Omnia SanaPlant Comparison
Lungwort vs Common Comfrey
A side-by-side comparison of two medicinal plants — every documented constituent, action, use, safety note and cited source, assembled automatically from the Omnia Sana database.
At a glance
Lungwort and Common Comfrey: both belong to the Boraginaceae family; they share 3 indicated uses (arthritis / joint pain, inflammation (general), skin irritation); 1 pharmacological action in common.
Evidence face-off — shared uses
| Condition | Lungwort | Common Comfrey | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis / joint pain | 2/10 | 5/10 | Stronger for Common Comfrey |
| Inflammation (general) | 2/10 | 5/10 | Stronger for Common Comfrey |
| Skin irritation | 1/10 | 5/10 | Stronger for Common Comfrey |
Evidence scores (1–10) are computed from the tier of each cited source. “Comparable” means the two scores are within one point. Follow a score to its detailed sources.
Key Constituents
The main antioxidant and COX-2-inhibiting constituents; LC-MS/MS profiling of the aerial parts identified dozens of phenolic compounds (caffeic acid esters and danshensu/dicaffeic-acid conjugates), nine of them previously undescribed, with marked seasonal variation.
The key cell-proliferative constituent underlying comfrey's wound-healing reputation.
Contribute to the soothing, demulcent texture of the leaf and root.
Contribute to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.
Hepatotoxic constituents naturally present in the whole plant; the reason internal use is not recommended and processed/detoxified extracts are used for research.
Pharmacological Actions
Traditional & Indicated Uses
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
Traditional demulcent / expectorant for cough, bronchitis, sore throat and respiratory catarrh (mucilage and saponins)
Traditional demulcent / expectorant for cough, bronchitis, sore throat and respiratory catarrh (mucilage and saponins)
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
Traditional demulcent / expectorant for cough, bronchitis, sore throat and respiratory catarrh (mucilage and saponins)
inferred from demulcent action
Traditional demulcent / expectorant for cough, bronchitis, sore throat and respiratory catarrh (mucilage and saponins)
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
inferred from anti-oedematous action
Safety, Cautions & Contraindications
As a member of the borage family (Boraginaceae), which can contain hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, prolonged or high-dose internal use is best avoided; use in pregnancy and breastfeeding is not recommended.
Traditional use only; clinical evidence in humans is limited, so a cough or respiratory complaint that persists needs medical assessment.
Big headline: Comfrey naturally contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which can seriously harm the liver if taken internally (Staiger, 2012; EMA, 2015). • Do not ingest comfrey (no teas, no internal tinctures, no capsules), because PA exposure from internal use is the main safety problem (Staiger, 2012; Bach et al., 1990). • Topical use only, short-term: EU herbal guidance describes comfrey root preparations for minor bruises and sprains in adults, and recommends limited duration (commonly up to about 10 days) (EMA, 2015; EMA/HMPC, 2024). • Do not apply to broken skin (open wounds, damaged/irritated skin) and avoid eyes/mucous membranes (EMA/HMPC, 2024). • Pregnancy & breastfeeding: best avoided (not enough safety margin for medicinal use) (EMA/HMPC, 2024). • Children/adolescents: not recommended for medicinal topical use in EU monograph context (EMA/HMPC, 2024). • If you have liver disease or take medicines that stress the liver, skip comfrey completely (risk management logic based on PA concern) (Staiger, 2012; EMA, 2015). • Skin reactions: mild rash/irritation can occur; stop if it irritates (Smith and Jacobson, 2011).
Duke (2002) classifies common comfrey (Symphytum officinale) with anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties, supported by allantoin content (promotes cell proliferation). However, comfrey also contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Internal use is no longer recommended, and Commission E approved only external use. Duke emphasizes that pyrrolizidine alkaloids are cumulative hepatotoxins associated with veno-occlusive disease, and prolonged or internal use is contraindicated (Duke, 2002).
