Comfrey

COMFREY (Symphytum officinale)

Digging through my grandmother’s attic after she died, I discovered a veritable treasure trove of information locked away in a trunk. Apparently my own interest in herbal medicine has a long history in my family, beginning with a great grandmother so many generations removed, I’ve no idea of how many "greats" would go in there. Angelika Schraeder kept journals on parchment paper, which look like stories she might have told to young apprentices or even her own children. They’re rather fascinating in herbal lore, although missing some of the scientific details of the herbs that we know today to have rather more dangerous properties.

For example, here is her entry on comfrey, an herb valued for its demulcent qualities. The internal use today is cautioned against strongly because of the potential for liver damage. I’ll let you read her entry, and then supplement it with the current warnings for use.

I first began learning of herbs and their medicinal qualities when I was about 8 years of age. My mother would often give me rather unusual instructions, making me privately wonder if she were not becoming just a bit daft. Invariably, I learned that she was the wisest of women, and I never forgot her lessons.

One of the first things I ever learned about comfrey had me fighting with the dogs to carry out my assignment. (Did I not tell you it sounds daft?) I was instructed to obtain a bone, dried, and fit only for the dogs; and then to gather from Cook small bits of meat that had become rancid, and unfit for consumption. Fortunately, it being early Spring, that last bit was not too difficult, for the hunting was scarce, and good meat without need of the lavish hand of the Cook’s spicing was almost non-existent. Mother then bade me to put the meat and bone into a pot, filled with water, and place it over the fire, as if cooking it. I did as I was told, wrinkling my nose at the horrid smell of the meat. I then ground the root of a comfrey plant mother had brought, and added it to the pot.


"Stir it once, child, and then attend me here. It will cook on its own," mother said. Knowing better than to ask the use of this exercise, or to question her judgment, I did as told, and went to the table in the center of the room. There in the middle were comfrey plants, in various stages of drying and preparation. "The whole plant is of medicinal use, but it must be used with care," mother said, as she began removing the leaves of one of the plants. "Take the dried root there, and grind it to a fine powder. We will be making a salve from that in a bit."

Dutifully, I began grinding the root, listening as my mother told me how to choose and prepare each part. "Once the flowers appear, and they will be either white, purple or blue, you may harvest the leaves of the plant, carefully removing them and hanging them upside down to dry. The piece of the root that you grind there was picked in the fall, cut into manageable pieces and dried on muslin. Do not let them dry to like a rock, but only when you feel no more moisture with your fingers. Then put them into a container, wrapped in a bit of muslin. You can also pick the roots in the Spring, before the leaves begin to appear. Wherever you find one plant, you will find many others, for comfrey is a hardy plant, and prone to multiply, as God wills. Take only those plants a bit taller than yourself, to be sure that it’s old enough."

Taking the ground root, with its earthy smell, my mother began mixing it with a cream she had prepared before. "Notice, child, that I put this into a container that will allow no air to mix with it. If ever you are traveling, and someone is injured with a broken bone, set the bone first. Mix some of the powder with water, thickened to a paste. Spread the paste onto muslin or thick cloth, and wrap it around the break, allowing it to dry. The cloth will dry into a hard mold, which will hold the break in place until you can get a proper birch bark mold onto it. For cuts that go deep, you’ll want to make sure to mix the comfrey much thinner, with marshmallow root, and licorice root, all powdered and made into a poultice.

The marshmallow will help the wound to grow back together, as will the comfrey, and the licorice root will cause the wound to relax, so that the spasms do not pain the person overmuch. If there is danger of blight, or heating sickness, you would do well to wash the wound first in a tisane of marigold flowers and include the root of goldenseal in your poultice. Watch the area around the cut for redness and heat. If that happens, you must wash the area in goldenseal tisane each time that you change the poultice."


"Now, go and retrieve the pot from the fire, child," my mother instructed me. Eager to find what had become of the spoiled meat and bone, I skipped to do her bidding, forgetting for a time that lasses of good breeding do not skip. Fortunately, mother overlooked my enthusiasm. As I set the pot on the table, I looked into the water, and saw nothing. Mother took a large wooden spoon, stirred it into the pot and removed a large hunk from the bottom. I was astounded! The meat had affixed itself to the bone, and each piece to the other, forming one big mass of rotted, and now cooked, flesh. I looked to my mother for an explanation.

"This, child, is why one must be very careful when using comfrey to heal wounds." She set the glob onto the table, and picked up a knife. "As you can see, all along the outer portions of this meat, it adheres to one another. Because there was no plan to form the meat back into the form from which it came, it merely clung together, however it formed." She began using the knife to cut into the area next to the bone, and it took all of her effort to rend it from the bone. "You see that the meat clings to the bone, stronger than it was before it was first removed. It is for this reason that you must be very, very careful to set the bone properly, when broken, and to fix the muscles into place before you apply the comfrey. If the comfrey is only along the outer edges, it will affix the flesh to the bone first, leaving space for a blight to set in inside. As well, you must clean the wound carefully, for you will not get a second chance." Knowing now why my mother had wanted me to see the mass of meat and bone, I looked at the root with more respect. My mother smiled impishly at me, and said, "Of course, you can always roast the roots, and mix it with dandelion and chicory root for that hot brew your father prefers, but it has a bitter taste that you might not like."

"What of the leaves, mother?" I asked her, having watched her wrap bundles of the leaves for hanging to dry. The leaves are hairy and the feel of them is slippery. "Well," mother began, "you can cut them small and add them to salads, but the tiny hairs on the leaves can be a bit much for your throat to swallow. There are two ways to use them in healing. The first is to make a tea of the leaves, to be drunk for ulcerations in the mouth or throat. It will sooth the soreness and heal the lesions. That same method can also help people who have difficulty in breathing, particularly during the spring season. ‘tis also useful for those who are overcome with fits of consumption, or who cough up blood. The leaves will help the inner body to heal itself."

"The second method is to use them in a manner similar to a root poultice, but for minor cuts, bruises and sprains. You can dry the leaves, make them into a tincture and add them to an ointment for speeding the healing process."

"Now, child, gather the mass that you boiled and bury it under the large oak tree outside -- the dogs have no use for spoiled meat, and I don’t wish to have to give them chamomile tea for an upset stomach later." So saying, mother began hanging the leaves to dry and put the comfrey that I had finished grinding into a container with a tight lid. It is always good to remember that work can be accomplished much more quickly when one is entertained with stories from which we can learn.

As we know today, the demulcent qualities of comfrey come from the healing agent contained therein called allantoin, which is known to promote granulation for the formation of epithelial (skin) cells, thus increasing the speed at which nature can heal a wound, internal irritation or broken bone. External use of comfrey root is not questioned for its effectiveness. However, because of excessive internal use in a few isolated cases, medical herbalists in the United Kingdom discovered through toxicity tests that a chemical constituent called pyrrolizidine alkaloid is present in large percentage. Internal injections at a high level were given to baby rats, causing liver cell abnormalities and tumors, although the majority of them were benign.

There has been a lot of discussion about the University of Minnesota attempting to grow comfrey plants that do not contain the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA’s), and I contacted the research unit who has conducted the tests. Although they tried many methods, they were still unable to make a significant difference in the level of PA’s.

As a result, while there are herbalists who will use comfrey internally, I must strongly caution against it, and advise you to find an alternative method to heal internal wounds.