Comfrey: Wound Healer and Cancer Fighter

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Comfrey: Wound Healer and Cancer Fighter

 

CANCER, WOUNDS AND COMFREY

 

In an old issue of Let's Live (Oct.-Dec., 1958), H. E.

Kirschner, M.D., wrote an almost unbelievable article

about several important clinical uses of the comfrey

plant (Symphytum officinale).

 

Let me tell you about it.

 

Dr. Kirschner used comfrey in his medical practice to

promote the healing of ulcers and wounds. He traces

the history of comfrey back to 1568 and W. Turner's

Herball which said " of Comfrey Symphytum, the rootes

are good if they be broken and dronken for them that

spitte blood, and are bursten. The same, layd to, are

good to glewe together freshe woundes. They are good

to be layd to inflammation... " He then cites Gerard's

1597 Herball, which indicated comfrey for ulcers of

the lungs and ulcers of the kidneys, and Parkinson's

1640 Theatrum Botanicum:

:

" The rootes of Comfrey, taken fresh, beaten small,

spread upon leather, and laid upon any place troubled

with the gout, doe presently give ease of the paines

and applied in the same manner, giveth ease to pained

joynts, and profiteth very much for running and moist

ulcers, gangrenes, mortifications and the like. "

 

Most significant is a citation from Tournefort's 1719

Compleat Herbal, which tells of one who

 

" cured a certain person of a malignant ulcer,

pronounced to be a cancer by the surgeons, and left by

them as incurable, by applying twice a day the root of

comfrey bruised, having first peeled off the external

blackish bark or rind; but the cancer was not above

eight or ten weeks standing. " Even allowing for a

misdiagnosis, this account is interesting.

 

Dr. Kirschner personally observed the powerful

anticancer effects of comfrey on a patient of his who

was dying from advanced, externalized cancer. He

prescribed fresh, crushed-leaf comfrey poultices

throughout the day. He writes that, “Much to the

surprise of the patient and her family,” there was

obvious healing within the first two days of

treatment, with continued visible improvement over the

next few weeks. “What is more,” he writes, “much of

the dreadful pain that usually accompanies the

advanced stages of cancer disappeared, " and there was

a dramatic decrease in swelling.

 

Dr. Kirschner concludes by regretfully saying that the

cancer had already spread to the inner organs " which

could not be reached with the comfrey poultices, and

the woman died. "

 

Just in terms of quality of life, the degree of

healing that did occur under the comfrey poultice

treatment is of tremendous significance. Here is a

" folk " remedy undeniably providing, at the very least,

significant pallative relief, and to a remarkable

extent reversing a cancerous growth. We can ill afford

to overlook the full potential of external comfrey

leaf poultices to heal sores and wounds of all types,

including burns and gangrene, as well as “tumors both

benign and malignant,” says Dr. Kirschner.

 

Taken internally as decoction (boiled root tea),

comfrey is described as effective against

tuberculosis, internal tumors and ulcers, and promotes

the healing of bone fractures. If it is hard to

understand how one simple, easy to grow and easy to

apply plant can be so widely useful in healing,

remember that penicillin’s supporters have made some

pretty broad claims for the mold on oranges.

 

Dr. Kirschner describes in his article how to prepare

comfrey leaves and roots for home use. The leaves are

for external use, and the root for internal use.

Anyone can grow comfrey in their garden for use when

needed. In fact, just try to stop it: it takes no work

whatsoever to grow this virtually indestructible

perennial. As a young man, I decided to plant a lot of

comfrey all over my yard. That took about 15 minutes.

It grew so vibrantly that I eventually decided to

eradicate comfrey from lawn and garden. It took twenty

years to root it all out. Well, most of it. There is

still that patch over there on the side…

 

I got my “starter” comfrey from a friend, and now I

know why he was smiling so broadly as he handed the

huge sack of roots over to me.

 

No, neither he nor I supply comfrey by mail-order. Ask

around and see who’s got some to share. Or, try a

garden supplier, nursery, herb store or Internet

search. How to plant comfrey: stick the root under

ground and come back in a month or two. To grow:

Refer to the previous step.

 

To use the leaves, one simply picks them, crushes them

into a nice emerald green paste, and applies

topically. Although comfrey leaf tea or dried leaves

are often to be inexpensively purchased at herb and

health food stores, there is a need to mention Dr.

Kirschner's constant reference to using fresh cut

leaves only, right from one's garden.

 

Roots can be prepared as described in Poffer's

Cyclopedia of Botanical Drugs (Fifth Edition) " by

boiling one-half to one ounce of crushed root in one

quart water. Dose, a wineglassful. " Boiling the root

results in a decoction. This is different, and much

more effective, than simply steeping in hot water.

Fresh root is almost certainly best, but I expect that

dried root retains some therapeutic value.

 

I thoroughly brush and wash the root under tap water

before slicing it up. Then I place the chunks in two

or three cups of water in a glass or stainless steel

pan. Bring it to a boil, continue boiling for a few

minutes, and let sit until it is cool enough to drink.

 

Caution: There are potentially harmful side-effects if

comfrey leaves are eaten in appreciable quantity.

This, to me, also means that “Comfrey leaf tea” is

contraindicated. Herbs may be the most natural of

medicines, but they are still medicines. To be comfy

with comfrey, consult your doctor and a reliable

herbal textbook (such as John B. Lust’s The Herb Book,

NY: Bantam, 1974) before employing this, or any herbal

remedy. It is important to meet potential physician

objections with a clear, shared understanding of the

“comfrey rule”: fresh leaves externally, boiled root

decoction internally.

 

Allantoin, a key ingredient found in abundance in

comfrey, may be among the reasons comfrey works.

Allantoin helps cells to grow and grow together. Since

this is precisely what is needed for ulcers, tumors,

burns, broken skin, broken bones and perhaps even

malignancy, it is little wonder that comfrey has a

respect in folk lore and medical practice throughout

the world, spanning the centuries. For a definitive

explanation of how, why and what comfrey heals, with

detailed information on the chemical constitution of

allantoin, one should read a long-forgotten 60-page

work entitled Narrative of an Investigation Concerning

an Ancient Medicinal Remedy and its Modern Utilities

by Charles J. MacAlister, M.D. and A.W. Titherley,

D.Sc. It is full of case histories, research and

historical information. Clinical observations, notes

on malignancy and how to prepare the remedy are

included. This 1936 book is even more rare than Dr.

Kirchner’s article that I cited above. Reprints of

either may still be available on microfilm. It is a

good idea to ask your public library's interlibrary

loan person to help you obtain copies.

 

The complete reference is:

MacAlister, C. J. and Titherley, A. W. (1936)

Narrative of an Investigation Concerning

an Ancient Medicinal Remedy and its Modern Utilities

Together with an Account of the Chemical Constitution

of Allantoin. London: John Bale, Sons, and Danielsson.

 

 

Reprinted from Chapter 9 of the book DOCTOR YOURSELF,

by Andrew Saul. Copyright 1980, 1981, 2000, 2002

Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, New

York 14470