Comfrey Leaves 100g, 50 g, 25 g

Comfrey Leaves – 100 g ($14.99), 50 g ($9.99), 25 g ($6.99)

Also available as an oil.
Comfrey Oil: https://www.herbscrafters.com/shop/oils/comfrey-oil/

Also available as a salve.
Comfrey Salve: https://www.herbscrafters.com/shop/salves/comfrey-salve-60-ml-2-oz/ ‎

Benefits:
Comfrey relieves pain and inflammation caused by injuries and degeneration, especially the symptoms of muscular skeletal disorders. Anticancer activity has been demonstrated for comfrey in cell lines. It can also be used for bruises and sprains and to promote bone healing. In folk medicine, the root was used for rheumatism, pleuritis, and as an anti-diarrheal agent.

Inflammation. Comfrey has been studied for use in musculoskeletal disorders. In one study, people with rheumatism were treated with a pyrrolizidine alkaloid–free ointment for four weeks. Not all subjects experienced improvements and it seemed to depend on the specific diagnosis. Comfrey seemed to work best on muscle pain (myalgia) and not as well on osteoarthritis-associated pain. Pain and functional complaints improved for all, but again the muscle pain group saw more improvement. The benefits were noted within four hours, so comfrey should be applied three times a day.

Pain. Comfrey is used a pain reliever. In one study, an extract of comfrey root ointment was applied to the knees of patients with osteoarthritis for three weeks and their pain was significantly reduced during rest and movement. In another study, an ointment was applied to unilateral ankle sprains. The treated group had less swelling and pain, and improved mobility compared to a placebo group. The participants who received the ointment used it four times a day for eight days.

Skin problems and injuries. Comfrey relieves pain and speeds healing of pus-filled wounds, and accelerates tissue healing in cases of insect bite. It treats skin tags and common, flat, and filiform warts. In addition, comfrey stops reddening and irritation of the skin around wrinkles. Comfrey’s astringent tannins form a protective surface over wounds that promotes healing. This herb contains allantoin, a compound that helps stimulate the growth of new cells. It aids healing through cell proliferation.

 

Recommended Uses</strong
The preferred way to use comfrey is as a salve or cream. It can also be used in poultices. You should avoid letting the cream come into contact with unaffected skin and wash your skin after application, as allantoin may be irritating.

Comfrey leaf tea can be taken with calendula to alleviate gastritis. Compounding pharmacists can make this combination. Do not use comfrey pepsin tablets, as these are significantly more risky than comfrey tea. Comfrey root should never be taken internally. Comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which have been linked to liver and lung cancers, among other disorders, but the root is much more toxic than the leaf. Therefore, you should not use comfrey internally if you have liver disease or cancer, or if you regularly consume alcohol. In animal studies, comfrey has been shown to induce liver cancer.

As a further precaution against toxicity, do not use comfrey if you are taking antibiotics, prescription medication for yeast infections, fluoxetine (Prozac), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune, SangCya), cholesterol-lowering medications, calcium channel blockers for high blood pressure, or steroids in any form. These medications compete for a liver enzyme that is necessary to neutralize any toxic compounds that may be ingested with comfrey. Do not use orally for more than four to six weeks a year.

Applied to the skin as a cream, comfrey is nontoxic. The cream should be 5 – 20 % of the dried herb. Daily doses should not exceed 100 micrograms of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Comfrey should not be used on babies or during pregnancy.

Botanical Name: Symphytum officinale L
English: Comfrey, Knitbone
Also, known as: Grande consoude, Reinweld, Consolide maggiore, Gum Plant, Healing Herb, Knit Bone,
Nipbone, Knitbone, Knitback, Blackwort, Bruise- wort, Ass Ear, Sankuutan, Black Root, Blackwort, Bruisewort, Common Comfrey, Consound, Consoude, Consuelda, Grande Consoude, Herbe à la Coupure, Langue-de-Vache, Oreille d’Ane, Salsify, and Wallwort
Habitat: Europe and Asia
Origin: Hungary
Harvested: Wild or Cultivated
Part used: Leaves

General Information:
Symphytum officinale a large, coarse, tuberous-rooted, clumping perennial that is primarily grown today as an ornamental for its attractive foliage and spring flowers. Comfrey is an herbaceous perennial with a stout spreading root, brownish-black and wrinkled, the stem about 1-3 feet high and large, spread 0.75-3 feet, coarsely hairy, egg to lance-shaped leaves, with wavy edges. Large, pointed, hairy, ovate-lanceolate, dark green basal leaves grow to 8″ long. Upper leaves are decurrent and much smaller than the basal ones. Mature stems are winged. Tubular, bluebell like, white to pink to purple flowers appear in drooping clusters in mid-spring to early summer.

