Is Comfrey Safe for Humans

It’s considered unsafe, due to the pyrrolizidine alkaloids that comfrey contains. These are dangerous chemicals that can cause cancer, severe liver damage, and even death when you consume them. For this reason, the Food and Drug Administration and European countries have banned oral comfrey products.

Can you touch comfrey?

Widely adapted and easy to grow, comfrey (Symphytum species) originated as a woodland wildflower of Europe and Asia. Various medicinal uses for comfrey date back 2,400 years, and no wonder. If you cut a stem and touch it to your tongue, you can taste a tingle, as if the sap is alive.

What does comfrey do to liver?

As noted above, comfrey contains substances called pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are both toxic to the liver and carcinogenic. The main form of liver disease seen with comfrey is a blockage of small veins that can lead to liver cirrhosis and eventually liver failure (hepato-occlusive disease).