Interestingly, this is a product that Dr Polevoy lambasted the infamous Christine McPhee for
advertising on her infomercials 4 years ago.
canada.comstory.htmlOpen ↗ HELEN BRANSWELL
Canadian Press
Friday, December 12, 2003 ADVERTISEMENT
"TORONTO (CP) - Health Canada issued an advisory Friday warning consumers not to use the herb
comfrey or any health products made from comfrey because they might contain a compound that could
cause liver damage.
The compound is echimidine. While not all comfrey products contain echimidine, some products do not
specify the type of comfrey they contain.
"Therefore, consumers are advised to avoid all products containing comfrey," the department said in
a statement.
Comfrey is sometimes identified by a variety of other names including: ass ear, black root,
bruisewort, boneset, gum plant, knitbone, healing herb and consolida.
There have been several international reports linking ingestion of comfrey to liver damage. No cases
of liver toxicity due to comfrey have been reported in Canada.
The statement also warned against applying creams or lotions containing comfrey to broken skin."