Kudzu Uses, Benefits & Dosage Drugs com Herbal Database

Lukas recruited 14 men and women in their 20s to spend four 90-minute sessions consuming beer and watching TV. Researchers selected people who said they regularly consumed three to four drinks per day. Findings show that subjects who took kudzu drank an average of 1.8 beers per session, compared with the 3.5 beers consumed by those who took a placebo. Kudzu root has also shown to help regulate glucose, AKA sugar, in the blood, Beckerman says. One particular ingredient in the vine called puerarin is what guides the glucose to spread away from fat cells and blood vessels and into other areas of the body where it’s needed, such as your muscles.

It is important to talk to a healthcare professional before taking kudzu, especially if you have liver disease or are taking prescription medication. Kudzu is also known for its flower, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fever, headache, and other ailments. The arrowroot starch derived from the Kudzu plant is also used in cooking as a thickener. The plant contains phytoestrogens, which are compounds that mimic the effects of estrogen in the body. Kudzu, also known as Pueraria Montana, is a climbing vine that belongs to the pea family. This invasive weed is native to East Asia, particularly China, Japan, and Korea, where it has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine.

Benefits of Kudzu for Alcohol Cravings

McLean Hospital has just negotiated a licensing agreement for kudzu root extract with Natural Pharmacia International, Inc., Burlington, MA. No competing financial interest kudzu to stop drinking exists for Bethany K. Bracken, David M. Penetar, R. Ross Maclean, or Scott E. Lukas. Tightly controlled studies on drinkers are just getting underway in the US.

• Specifically, in a prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled clinical trial they found no difference between Kudzu and placebo after a one month treatment period in either reducing alcohol craving and or promoting sobriety.
• However, these studies were conducted on lone individuals drinking within highly controlled laboratory conditions.
• While the literature seems to support an effect of Kudzu and especially isoflavonoid constituents to suppress ethanol intake in animal models, in contrast, Shebek and Rindone [9,10] were unable to reproduce this effect in humans.
• Free radicals are molecules that can damage cells, leading to a range of health issues.

A total of 21 adult males (17 Caucasian, 1 African American, 2 Hispanic, 1 Middle Eastern; mean age 23.8 ± 3.46 years, range 21–33) were recruited through advertisements in local and college newspapers and flyers posted in the Boston area. Persons who responded to these advertisements were given a brief telephone screen, and invited to the laboratory for further evaluations. Persons of Asian descent were excluded because of their known increased flushing reaction to alcohol. Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) outside the range of 18–25 kg/m2 were also excluded.

Is kudzu effective for long-term alcoholism recovery?

Kudzu, whose scientific name is Pueraria mirfica, is a vine used in Chinese medicine for a variety of health promoting purposes. Information and support for those affected by alcoholism/Alcohol Use Disorder. If you are concerned about alcohol’s effect on your life or a loved one’s life, please feel welcome.

Increased consecutive days of abstinence is a desirable outcome of an alcohol treatment program, especially during the initial phases of treatment (Washton and Zweben, 2006). The fact that kudzu extract nearly doubled the number of consecutive days that individuals maintained abstinence suggests that it may be a useful adjunct during the early weeks of treatment. The study consisted of a 2-week baseline period, 4 weeks of medication (subjects were randomized to either kudzu extract or placebo treatments) and a 2-week follow up period. Taken together, the data in this study demonstrate that in moderate drinkers, kudzu root extract treatment has no effect on any of the measured parameters of sleep quality or quantity. Sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and waking after sleep onset were all similar during placebo and kudzu root extract treatment periods (Fig. 1). Kudzu root extract did not increase nighttime wakefulness or movement, measured by the number of waking episodes per night, the time awake per episode, and the time spent mobile (Fig. 2).

Kudzu Root Extract Does Not Perturb the Sleep/Wake Cycle of Moderate Drinkers

This article examines the benefits, uses, and potential side effects of kudzu root. A prior study of kudzu to treat alcohol use in an outpatient setting reported that kudzu had no effect on maintaining sobriety or altering alcohol craving (Shebek and Rindone, 2000). However, these authors noted that there was a large dropout rate, subjects were not supervised https://ecosoberhouse.com/ while they completed the questionnaires, and there was only a single assessment each month. All of the above factors may have contributed to the negative findings of this study. Urine samples were qualitatively analyzed by HPLC for puerarin levels on a weekly basis starting on the second week of baseline and continuing through the two follow-up visits.

• Kudzu is an invasive vine that natively grows in East Asia—especially China and Japan.
• Furthermore, the men who took kudzu had fewer heavy drinking days per week and had significantly more consecutive days with no alcohol consumption (2).
• Participants filled out a daily diary every morning as soon as possible upon awakening.
• NPI-028 contains the extracts of several plants including Puerariae lobata (kudzu) and Citrus reticulata, which have long been used to lower intoxication (Sun, 600).
• Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.