External Ids
Botanical Description
Low, hairy perennial herb (Boraginaceae), 15-30 cm tall. Basal leaves are long-stalked, ovate to lance-shaped, often white-spotted - the spotted pattern was historically likened to diseased lung tissue under the medieval Doctrine of Signatures, giving rise to the name 'lungwort' - and covered in bristly hairs. Funnel-shaped flowers open pink and turn blue as they mature, borne in small coiled clusters (cymes).[10]
Robust, hairy perennial herb (Boraginaceae), 60-120 cm tall, with a thick, black-skinned, mucilaginous taproot. Leaves are large, broad, lance-shaped and bristly-hairy, running down the stem as raised wings (decurrent) - the leaf base's smooth, untoothed margin is a key feature distinguishing it from toxic foxglove. Drooping clusters of tubular, bell-shaped flowers are cream, pink or purple depending on variety.[11]
Habitat
Native to central and southern Europe, growing in damp, shaded woodland, hedgebanks and scrub on humus-rich soils; widely cultivated as a shade garden plant.[10]
Native to Europe and western Asia, growing in damp ground - riverbanks, ditches, damp meadows and waste ground - and widely cultivated.[11]
Harvesting
Aerial flowering parts are cut during flowering (spring); the plant can also be gathered later in the growing season, though the phenolic constituent profile is documented to differ measurably between spring and autumn harvests.[11]
Leaves are cut during the growing season (before flowering is often preferred for lower pyrrolizidine-alkaloid content); root is dug in autumn or spring from mature plants.[11]
Traditional Uses
Lungwort's spotted leaves inspired its traditional use, under the Doctrine of Signatures, as a remedy for lung and respiratory complaints - coughs, bronchitis, catarrh and sore throat - valued for its soothing mucilage and astringent tannins. Modern research confirms antioxidant and anti-inflammatory (COX-2-inhibiting) activity of its phenolic-rich extract, though clinical trial evidence in humans remains limited.[10]
Comfrey has one of the strongest traditional reputations of any European herb for wound healing and bone/tissue repair - the folk names 'knitbone' and 'boneset' reflect this - owing to its high allantoin content, which stimulates cell proliferation. Because the plant also contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, modern regulatory use is restricted to topical preparations only, for minor bruises and sprains, and internal use (teas, tinctures) is no longer recommended.[11]
Preparations
Dosage
Traditional guidance suggests roughly 2-4 g dried herb per cup as an infusion, up to three times daily, for short-term use; avoid prolonged or high-dose internal use given the borage family's potential pyrrolizidine-alkaloid content. Educational reference only, not a prescription.
EU herbal-monograph guidance describes comfrey root preparations applied topically for minor bruises and sprains in adults, for a limited duration (commonly up to about 10 days); do not apply to broken skin or near eyes/mucous membranes. Comfrey must never be taken internally (no teas, tinctures or capsules) because of its pyrrolizidine alkaloid content. Educational reference only, not a prescription.
