached from my hand. And there is hardly any pain except if I over use my hand. I sometimes I put the comfrey extract on at night if I have over use pain.

A new problem seems to have developed in my hand now. I can feel a bump or cysts under the skin. If you have any Idea how I can dissolve them it would be a great blessing. I will continue rubbing on castor oil. I have tried holding taping to it twice. I do need to be more consistent.

EC I would also like to mention my progress with my hair and nails. It may take a while before I find my post regarding hairballs and strange horizontal looking lines across my fingernails.

I posted how my hair started growing while taking supplements to resist COVID in early 2020.

After a while I was convinced it was the Lecithin that had started my hair growing and smoothed my nails out in early 2020. Outside of the virus prevention supplements, I was also taking some other things like the Lecithin and Bamboo. Bamboo is a Silica supplement.

The hairballs which showed back up after I slowed down on the Covid supplements and other supplements have once again come to naught. No more hairballs! It's got to be the help of Silica.

https://www.hairguard.com/benefits-bamboo-extract/

Thank you very much,

HisJewel

Replied by Mama to Many
(TN)
10/04/2021

Dear Hisjewel,

Thank you for your thorough and helpful update! I will have to look into silica for my own hair!

I have used fresh comfrey in smoothies and even sauteed and made and used comfrey salve. But not the comfrey tincture. I need to make some! Would you happen to know if your comfrey extract was from comfrey leaf or root?

Love,

~Mama to Many~

Replied by HisJewel
(New York)
10/05/2021

Yes Mama to Many,

Both comfrey extracts were root. I used Herb Pharm dried root extract and Dr. Christopher's original formula root extract.

Much Appreciation,

HisJewel

Replied by HisJewel
(New York)
10/05/2021
★★★★★

O Mama,

I forgot to mention, My doctor had me up for hand surgery. I cancelled it because my wrist no longer feels detached from my hand, and I took note that my hand is regaining strength with the blessings that the Good Lord has provided for me to use.

HisJewel

Broken Bones
Posted by J (Jefferson, Texas) on 01/25/2018
 ★★★★★

Comfrey for the ankle. It's referred to as knit bone. It helped bone grow twice as fast after having hardware removed from my ankle. The Surgeon told me two weeks after surgery that the bone growth he saw in the x-rays was what he usually saw at one month. I took pain meds for one day after surgery, only. I started putting poultices on it the day of my surgery as soon as I returned home. Two weeks later I was cleared to ride my motorcycle. Comfrey is absolutely amazing!

Broken Bones
Posted by Julie (Melbourne, Australia) on 08/26/2014
 ★★★★★

Five months ago a friend was repairing his 2-ton trailer when the jockey wheel broke and the draw bar landed on his foot. After two trips to the hospital it was confirmed that he had indeed broken it. They placed his foot in a "boot" and told him to come back in a week as it was too swollen to place in a cast.

He called my husband and I and I told him about comfrey ointment. He was pretty stressed out and desperate as he and his wife had just sold their property and were packing up to leave in a few weeks. He decided to give it a try. He applied the cream three times a day for a week.

When he returned to the hospital he told the doctor he was healed. Of course she didn't believe him until she pressed, twisted and pushed on his foot without him uttering a sound.

She had another look at the x-ray and it definitely showed the broken bone.

Just over a week ago, a young friend had a fall off his motor bike and broke his collar bone. Of course I had to mentioned about the comfrey ointment and relayed the above testimony.

He was pretty excited and the next day, his fiance bought a jar from the chemist and he started to apply it to the area. I saw him two days ago and he said he was able to sleep and could move his arm up, down and around, without pain, whereas before the ends of the bones were touching and causing him great discomfort. He is yet to have his doctor's appointment, but judging by the progress so far, he won't be taking six weeks to heal.

Replied by Julie
(Melbourne, Australia)
09/21/2014
★★★★★

Update: My friend with the broken collar bone was healed in three weeks. He applied the cream, made from the plant root, three times a day.

