© 2026 MTPR
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Fall Pledge Progress
Total - $176,094 of $400,000
Updated at 5:25 a.m. on Oct. 22
 

Last year, Congress eliminated two years of federal funding for public media. Your monthly donation provides an ongoing, reliable source of funding that we can count on. Thank you!

Comfrey

Montana Public Radio | By Beth Anne Austein
Published May 2, 2014 at 8:00 AM MDT

5/3/14: This week on "The Plant Detective:" Compounds in Common Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) soothe inflammation and help cells regenerate - hence the old names for plant, "boneset" and "knitbone." But toxic alkaloids in comfrey can damage the liver, so be cautious even with external use of this herb.

Age-old remedy can be dangerous.
Tags
Arts & Life inflammationpotassiumComfreySymphytum officinaleknitbonebonesetinjurycell regenerationRussian comfreyliver-damagingspecies-dependentexternal usecompostnitrogencaution
Beth Anne Austein
Beth Anne Austein has been spinning tunes on the air (The Folk Show, Dancing With Tradition, Freeforms), as well as recording, editing and mixing audio for Montana Public Radio and Montana PBS, since the Clinton Administration. She’s jockeyed faders or "fixed it in post” for The Plant Detective; Listeners Bookstall; Fieldnotes; Musicians Spotlight; The Write Question; Storycorps; Selected Shorts; Bill Raoul’s music series; orchestral and chamber concerts; lecture series; news interviews; and outside producers’ programs about topics ranging from philosophy to ticks.
See stories by Beth Anne Austein
Make a monthly donation
Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make a one-time donation
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay pledge or update info
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information