Comfrey, which grows abundantly in Polish lands, is often mistaken for a weed by laypeople. However, its very name should turn us away from this blind alley. According to its name, it possesses the power of medicinal properties and acts as a healing agent. Its root is particularly valued, making the plant known as Polish ginseng. In this situation, it is clear that the production of comfrey root extract becomes an absolute priority.
Comfrey extracts owe their unique properties mainly to the richness of the ingredients present in the root and the leaves of flowering shoots. The therapeutic properties of comfrey extracts include anti-inflammatory, analgesic, wound-healing, and anti-exudative effects. Comfrey contains a wide range of bioactive ingredients, such as allantoin, saponins, tannins, alkaloids, amino acids, flavonoids, triterpenes, terpenoids, sterols, mucopolysaccharides, and derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acid.
Studies on the composition of plants from the Symphytum family, to which comfrey belongs, have shown that they also contain a series of so-called pyrrolizidine alkaloids (intermedine, acetylintermedine, lycopsamine, acetyllycopsamine, symphytine, and others). These alkaloids have hepatotoxic effects in humans, which rules out the internal use of extracts and infusions from this plant. However, comfrey extracts are still used as ingredients in creams and ointments. This is partly because the aforementioned alkaloids are poorly absorbed through the skin.
Raw material: root
INCI: Symphytum Officinale Root Extract
Function: conditioning, soothing, anti-edema.
Producer and Responsible Person in UE: Urtica Technologies sp. z o.o., ul. Stanisława Lema 4A/1, 80-126 Gdańsk
PRODUCT FOR PROFESSIONAL USE – PRODUCTION RAW MATERIAL IN THE COSMETIC INDUSTRY. BEFORE USE, READ THE MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET.
Bibliography:
1. Bahare Salehi, Farukh Sharopov, Tugba Boyunegmez Tumer , Adem Ozleyen , i in. Symphytum Species: A Comprehensive Review on Chemical Composition, Food Applications and Phytopharmacology. Molecules. (2019) 18;24(12):2272. doi: 10.3390/molecules24122272.
2. Leśne rosliny zielarskie, red Wojciech Zakrzewski, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Rolnicze i Leśne, Warszawa 1982, ISBN 83-09-00252-1
3. Bahare Salehi, Farukh Sharopov, Tugba Boyunegmez Tumer, Adem Ozleyen, Celia Rodríguez-Pérez, i in. Symphytum Species: A Comprehensive Review on Chemical Composition, Food Applications and Phytopharmacology. Molecules. 2019 Jun 18;24(12):2272. doi: 10.3390/molecules24122272.
4. Violeta Le, Vyacheslav Dolganyuk, Andrey Sukhikh, Olga Babich, Svetlana Ivanova, Alexander Prosekov, Lyubov Dyshlyuk. . Phytochemical Analysis of Symphytum officinale Root Culture Extract. Applied Sciences. (2021) 11. 4478. doi: 10.3390/app11104478.
5. Kenny Kuchta, Mathias Schmidt, 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, 2020, 104784,
ISSN 0273-2300, doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2020.104784.
6. Cosmetic ingredient database. Ingredient: Symphytum Officinale Root Extract, strona www, URL: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.details_v2&id=84281 dostęp z dn. 02.11.2022
See also
Marigold extract
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Vanilla extract
Vanilla is a species of climbing plant that produces one of the most aromatic and expensive spices in the world. It only grows naturally in Central and South America as it requires specific species of bees and hummingbirds for pollination.
Oak extract
The oak tree surpasses all other trees in our forests in hardness, strength, and longevity. Due to its vitality of up to 2,000 years and the magnificence of its crown, this tree embodies strength, and an oak leaf wreath signifies fame and victory.
Nettle extract
At the beginning of the last century, nettle was considered a common weed, avoided by people and animals because of the stinging and burning sensation it caused upon gentle touch.