The plant is erect in habit and rough and hairy all over. There is a branched rootstock, the roots are fibrous and fleshy, spindle-shaped, an inch or less in diameter and up to a foot long, smooth, and internally white, fleshy and juicy. The lower, radical leaves are very large, up to 10 inches long, ovate in shape and covered with rough hairs that promote itching when touched.

Comfrey has been cultivated since 400 BC as a healing herb. Immigrants first brought the plant to America in the 1600s for medicinal use. Over time, comfrey has naturalized along roadsides and in waste areas throughout much of the U.S. Comfrey was once commonly called Knitbone because of its amazing ability to heal broken bones and “knit” them back together again. The botanical name, Symphytum, means “to unite.”

Some controversy still exists regarding internal use, the plants are now generally considered by most experts to be unsafe and dangerous for ingestion.

 

How to use:
We make these suggestions to help you get the best benefit from the herbs that you’re choosing to improve your health. Also we make these ideas and recommendations so that consuming them easier and better fit into your lifestyle by adding them to the food that you already eat.
For the full health benefit, it is best to consume (or use the whole herb in poultices) the whole herb. All of the compounds in the herb act best together, as nature intends. Extracts draw out the most prominent beneficial compounds and may concentrate them. What is not extracted can be helpful in ways that we do not yet understand.

FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY

Cut Pieces or Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use cut pieces or powdered herb.
Food Preparation: You can add powdered or pieces of herb (if the pieces you buy are bigger than you like, a coffee or herb grinder will quickly reduce) to any yogurt, smoothie, apple or other sauces, spreads, salads or other foods more familiar to you that don’t use heat. Heat can be damaging to the beneficial compounds in the herb. Other options like oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pasta sauce, soup, cookies and anything else that fits your lifestyle, but minimizing (by adding near the end of cooking) the heat is helpful.
Also, for children, you can mix powdered herb with honey or glycerin to make paste. The thicker the paste, the more potent and herbal in taste. The sweet taste of honey and glycerin will help medicine go down. The resulting liquid is called an electuary.
For seeds in general, but especially small seeds, it’s best to grind these to break the protective hulls a short time before consumption. This makes all the benefits available, rather than some remaining locked inside the hulls that are unbroken by insufficient chewing.
To make adding herbs even easier, you could add a week’s worth of your chosen herb(s) to an amount of, for example, yogurt that you would eat in a week. Mix thoroughly and eat this each day of the week. So you make once /week and just eat each other day.
Hot Infusion: The basic method for dried herbs and flower is, take 2-3 tablespoons of dried herb in a cup or teapot. Pour hot water over it and cover it with lid for 10-30 minutes. The heat from making tea can degrade some of the beneficial compounds in the herb. This method minimizes this effect. For the full health benefit, it is recommended to consume what is left over after making tea.
Decoctions: Decoctions are suitable for roots, barks, large seeds & berries, and other dense material. The simple way to make decoction is, in a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon of dried herbs to 1 cup of water, Bring the water to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-60 minutes with the pot covered. Squeeze out as much as liquid as possible. Best practice is to drink the liquid and also consume the solid material that remains. Herb pieces can also be used.
Powdered Herb:
There are different ways to use powdered herb.
Capsules: HerbsCrafters makes capsules guaranteed to be filled with the pure herb with no filler or any other products. You can also use powdered herb to make your own capsules at home. These capsules are best taken with liquid to aid in digestion and absorption and to ensure it doesn’t stick in your throat.
Poultice: Poultice can be made with an herbal powder and liquid (mostly water) to form a paste which is then applied to the skin. This method is very helpful for skin conditions.
Herbal shot: Powdered herb can be mixed with water, fruit juice or other liquid to make herbal shot.

Tips:
You can sweeten your herbal decoctions with bit of honey, natural fruit juice, stevia leaves powder or licorice root powder.

Precautions:
You should consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using any herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.
All information on this website is for educational purpose ONLY.
This information has not been evaluated by Health Canada.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.