Kudzu cuts alcohol consumption Harvard Gazette

This is the first demonstration that a single dose of kudzu extract quickly reduces alcohol consumption in a binge drinking paradigm. These data add to the mounting clinical evidence that kudzu extract may be a safe and effective adjunctive pharmacotherapy for alcohol abuse and dependence. Moreover, in vitro, daidzin potently suppresses hamster liver mitochondria-catalyzed acetaldehyde oxidation. Additionally, Lin et al. also showed that daidzin, are efficacious in lowering blood alcohol levels and shorten sleep time induced by alcohol ingestion in rat models of alcoholism. Furthermore, other isoflavonoids found in Kudzu were also evaluated by Lin et al. . When given orally to P rats at a dose of 100 mg/kg/day, daidzein, daidzin, and puerarin decreased ethanol intake by 75%, 50%, and 40%, respectively without negative effects on overall water consumption.

This underscores the need for adequate chemical characterization and quality control of herbal dietary supplements. In general, concentrated kudzu extracts with higher levels of puerarin are needed to achieve a therapeutic effect. Future research is needed to determine how higher or lower puerarin blood levels affect the behavior of heavy drinkers. News this week of a possible natural therapy for binge drinking. Researchers at McLean Hospital near Boston report that an extract of the kudzu vine reduced the amount of alcohol consumed by test subjects. Kudzu is best known as a nuisance weed in the southern United States where it chokes off other plants. The scientists invited a group of heavy drinkers into a studio apartment and told them to watch TV and crack open a few beers.

Herb to Cut Drinking: Study Details

What’s more, the kudzu plant leaves, vine tips, and purple flower blossoms are also edible. The plant is a trailing vine that often grows over other plants and trees. Kudzu root, also called Japanese arrowroot, is native to China, Japan, and Korea.

• Kudzu root is linked to a wide range of potential health benefits from easing menopausal symptoms to treating alcohol dependence.
• Conversely, saikosaponins did not affect an increase in serum alanine aminotransferase and experimental cirrhosis in rats caused by carbon tetrachloride intoxication .
• It used to be assumed that bitters only stimulated receptors in the mouth, and then somewhat in the digestive tract.
• Ashwagandha is sometimes used for alcohol withdrawal and cravings.
• Keung, not directly involved in Lukas’ study, said he has extracted a compound from kudzu root that he hopes to turn into a drug for reducing alcoholics’ cravings.

The roots are also resistant to herbicides and it can take 3–10 years of repeated treatments with herbicides before the nutrient reserves of the roots are exhausted. The isoflavone glucoside conjugates are easily altered during extraction, processing, and cooking. However, the total concentration of isoflavones does not change. Found that dietary genistein maintains a normal Wnt signaling in the colon epithelium of carcinogen-injected mice through regulating the DNA methylation of Sfrp5 kudzu extract for alcoholism promoter. An intriguing observation on tissue differentiation by genistein-induced demethylation of steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) accompanied with mild proliferation of the endometrium was reported by Matsukura et al. Is considered safe, with few side effects other than the potential for an allergic reaction to the plant. Metabolic syndrome is a condition notorious for its cluster of health issues like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and/or abnormal triglyceride levels.

Antioxidant Treatment and Alcoholism

In the first, kudzu extract was administered for 7 days and acute binge drinking was suppressed (Lukas et al., 2005). In the second, participants who were treated for 4 weeks with kudzu extract significantly reduced their alcohol consumption during weeks 2 through 4 of the study (Lukas et al., 2013). We have subsequently shown that puerarin is the major active isoflavone because 7 days treatment with this compound alone (1,200 mg/day) produced a similar reduction of binge drinking as the extract (Penetar et al., 2012). These results indicate that puerarin is probably absorbed principally https://ecosoberhouse.com/ in the small intestine and that a rate-limiting factor may control the maximum amount of puerarin that enters the body at one time. From the small intestine, puerarin travels in the blood to the brain without being metabolized. Most of the puerarin eliminated is unchanged, but a small amount is metabolized in the liver by cytochrome p450 and through conjugation to daidzein. The authors speculate that a delay in gastric emptying due to the increased bulk of the 4 capsules taken in the acute 2 g dose study may explain the unusual increase in Tmax, compared with the acute 1 g dose.

• Nor will it drastically enhance your quality of life after the first dose.
• Kudzu root offered heart-protective benefits to mice with burn-induced heart injuries.
• Some health companies sell the kudzu root species Pueraria mirifica as a supplement for menopausal and postmenopausal women.
• Is one of the earliest medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• They have also prided themselves on manufacturing and distributing high-quality extracts and supplements for over fifty years.
• A standardized kudzu extract (NPI-031) reduces alcohol consumption in nontreatment-seeking male heavy drinkers.