Comfrey oil, derived from the comfrey plant, is used in creams and teas for its healing properties. It can relieve pain and promote rapid healing, but large amounts may have carcinogenic effects on the liver. Its use is recommended to be limited to topical applications.
Comfrey oil is a natural, plant-based oil derived from the comfrey plant, a widely cultivated perennial herb that has been cultivated since at least the ancient Roman and Greek period for its medicinal properties. The oil can be derived from several related species of the comfrey plant, including Symphytum officinale and Symphytum asperum, but the most commonly used variety as of 2011 is a hybrid plant based on the parent plants of these two strains, known as Symphytum uplandicum. While comfrey herb can be used in its natural state, it is usually steeped in a hot liquid to extract its essential qualities. Therefore, it is often an ingredient in other beneficial oils such as olive oil or almond oil, where these blends are called macerated oils due to the addition of beneficial herbs.
Traditional medicinal uses for comfrey have focused on turning the plant into creams and teas, as it is considered a healing salve and ingredient for treating broken bones or skin damage. Other benefits of comfrey oil include that it can relieve pain from degenerative conditions like arthritis and osteoarthritis, as well as irritation caused by insect bites. Comfrey cream does this by the presence of a compound called allantoin that has shown an ability to stimulate cell production in the body. Comfrey oil is also often blended with antibacterial compounds so that it promotes rapid healing of skin damage, while bacteria are not trapped below the surface where they can continue to grow.
Among the major drawbacks to the use of comfrey oil is the potential for it to have carcinogenic effects on the human liver in large amounts, as shown in laboratory research during the 1970s. Side effects of comfrey are based on the pyrrolizidine alkaloid compounds contained in its leaves, although these carcinogenic effects have only been confirmed in rats fed a diet consisting of 33% comfrey leaves alone. Research involving the use of the whole plant has shown contraindications of liver benefits, and macerated vinegar made from the whole comfrey plant is often used in Japan to treat cirrhosis. It is estimated that for a human to simulate the dietary conditions of the rats in the research, an average person would need to consume three to four cups (700 to 950 ml) of comfrey oil-based tea daily for 140 years.
Since comfrey oil has the potential for negative side effects, many natural medicine practitioners recommend that its use be limited to comfrey cream and lotions that are applied topically. It also has the potential to cause allergic reactions in some people and long-term use is not recommended. Despite these findings, however, comfrey oil has been used for centuries as a native plant in Europe. The plant grows best in damp, grassy fields, so it is most commonly found in the wild in regions of Ireland and the United Kingdom, such as along partly shaded river banks, although the common name Symphytum uplandicum is Russian comfrey.
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