Note: I considered putting this in the extractions section, but as this plant is not DMT containing nor even psychoactive. I figured I would put it in our main "garden" related section, though I suppose it may not even belong here, as it is a healing herb and not entheogenic. If it is ethnobotanical, it is probably Euro-Celtic.
Anyway, my new garden area is a wondrous place that had been overgrown for at least 15 years, but had been a healing garden for an oldschool curehouse for perhaps 90 years or more before that. As such, many of the wild plants it contains are actually quite useful. After beating back the giant blackberry vines and clearing some of the stinging nettles (I love nettles, so I won't be eradicating them)... The place literally exploded with giant and fast growing COMFREY.
Now, for those who don't know, Comfrey is a longstanding wonder herb of epic proportions. For skin, wound healing, bone fractures, tendon repair etc. etc. it can be unmatched in effectiveness. This is primarily due to the ingredient Alantoin. This chemical causes rapid cell repair and proliferation, and from my experience, can be magical in its ability to knit flesh and heal injuries.
Sadly, in recent years it has become clear that Comfrey also contains a number of hepatoxic alkaloids. Thus, its use internally has become ill-advised and even banned in many countries. The buggers responsible are pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA's) and while we can handle them in small amounts, there is no good reason to ingest them if not absolutely necessary.
So... I guess you can see where this is going?
I need to find the best way to extract the good stuff (alantoin etc.) and remove the PA's. At the moment, I make simple salves, ointments, and lineaments from infusions, alcohol & vinegar based tinctures etc. Occasionally I will also eat the flowers as they appear to be rather low in PA's.
Anyone with knowledge about PA's and or Alantoin would be a godsend, but I imagine a number of you chem cats can come up with a simple extraction for me.
Thanks in advance.
PS I have heard anecdotal stories of comfrey concentrates being boiled with meat that had been cut into pieces and the pieces actually growing back together. While this seems extreme to me, I can say that it is rather good at knitting wounds and the plant is known as knitbone in healer circles. The extreme cell regeneration and proliferation ability of the plant has led some to caution that it could cause cancer or non-cancerous growths... though, it seems that the consensus among the research shows that it is pretty much only the PA's that pose health risks here.
Anyway, my new garden area is a wondrous place that had been overgrown for at least 15 years, but had been a healing garden for an oldschool curehouse for perhaps 90 years or more before that. As such, many of the wild plants it contains are actually quite useful. After beating back the giant blackberry vines and clearing some of the stinging nettles (I love nettles, so I won't be eradicating them)... The place literally exploded with giant and fast growing COMFREY.
Now, for those who don't know, Comfrey is a longstanding wonder herb of epic proportions. For skin, wound healing, bone fractures, tendon repair etc. etc. it can be unmatched in effectiveness. This is primarily due to the ingredient Alantoin. This chemical causes rapid cell repair and proliferation, and from my experience, can be magical in its ability to knit flesh and heal injuries.
Sadly, in recent years it has become clear that Comfrey also contains a number of hepatoxic alkaloids. Thus, its use internally has become ill-advised and even banned in many countries. The buggers responsible are pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA's) and while we can handle them in small amounts, there is no good reason to ingest them if not absolutely necessary.
So... I guess you can see where this is going?
I need to find the best way to extract the good stuff (alantoin etc.) and remove the PA's. At the moment, I make simple salves, ointments, and lineaments from infusions, alcohol & vinegar based tinctures etc. Occasionally I will also eat the flowers as they appear to be rather low in PA's.
Anyone with knowledge about PA's and or Alantoin would be a godsend, but I imagine a number of you chem cats can come up with a simple extraction for me.
Thanks in advance.
PS I have heard anecdotal stories of comfrey concentrates being boiled with meat that had been cut into pieces and the pieces actually growing back together. While this seems extreme to me, I can say that it is rather good at knitting wounds and the plant is known as knitbone in healer circles. The extreme cell regeneration and proliferation ability of the plant has led some to caution that it could cause cancer or non-cancerous growths... though, it seems that the consensus among the research shows that it is pretty much only the PA's that pose health risks here.
