Comfrey Salve: Healing Herbal Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What should you not do with comfrey? ›

Modern scientific studies have found some evidence to support comfrey's use in treating minor wounds and joint pain, but oral preparations of the plant have also been linked to liver damage and cancer. You should never take comfrey by mouth. You should also avoid using it on open wounds.

Researchers have found it does seem to reduce pain in some conditions, including back pain, osteoarthritis, and ankle sprains. However, comfrey can also contain toxic substances called pyrrolizidine alkaloids that cause liver damage, cancer, and death.

Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) as a cream containing 1% of the herb, to help heal wounds. Chamomile (Matricaria recutita or Chamaemelum nobile), as an ointment or cream, to help heal wounds. Echinacea or coneflower (Echinacea spp.) as a gel or ointment containing 15% of the juice of the herb.

For arthritis relief, try creating a poultice of comfrey with pain-relieving essential oils such as peppermint oil and applying it to the painful areas two to three times a day. Please note: comfrey should only be used topically up to 10 consecutive days, in order to avoid bioaccumulation.

You can make this by combining eight tablespoons of olive oil and eight of coconut oil in a pan on a low heat. Then add the comfrey as directed in step 2. Once the mixture has been strained, return to the pan on a low heat and melt in four tablespoons of beeswax pellets.

Topical creams containing comfrey root extract have most often been applied to the skin by adults for up to 3 weeks. Don't apply comfrey products to broken skin or use large amounts on the skin, long-term. The poisonous chemicals in comfrey can be absorbed through the skin.

In the 1980s scientists discovered that comfrey, used for centuries externally to heal wounds and internally to soothe inflamed mucous membranes, contains chemicals called pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can cause serious liver damage -- a finding noted by the FDA in 1993.

The medicinal uses of comfrey have become controversial since the identification of its pyrrolizidine alkaloids-content, substances known for their toxicity in humans. Consequently, numerous toxicity studies of comfrey have been carried out, but the latter are regarded as inconclusive.

A herbal practitioner survey of the external use of comfrey in the United Kingdom indicated that comfrey is rated most effective for fractures, wounds, post-surgery healing, and problems with tendon, ligament, and muscle; while it is less effective for treating boils, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins (Frost et al., 2014 ...

Description: Comfrey is a plant that has been renowned for its healing properties for centuries. Comfrey promotes the growth of new skin cells and helps to increase the resilience of sensitive skin. This oil is produced by steeping Comrey in Sunflower oil for a period before removing the plant matter.

How do you make salve from fresh comfrey? ›

You can make this by combining eight tablespoons of olive oil and eight of coconut oil in a pan on a low heat. Then add the comfrey as directed in step 2. Once the mixture has been strained, return to the pan on a low heat and melt in four tablespoons of beeswax pellets.

There's Russian comfrey, Symphytum x uplandicum, which is said to make the best compost and fertiliser. Isabel Shippard recommends the hybrid species Symphytum uplandicum x peregrinum, as being the most beneficial for human use, as it is free of the problematic alkaloids mentioned below.