Caucasian comfrey (Symphytum caucasicum); Caucasian trencher
Perennial herbaceous hairy-fluffy plant of the family of rough-leaved plants. The stem is branched, 40-60 cm tall. Leaves alternate, elongated ovate; basal – long-petioled; stem – sessile, toothed. Flowers are regular, bisexual, in few-flowered panicles; corolla bell-shaped, blue. The fruit consists of 4 nuts. Blooms in May – June.
Spread. The plant is entered. Happens in the Crimea, in Kyiv (city parks).
Procurement and storage . The roots of the plant (Radix Symphyti) are used to make medicines. They are collected in autumn, cleaned well from the ground, cut into pieces of 15-20 cm and washed. After removing the damaged parts, the roots are split lengthwise, rinsed with water once more and dried under a cover in the open air, in the attic or in a dryer at a temperature of 30-40°. With slow drying, the roots turn brown inside and become unusable. 18% of dry raw materials are obtained. The shelf life is 3 years.
The plant is unofficial .
Chemical composition . The roots of the Caucasian comfrey contain 0.2-0.8% alkaloids (lasiocarpine, cynoglossine, allantoin), digalic acid, tannins and mucous substances, asparagine (1-3%), choline, starch, sugars, essential oil, an unstudied glycoside and others substances
Pharmacological properties and use. The main active substances of the root of the Caucasian comfrey are allantoin, mucous and tannins. They cause an anti-inflammatory, enveloping and cell proliferation-stimulating effect on the body. There is information about the antitumor activity of the plant. In the past, official domestic medicine used Caucasian comfrey for gastrointestinal disorders and as a cough reliever. In traditional medicine, the plant is used for bone fractures and wounds, leg ulcers, inflammatory processes in the stomach and intestines, peptic ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum, kidney diseases, pulmonary tuberculosis, cough, bronchitis and chronic diarrhea, to improve metabolism, for boils, ulcers and abscesses. Externally, the plant is used in all cases when it is necessary to speed up healing: with stomatitis,
Medicinal forms and applications .
Internally – root decoction (10 g of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water) on a dessert spoon every 2 hours;
infusion of roots (2 teaspoons of raw wine are infused for 8 hours in 300 ml of cold boiled water, the resulting infusion is drained, the raw materials are poured a second time with 200 ml of boiling water, after 10 minutes the two portions are filtered and mixed) 500 ml per day, in sips;
tincture of roots (1 part of raw material to 5 parts of 40% alcohol) 20-40 drops 4-5 times a day;
two tablespoons of a mixture of the roots of the Caucasian comfrey, peppermint leaves (50 g each), bare licorice roots, medicinal valerian, horsetail grass and medicinal lemon balm leaves (25 g each) are infused for 1 hour in two glasses of boiling water, filtered and take half a glass 4 times a day for duodenal ulcer;
two tablespoons of a mixture of the roots of the Caucasian comfrey and wild chicory, grass St. John’s wort, horsetail, fennel and plantain leaves (40 g each) are boiled in 500 ml of water for 5 minutes, strained and drunk half a glass 4 times a day day with a stomach ulcer.
Externally – root infusion (10 g of raw materials per 200 ml of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, cool, filter) for rinsing, washing, lotions and douches;
fresh juice or ointment from the roots (fresh crushed root is mixed with heated pork fat in equal parts) to lubricate the affected areas of the skin.
Regarding the toxicity of the plant, there are two opposite opinions .