Comfrey oil macerate
It was called “knit-bone” in the English countryside, the plant that knits bones back together. Comfrey doesn't really have that power, but tradition has kept it for knocks and sprains.
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is a traditional vulnerary plant of the European flora. Its roots and leaves hold allantoin. Its oil macerate, reserved for external use on intact skin, demands strict precautions.
Ingredients
- Fresh comfrey leaves or dried roots1 jar filled 2/3 with leaves
leaves before flowering (May-June), well washed and dried
- Enough to cover
Equipment
- •1 clear glass jar
- •1 thick muslin
- •1 tinted glass bottle for storage
Steps
- 1
Wilt the leaves
This is crucial: fresh comfrey leaves contain up to 80% water, which would make the oil mouldy. Wash them, dry them carefully, then spread them on a clean cloth for 48 h in the shade, they must lose half their volume and become rubbery without blackening.
48 h
- 2
Chop and pack
Roughly chop the wilted leaves (1 cm across). Pack them into the jar up to 2/3. Cover entirely with olive oil, chasing out the bubbles. The comfrey releases a lot of mucilage: the oil may thicken, that's normal.
10 min
- 3
Macerate for 4 weeks
Place the jar in the sun or in a warm spot. Shake each day. After 2 weeks, the oil takes on a deep green colour. Continue for the full 4 weeks.
4 weeks
- 4
Strain carefully
Strain through a thick muslin (comfrey is very mucilaginous, straining can take time). Press gently. Let it settle for 48 h then decant into a tinted bottle, leaving the deposit at the bottom.
1 h + 48 h
Storage
8 months, cool and away from light. If an acrid smell appears, throw it away.
How to use it
STRICTLY EXTERNAL USE, on healthy skin or a closed scar only. Gently massaged onto sprains (after the acute inflammatory phase), contusions, bruises, painful joints. A few drops massaged 2 to 3 times a day for 7 to 10 days.
Health properties
- Allantoin (a compound also used in conventional cosmetics); comfrey is traditionally used to support tissue repair
- Rosmarinic acid and tannins: astringent action
- Mucilages: soften and soothe the skin
- Traditionally used for sprains, strains, contusions, ESCOP confirms the external use
- In external use, a reduction of superficial oedema and bruising measured in clinical studies of comfrey creams and ointments, not of homemade macerates (Staiger's review, 2012)
These preparations belong to cooking and herbal tradition: they nourish and support, do not “cure” anything and replace no treatment. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before prolonged use, if under treatment, pregnant or breastfeeding, or for a child. Follow the stated storage precautions strictly.
Precautions
EXTERNAL USE ONLY. Never ingested in any form: comfrey contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Never apply on an open wound (the alkaloids can cross the skin barrier systemically). Not advised for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for children under 12, even externally. Application limited to 10 consecutive days, then a break of at least 1 month; in total, do not exceed 4 to 6 cumulative weeks per year. BEFORE FLOWERING, the comfrey rosette resembles that of foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), which is LETHAL (heart-rhythm disturbances): only harvest firmly identified plants, the comfrey leaf is rough and hairy (clinging hairs), decurrent (it runs down the stem); the foxglove leaf is soft and downy. If in any doubt, wait for flowering (bell-shaped flowers). Do not confuse it either with other toxic Boraginaceae (hound's-tongue, viper's bugloss).
Sources & tradition
- · ESCOP Monographs, Symphyti radix
- · German Commission E, external use approved for comfrey
- · Staiger C., Comfrey: A Clinical Overview (Phytotherapy Research, 2012)
- · Cazin, Traité pratique des plantes médicinales indigènes (1868)