Comfrey root extract – indications and patient profiles: findings from an expert round table discussion

The interest on the efficacy and tolerability of herbal medicinal drugs has continuously increased worldwide since 1990 indicated by the growing number of scientific articles in PubMed on this subject.1 While the importance of phytotherapy is more significant in less developed countries, the public perception of naturopathic treatment and complementary medical practices is also very positive in Europe with still growing interest.2 The World Health Organization (WHO) has investigated why people choose complementary medicinal treatment options. The reasons are fear of adverse events from synthetic drugs, improved access to health information, shift of values especially regarding perception of health comprising the whole body, and low tolerance of paternalism of the conventional health care system as well as preference of shared decision-making.3,4