[compost_tea] comfrey

From: Ted Peterson <ted.peterson_at_tcsn.net>
Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 11:10:14 -0700

Some notes on comfrey:



Comfrey

On Friday July 6, 2001, The US Food and Drug Administration asked makers of=
 dietary supplements containing the herb comfrey to withdraw their products=
 due to the danger of liver damage and its possible role as a cancer-causin=
g agent.

Comfrey is an herbal medicine that has been marketed to bruises, wounds, mu=
scle aches and sprains, broken bones, and ulcers. Comfrey products are made=
 from the leaves or other parts of the plant grown above the ground. They c=
an also be made from the roots, but root preparations are more likely to ca=
use poisoning. Comfrey contains allantoin, rosmarinic acid, and pyrrolizidi=
ne-type alkaloids.

Some think that comfrey is a beneficial herb, but scientific studies show t=
hat this herb can be very toxic. If you drink comfrey preparations or take =
it internally in other forms you run the risk of being poisoned. The FDA st=
ated that "In addition to being toxic to the liver, there is also evidence =
that implicates these substances as carcinogens." Some people have even die=
d from eating or drinking comfrey remedies.

In a letter to industry groups representing herbal product makers, the FDA =
said it was aware of dietary supplements derived from three types of comfre=
y that contain toxic alkaloids. ``The agency strongly recommends that firms=
 marketing a product containing comfrey, or another source of pyrrolizidine=
 alkaloids, remove the product from the market and alert its customers to i=
mmediately stop using the product,'' FDA said.

Ted Peterson
EW/SOE



Received on Thu May 20 2004 - 22:31:22 EDT

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