The active ingredients of comfrey are allantoin, rosemarinic acid, and mucilage. Allantoin is credited with encouraging bone, cartilage, and muscle cells to grow giving relief to arthritic joints, bruises, sprains, and other traumatic injuries. Use of capsicum in creams has also been found to help reduce the itching of dialysis patients, the pain from shingles (Herpes zoster), and cluster headaches. Further research has indicated that capsaicin cream reduces pain associated with arthritis.
