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.
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
Ginger extract
Ginger, originating from the Indo-Malayan region, is now widely spread in the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. It is a plant that produces one of the most famous spice in the world.
Marigold extract
Marigold is a popular garden plant that delights our eyes in gardens and flowerbeds. The peculiarity of this plant is that its orange-colored flowers are the only ones with medicinal properties.
Coffee Extract
Coffee, one of the most popular beverages of our time, is made from the seeds of the coffee plant, which has been known and used since ancient Ethiopia. In Europe, this drink, "almost black as ink," appeared in the 17th century.
