Comfrey plant has been recorded as a medicine since the ancient Greeks and Romans used an ointment from it to heal wounds and a medicine to cure ulcers. There are various ideas as to where the modem name originated, perhaps from the Latin confervere meaning to knit together. The botanical name for comfrey herb comes from the Greek sumphuo, to unite. There has never been any doubt about the healing powers.
The active principle in comfrey plant is allantoin which, according to the Extra Pharmacopoeia of Martindale is said to be a cell proliferate and healing agent stimulating healthy tissue formation; Comfrey herb has been used in the treatment of gastric ulcer, and it is an ingredient of some skin preparations.
Comfrey is a very good source of the antioxidant germanium, containing an impressive 150 parts per million. Comfrey plant is the second most common food source of germanium, the best source being garlic.
The Russian comfrey plant, which is used as a crop and as a fine source of compost as well as being nutritionally good, stands three feet high; the wild comfrey, Symphytum officinal, is lower, but can be used instead. There is a famous Bavarian recipe which uses the comfrey leaves on stalks, dipped in an egg and flour batter and deep fried; or the plant can be cooked like spinach.
As a juice comfrey plant is used for its valuable vitamin content and in cases of ulcers, fractures and wounds. Young roots may be added to leaves when juicing. Comfrey takes many years to grow from seed, but can be easily propagated from root cuttings.
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