Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) as a tool for helping with Wounds

Comfrey has a centuries-old tradition as a medicinal plant. Today, multiple randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of comfrey preparations for the topical treatment of pain, inflammation and swelling of muscles and joints in degenerative arthritis, acute myalgia in the back, sprains, contusions and strains after sports injuries and accidents, also in children aged 3 or 4 and over. This paper provides information on clinical trials and non-interventional studies published on comfrey to date and further literature, substantiating the fact that topical comfrey preparations are a valuable therapy option for the treatment of painful muscle and joint complaints.

Comfrey root (Symphytum officinale), used topically in folk medicine, was studied for skin-microbiota metabolism of its natural products (phenolic acids, caffeic acid oligomers), characterising how the skin microbiome transforms comfrey constituents during external use.

Symphytum officinale (comfrey, 'knitbone') augmented osteogenesis in human bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells as they differentiated into osteoblasts in vitro, providing experimental support for the traditional use of comfrey in bone fractures and wound healing.