After two weeks he told me that there were six breaks in the bone. The thought came to me that he may be a sugar consumer so I suggested he avoid sugar and soft drinks (soda). These acids cause leaching of calcium (alkaline) out of the bones as the body frantically tries to neutralize the increased acidity in the blood. The added loss of calcium from the bones, slows down the healing process. In addition, this causes them to be weak and prone to breaking or fracturing in the first place.

Replied by Rita
(Tampa, Florida)
09/27/2017

My mother is 87 years old. About 3 months ago she broke her neck vertebrae C2. The doctors said she is too old to go through the surgery and that she would have to wear a neck brace the rest of her life. The only time she doesn't have the neck brace on is when she's showering . So she basically where's it 24/7 . In your opinion, do you think the comfrey ointment would heal my moms neck? I suppose it's worth a try, it surely can't hurt.

Replied by Mama To Many
(Tn)
09/27/2017
★★★★★

Dear Rita

It would definitely be worth a try! I use comfrey all the time and absolutely love it.

You can guarantee a stronger ointment if you make it yourself. If you are interested in making it, I will share a recipe.

Bone broth would be a good addition to the diet to promote bone and joint healing as well.

~Mama to Many~

Replied by Faeqa
(Amman, Jordan)
09/27/2017
66 posts

Hi Rita, the best thing that I ever tried for broken bone is taking internally Mummia, mumia, or mūmiyā (in old Arabic books, where I read about it).

May be it is the synonym of Asphaltum, (Shilajit in an Indian Sanskrit)

Replied by Mary
(Arcadia, Ca)
09/27/2017

Dear Mama to Many,

Would love your recipe for your comfrey gel.

Thank you very much,

Blessings, Mary

Replied by Mama To Many
(Tn)
09/28/2017

Editor's Choice Dear Mary,

Here is how I make Comfrey Salve:

I usually use dried comfrey leaf from Mountain Rose Herbs.

Sometimes I used dried fresh comfrey leaf. (I always should since I have a comfrey plant but I get lazy.)

Fresh leaves, if you have access to them, can be cleaned and dried in an oven on very low heat. You want them dry but not completely brittle.

I fill a mason jar 2/3 full of comfrey leaves. I then cover that with oil until jar is 3/4 full. It can be all olive oil or almond oil. But I usually add in some castor oil since it is good for pain. (No more than 1/3 of it should be castor. It is pretty greasy and not sure if it extracts the comfrey as well as olive or almond.)

The leaves should be completely submerged in oil.

I allow this to sit for 2 weeks in a cool dry place. OR I put the closed jar on a washcloth (to prevent cracking) in a crock pot and fill the crock pot with water to just below the lid (you don't want water to seep into the mixture.) I put the crock pot on warm or low for 3-4 days. (Low if I will be around enough to keep refilling the water. If it goes dry you may crack the jar.)

After you have infused the oil with one of the above methods, use a square of a clean t shirt or sheet that you can part with. Use this square to strain out the oil into another jar. Squeeze as much oil out as you can. Toss spent herbs or compost or feed to chickens.

Now you have comfrey infused oil. You can use this oil as is. Or you can melt in beeswax to make a salve. I have done both.

To melt in beeswax, first weigh your oil, then use a double boiler and reheat the infused oil. For every 4 ounces (by weight) of oil, add 1 T. beeswax pastilles. (Little granules.) Melt them in and then pour your mixture into a jar or tin. I usually test before pouring by putting a bit in the freezer for a couple of minutes. If it is too soft, add more beesax. If too firm, add a little more olive oil.

You can add vitamin e or essential oils to but I rarely do that anymore unless I have a specific purpose in mind. These infused oils last a good while and I like the simplicity.

Comfrey salve oil is also amazing for skin rashes, burns, hemorrhoids, and chapped lips.

Enjoy!