References
Lookalikes Review
Dangerous Lookalikes
Not documented
References & Sources
- Ignjatijevic, A., Andjic, T., Ljesevic, M., Nikolic, B. and others (2025) 'Assessment of Antioxidant Activity and Dose-Dependent Effect on Genotoxicity/Antigenotoxicity of Pulmonaria officinalis Ethanolic Extract', Pharmaceutics, 17(9), pp. 1134. doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics17091134 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics17091134 - Krzaczek, T. and others (1995) 'Flavonoid glycosides from aerial parts of Pulmonaria officinalis', Planta Medica, 61(5), pp. 488. doi:10.1055/s-2006-959385 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-959385 - Krzyzanowska-Kowalczyk, J. and others (2019) 'Pulmonaria officinalis L. Extract in Cystic Fibrosis: In Vitro Evidence on Staphylococcus aureus Clinical Isolates', Molecules, 24(6), pp. 1151. doi:10.3390/molecules24061151 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24061151 - Neagu, E., Radu, G.L., Albu, C. and Paun, G (2016) 'Antioxidant activity, acetylcholinesterase and tyrosinase inhibitory potential of Pulmonaria officinalis and Centaurium umbellatum extracts', Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 25(3), pp. 578-585. doi:10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.02.016 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.02.016 - Akram, M. and Rashid, A (2017) 'Anti-coagulant activity of plants: mini review', Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis, 44(3), pp. 406-411. doi:10.1007/s11239-017-1546-5 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11239-017-1546-5 - Byshevskii, A.Sh., Gerbert, I.Ia., Dement'eva, I.A., Leven, P.I. and Chiriat'ev, E.A (1990) 'Nature, properties and the mechanism of the effect on blood coagulation of the preparation obtained from Pulmonaria officinalis', Gematologiia i Transfuziologiia, 35(10), pp. 6-9. Preclinical
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Nature%2C%20properties%20and%20the%20mechanism%20of%20the%20effect%20on%20blood%20coagulation%20of%20the%20preparation%20obtained%20from%20Pulmonaria%20officinalis - Ivanova, D., Gerova, D., Chervenkov, T. and Yankova, T (2005) 'Polyphenols and antioxidant capacity of Bulgarian medicinal plants', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 96(1-2), pp. 145-150. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.08.033 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2004.08.033 - Neuhauser, C., Schwarzinger, B., Schwarzinger, C., Feichtinger, M. and others (2024) 'Insulin-Mimetic Activity of Herbal Extracts Identified with Large-Scale Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy', Nutrients, 16(14), pp. 2182. doi:10.3390/nu16142182 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16142182 - Luthy, J., Brauchli, J., Zweifel, U., Schmid, P. and Schlatter, C (1984) 'Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in medicinal plants of Boraginaceae: Borago officinalis L. and Pulmonaria officinalis L', Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae, 59(9-10), pp. 242-246. Preclinical
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Pyrrolizidine%20alkaloids%20in%20medicinal%20plants%20of%20Boraginaceae%3A%20Borago%20officinalis%20L.%20and%20Pulmonaria%20officinalis%20L. - Krzyzanowska-Kowalczyk, J., Kowalczyk, M., Ponczek, M.B., Pecio, L., Nowak, P. and Kolodziejczyk-Czepas, J (2021) 'Pulmonaria officinalis and Pulmonaria obscura Extracts as Mitigators of Peroxynitrite-Induced Oxidative Stress and Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors - In Vitro and In Silico Studies', Molecules. doi:10.3390/molecules26030631 Traditional / reference
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030631 - Krzyzanowska-Kowalczyk, J. and Pecio, L. and Moldoch, J. and Ludwiczuk, A. and Kowalczyk, M (2018) 'Novel Phenolic Constituents of Pulmonaria officinalis L. LC-MS/MS Comparison of Spring and Autumn Metabolite Profiles', Molecules, 23(9). doi:10.3390/molecules23092277 Traditional / reference
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23092277 - Krzyzanowska-Kowalczyk, J., Kolodziejczyk-Czepas, J., Kowalczyk, M., Pecio, L., Nowak, P. and Stochmal, A (2017) 'Yunnaneic Acid B, a Component of Pulmonaria officinalis Extract, Prevents Peroxynitrite-Induced Oxidative Stress in Vitro', Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 65(19), pp. 3827--3834. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.7b00718 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b00718
