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Jul 30 2016

Comfrey and Liver Damage

There are a number of cases of liver damage from taking Comfrey. This isn’t a theoretical issue.  Some people died. Some people had liver failure.

Can you use Comfrey internally responsibly for certain issues? Probably, depending on the person, the problem, the dosage, the length of time taken, the dosage form, preexisting conditions and more.

Should it be used daily for prevention or general health? The potential for harm exist. The disease it causes is hard to identify and probably under-reported. So I believe no, you shouldn’t use it daily or long term.

I have many more thoughts on Comfrey that I’ll be writing to accompany the studies. For now, it seems like access to the full text of studies on Comfrey are more important. So here you go.

 

 

Symphytum uplandicum

PA in Comfrey

PAs in plants including multiple species of comfrey

Structure and toxicity of the alkaloids of Russian comfrey (Symphytum uplandicum Nyman), a medicinal herb

comfrey PAs

 

Symphytum officinale

Determination of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Commercial Comfrey Products Analysis of herbal teas made from the leaves of comfrey

Analysis of herbal teas made from the leaves of comfrey

Diversity of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in the Boraginaceae

Comfrey Toxicity Revisted Rhode

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in human diet

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in medicinal plants from North America

 

Veno-occlusive Disease 

Veno-occlusive disease of the liver from Comfrey case report

Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease

 

Comfrey Tea vs Purified PA’s in chicks 

The comparative toxicity of a reduced, crude comfrey vs pure alkaloid in chicks

 

Paul Bergner’s Excellent Review of Comfrey

 

This list of articles isn’t comprehensive, but I’m working on adding more. If you have any journal articles on Comfrey that I’ve not included, or any request for full text articles on PA’s and Comfrey, please shoot me an email: eclecticherbalist at gmail

 

Written by Thomas Easley · Categorized: Blog

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