~Mama to Many~

Cindy
(Illinois, USA)
05/08/2024
524 posts

The awesomeness of a real crock pot is that the bottom isn't heated.

If you have an old one, you can create distilled water, as needed. With the all glass lid, all you have to do is add water, float a bowl in it and put the lid on upside down. REMEMBERING to let it cool before you try to remove the bowl.

Recently burned my fingers making distilled water this way which is the cause of my renewed interest and deeper dive into comfrey, LOL! Which I'll be planting, as soon as the root cuttings arrive. I also bought seeds....and a root crown...going a bit overboard...but that's my "style"! ROFL!! Or, at least, that's my STORY - but I'm sticking to it!

Replied by Mary
(Arcadia, Ca)
09/29/2017

Mama to Many;

Thank you so much for your recipe. I truly appreciate it.

Blessings always,

Mary Martinez

Broken Bones
Posted by Romona (Olivet, Michigan) on 03/16/2009
 ★★★★★

My granddaughter broke her arm. It was a clean break so they just put a cast on. I ordered some comfrey capsules and had her take one twice a day. She continued her dance classes and did her recital with her cast on. When they removed the cast the doctor couldn't believe how fast she was healing. He said to her mother to keep doing what she was. So after the cast was removed she continued to give her the capsules and applied the salve on the arm around the broken area. It was many years ago and we all use it a lot. The kids are living in Florida now and I just sent 2 jars of salve to them in the mail. They were just about out and didn't want to be without because it works so well. Can't wait to tell them about eating it.

About a month ago I stubbed my toe very hard. I expected it to hurt bad, but nothing happened until a few hours later and then it started swelling and hurting real bad. Turned all black & blue. Before bed I couldn't take it anymore so I put some Comfrey salve on it and sprayed it with a pain killer spray that I had and slepted all night. I awoke in the morning with very little pain. It took a little while to heal but I believe that salve helped it to heal faster.

Romona

Broken Bones
Posted by Howard (Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201) on 12/21/2008
 ★★★★★

Ted from Bangkok correctly pointed out that allantoin is the active ingredient in comfrey. It is available on the Internet from companies like Majestic Mountain Sage. I'm not sure if it dissolves in water, but it can be stirred into water with no problem. I wouldn't suggest using DMSO as a solvent. When I broke my lower leg I simply applied the powder to the skin above the break, but the location isn't critical. Anything in contact with the skin is absorbed to some extent and is carried throughout the body. How much did I use? Whatever made me happy. There is no record of allantoin being toxic, and no recommended dose size for its use. I never had a cast because three different doctors failed to recognize a clean break in my left tibia as the cause of the swelling and pain in my leg. The swelling evidently served me well as a cast. I am a biological scientist but not a physician.

Replied by Howard
(Shawnee Mission, Kansas)
01/03/2009

The name Majestic Mountain Sage is correct. However, in reordering, I found that using Majestic Mountain Sage in a Google search produced a string of websites for other suppliers, none of which was Majestic Mountain Sage. The correct name for contacting Majestic Mountain Sage is thesage.com. Other suppliers of allantoin are primarily Chinese and European manufacturers seeking manufacturing contacts. None that I could find offered small qunatities of allantoin, If anyone knows of a source for allantoin USP (allantoin that meets the United States Pharmacopoeia standards) please post the information. Thanks.

Broken Bones
Posted by Ann (Union County, NJ) on 03/03/2007
 ★★★★★

I fractured my right fifth metacarpal the beginning of this month. I saw the orthopaedist and he set it with a cast. I used a tincture of comfrey acquired from the local healthfood store. I applied with a q-tip under the cast at the site of the fracture once or twice a day. I went back to the doc for my followup visit two weeks and two days after the injury, the doc kept asking, three times, "When did this injury had occur?" He could not believe how fast it had healed, he left the cast off and now I have a soft splint. Now I apply the comfrey tincture on a bandaid and leave it on overnight. I hope to be splint free when I go for my next two week checkup. Not bad for a 58 year old female.