- Syarifah, A.N., Suryadi, H., Hayun, H., Simamora, A. and others (2023) 'Detoxification of comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) extract using natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) and evaluation of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and hepatoprotective properties', Frontiers in Pharmacology, 14, pp. 1012716. doi:10.3389/fphar.2023.1012716 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2023.1012716 - Melnyk, N., Popowski, D., Strawa, J.W., Przygodzinska, K. and others (2023) 'Skin microbiota metabolism of natural products from comfrey root (Symphytum officinale L.)', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 318(Pt B), pp. 116968. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2023.116968 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2023.116968 - Trifan, A., Skalicka-Wozniak, K., Granica, S., Czerwinska, M.E. and others (2020) 'Symphytum officinale L.: Liquid-liquid chromatography isolation of caffeic acid oligomers and evaluation of their influence on pro-inflammatory cytokine release in LPS-stimulated neutrophils', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 262, pp. 113169. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2020.113169 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.113169 - Brown, A.W., Stegelmeier, B.L., Colegate, S.M., Gardner, D.R. and others (2016) 'The comparative toxicity of a reduced, crude comfrey (Symphytum officinale) alkaloid extract and the pure, comfrey-derived pyrrolizidine alkaloids, lycopsamine and intermedine in chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus)', Journal of Applied Toxicology, 36(5), pp. 716-725. doi:10.1002/jat.3205 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.3205 - Trifan, A., Wolfram, E., Esslinger, N., Grubelnik, A. and others (2021) 'Globoidnan A, rabdosiin and globoidnan B as new phenolic markers in European-sourced comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) root samples', Phytochemical Analysis, 32(4), pp. 482-494. doi:10.1002/pca.2996 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1002/pca.2996 - Nastic, N., Borras-Linares, I., Lozano-Sanchez, J., Svarc-Gajic, J. and others (2020) 'Comparative Assessment of Phytochemical Profiles of Comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) Root Extracts Obtained by Different Extraction Techniques', Molecules, 25(4), pp. 837. doi:10.3390/molecules25040837 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25040837 - Frost, R., MacPherson, H. and O'Meara, S (2013) 'A critical scoping review of external uses of comfrey (Symphytum spp.)', Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 21(6), pp. 724-745. doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2013.09.009 Meta-analysis / review
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2013.09.009 - Trifan, A., Opitz, S.E.W., Josuran, R., Grubelnik, A. and others (2018) 'Is comfrey root more than toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids? Salvianolic acids among antioxidant polyphenols in comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) roots', Food and Chemical Toxicology, 112, pp. 178-187. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2017.12.051 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2017.12.051 - Dey, D., Jingar, P., Agrawal, S., Shrivastava, V. and others (2019) 'Symphytum officinale augments osteogenesis in human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro as they differentiate into osteoblasts', Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 248, pp. 112329. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2019.112329 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2019.112329 - Kuchta, K. and Schmidt, M (2020) 'Safety of medicinal comfrey cream preparations (Symphytum officinale s.l.): The pyrrolizidine alkaloid lycopsamine is poorly absorbed through human skin', Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 118, pp. 104784. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2020.104784 Preclinical
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2020.104784 - European Medicines Agency (2011) 'European Union herbal monograph on Symphytum officinale L., radix'. Traditional / reference
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=European%20Union%20herbal%20monograph%20on%20Symphytum%20officinale%20L.%2C%20radix - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (n.d.). Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org Traditional / reference
https://powo.science.kew.org - Staiger, C (2012) 'Comfrey: a clinical overview', 26(10), pp. 1441--1448. doi:10.1002/ptr.4612 Randomized trial
https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.4612 - Duke, J.A (2002) 'Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, Second Edition'. Traditional / reference
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Handbook%20of%20Medicinal%20Herbs%2C%20Second%20Edition - Vithayathil, M.K. and Edwards, M (2016) 'Comfrey herbal remedy causing second-degree heart block: do not be outfoxed by digitalis', BMJ Case Reports, 2016, pp. bcr2016216995. doi:10.1136/bcr-2016-216995 Clinical study
https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2016-216995 - Lin, C.C. and Yang, C.C. and Phua, D.H. and Deng, J.F. and Lu, L.H (2010) 'An outbreak of foxglove leaf poisoning', Journal of the Chinese Medical Association, 73(2), pp. 97-100. doi:10.1016/S1726-4901(10)70009-5 Clinical study
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1726-4901(10)70009-5 - Woodland Trust (2024) 'Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)'. Available at: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/foxglove/ Traditional / reference
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/foxglove/
Generated automatically from the Omnia Sana plant database and its cited sources. For educational purposes only — not medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using medicinal plants.