Editing Symphytum (section)

==Phytochemistry, folk medicine, and toxicity==
[[Traditional medicine|Folk medicine]] names for comfrey include knitbone, boneset, and the derivation of its Latin name ''Symphytum'' (from the Greek ''symphytis'', meaning growing together of bones, and ''phyton'', a plant<ref name=HyamPank95p486>{{Cite book |last1=Hyam |first1=R. |last2=Pankhurst |first2=R.J. |year=1995 |title=Plants and their names : a concise dictionary |publication-place=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-866189-4 |name-list-style=amp |page=486}}</ref>{{source needed|reason=Again, this etymological explanation is incorrect. There is a word σύμφυσις (growing together, natural junction, esp. of the bones) and there is a word σύμφυτος/ον (e.g. 'grown together'), but not *σύμφυτις. And *σύμφυτις and φυτόν would yield 'symphytiphyton'. And σύμφυτον is the ancient Greek naam for this plant. Please, use a reliable source.|date=April 2025}}, referring to its ancient uses. Similarly, the common French name is {{Lang|fr|consoude}}, meaning to weld together. The tradition in different cultures and languages suggest a common belief in its usefulness for mending bones.

Comfrey contains mixed [[phytochemical]]s in varying amounts, including [[allantoin]], [[mucilage]], [[saponin]]s, [[tannin]]s, [[pyrrolizidine alkaloid]]s, and [[inulin]], among others.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web |title=Comfrey |url=https://www.drugs.com/npp/comfrey.html |publisher=Drugs.com |access-date=22 May 2018 |date=17 July 2017}}</ref> Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are responsible for comfrey's [[hepatotoxicity|liver toxicity]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mei |first1=Nan |last2=Guo |first2=Lei |last3=Fu |first3=Peter P. |last4=Fuscoe |first4=James C. |last5=Luan |first5=Yang |last6=Chen |first6=Tao |title=Metabolism, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity of Comfrey |journal=Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part B: Critical Reviews |date=October 2010 |volume=13 |issue=7–8 |pages=509–526 |doi=10.1080/10937404.2010.509013 |pmid=21170807 |pmc=5894094|bibcode=2010JTEHB..13..509M }}</ref> which is associated with consuming this plant or its [[extract]]s.<ref name="drugs" /> In modern [[herbalism]], comfrey is most commonly used [[Topical medication|topically]].<ref name="drugs" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grant |first1=G |last2=Nolan |first2=M |last3=Ellis |first3=N |title=A reappraisal of the Malaise Inventory. |journal=Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology |date=July 1990 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=170–8 |doi=10.1007/BF00782957 |pmid=2399473 |pmc=2399473}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Lucinda G. |title=Herbal Medicinals: Selected Clinical Considerations Focusing on Known or Potential Drug-Herb Interactions |journal=Archives of Internal Medicine |date=9 November 1998 |volume=158 |issue=20 |pages=2200–2211 |doi=10.1001/archinte.158.20.2200 |pmid=9818800 |doi-access=}}</ref>

In 2001, the United States [[Food and Drug Administration]] issued a ban of comfrey products marketed for internal use, and a warning label for those intended for external use.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm111219.htm |archive-url=http://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20171114115012/https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm111219.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-11-14 |title=FDA/CFSAN – FDA Advises Dietary Supplement Manufacturers to Remove Comfrey Products From the Market (archived copy) |website=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |access-date=2023-06-12}}</ref> Use of comfrey is particularly discouraged during pregnancy and lactation, in infants, and in people with liver, kidney, or [[vascular disease|vascular]] diseases.<ref name="drugs" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yeong |first1=Mee Ling |last2=Swinburn |first2=Boyd |last3=Kennedy |first3=Mark |last4=Nicholson |first4=Gordon |title=Hepatic veno-occlusive disease associated with comfrey ingestion |journal=Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology |date=March 1990 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=211–214 |doi=10.1111/j.1440-1746.1990.tb01827.x |pmid=2103401 |s2cid=42511497}}</ref>