Broken Bones
Posted by Donna (Ukaih, California)
★★★★★

I used a comfrey poultice on my granddaughter's arm and it healed so rapidly, the doctor was amazed. My 90 yr old mom just broke her arm and I'm using a comfrey compress. I'm told it will take 3 months or more for it to heal, so we'll see, but I have faith that it will heal much faster!!!

Broken Bones, Bruising

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Posted by Carol (OKC, U. S. A.) on 04/15/2007
 ★★★★★

...Comfrey compresses healed not only the deep bruising (in 3 days), resulting from a stubbed, broken toe but also, bone -- after all, the common name for comfrey is "knit bone". Raspberry tea healed my indigestion after I was forced to eat "junk food" for 3 days whilst staying with my husband's cousin.

Cartilage Damage, Scars

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Posted by Kitchen Witch (New York) on 07/05/2017
 ★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Comfrey leaf for cartilage repair

I have a lipoma and I heard comfrey leaf might help. I ordered some comfrey leaf plantain leaf tea from someone on etsy and comfrey leaf tablets and took them three times a day and drank a pot of tea daily. Well, it did nothing for my lipoma but I had an indented scar on the side tip of my nose that dug into my cartilage from a cancerous growth being removed. After two weeks it started filling in.

I've had this scar for four years, got injections used salves oils and creams and nothing a big hole in my nose. Now its almost filled in and I am shocked. Doctors said I would need an implant.

Chickens

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Posted by Mama To Many (Tn ) on 10/27/2016

I have a dozen or so laying hens and one very beautiful rooster. One of my hens hurt her foot and isn't bearing weight on it. She hops around pretty well though. What is really sweet is that my rooster is very protective of her and my son found him snuggled up with her under the chicken coop last evening!

I can't see any visible signs of trauma or break on her foot or leg. But obviously she has an injury. So I am putting fresh comfrey leaves out for all of my chickens to eat; it will be good for all of them and especially for my lame chicken. I will let you know how she does.

One picture below shows a chicken enjoying a comfrey leaf; the other is two of my sons holding the lame chicken after I checked out her foot.

~Mama to Many~



Replied by Zark
(Emerald City)
07/27/2017

How did it go? Hope your chicken bounced back :)

Replied by Mama To Many
(Tn)
07/27/2017
★★★★★

Dear Zark,

Thanks for checking!

I am happy to say I can't even tell which hen had the injury. The whole flock of them spend the day running around after bugs. (Hopefully they are eating a lot of ticks! )

~Mama to Many~

Comfrey Alternatives

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Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) 392 posts
 ★★★★★

You can get around the comfrey problem for internal use as comfrey's active ingredient is allantoin. What you need is to dissolve allantoin, which is not soluble in water. However, it is soluble in DMSO and this can help with fractures. You can mix about 100-5000 mg of allantoin to 2 cc of DMSO. Of course you should add water to 10-20 cc at which you can apply to the skin or drink for internal purposes. It has help some people heal fractures and this is one way to avoid poisonous alkaloids from comfrey. Some people added aloe vera extracts and oil to improve healing.

Dosages for DMSO mixed with comfrey on a per day basis is estimated to be about 10 drops per day based on mixture I mentioned. Please understand that use of DMSO will result in you getting garlic odor. You can reduce this if you halved your dosages or drinking diluted hydrogen peroxide will also help reduce the smell. The reason why it smells garlic is because your body is hungry for oxygen. What it does is it takes out the oxygen component from the DMSO to get DMS. Now if the water you drink is high in hydrogen peroxide (water with not over 0.5% food grade H2O2), then the oxygen will come from H2O2 component more readily, reducing the garlic smell somewhat. Of course you can try MSM which is an DMSO with one more oxygen, this will get rid of the problem and will also help with healing of fractures. Of course, MSM is not as good of solvent for allantoin as DMSO.


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