What is the Function of Kudzu Root Extract?

At least two rodent studies and one human study indicate that kudzu plays a role in reducing binge drinking of alcohol.

Taking kudzu root extract to curb drinking leads to an increase in blood ethanol levels, which might reduce the desire for more alcohol, researchers report.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Brown University asked 12 male and female volunteers to take kudzu or a placebo for nine days and then consume various quantities of alcohol. Pre-treatment with kudzu had little effect on the volunteers\' behavioral, physical or mental abilities, but it did lead to an increase in heart rate, skin temperature and blood alcohol levels. It is possible that an increase in blood alcohol levels could lead to increased effects from the first alcoholic drink and delay a person\'s desire to drink more. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 2011.

Chinese Herbal Root Kudzu Extract Reduces Alcohol Drinking by Heavy Drinkers in a Naturalistic Setting.

The present study was designed to test the efficacy of a kudzu extract in a clinical population. Male and female \"heavy\" alcohol drinkers were treated with either placebo or a kudzu extract for 7 days and then given an opportunity to drink their preferred brand of beer while in a naturalistic laboratory setting. Participants served as their own controls, and order of treatment exposure was counterbalanced. Drinking behavior was monitored by a digital scale that was located in the top of an end table. Kudzu treatment resulted in significant reduction in the number of beers consumed that was paralleled by an increase in the number of sips and the time to consume each beer and a decrease in the volume of each sip. These changes occurred in the absence of a significant effect on the urge to drink alcohol. There were no reported side effects of kudzu treatment. These data suggest that an extract of kudzu plant may be a useful adjunct in reducing alcohol intake in a naturalistic setting.

Kudzu root extract suppresses voluntary alcohol intake and alcohol withdrawal symptoms in P rats receiving free access to water and alcohol.

Cancer
Antitumor activity of spinasterol isolated from Pueraria roots.

We purified phytoestrogens from Kudzu root (Pueraria mirifica from Thailand and Pueraria lobata from Korea), which is used as a rejuvenating folk medicine in Thailand and China. Spinasterol is an active cytotoxic component of Kudzu root.

Cholesterol
Rodent studies indicate kudzu has cholesterol lowering properties.

Cluster headaches

Dr. R. Andrew Sewell, Yale University School of Medicine, West Haven, Connecticut reports in the medical journal Headache that components in kudzu root cause an increase in cerebral blood flow in the brain. He and his colleagues surveyed 235 cluster headache patients by email regarding their use of complementary and alternative remedies. In all, 159 patients responded and 22 (14 percent) endorsed self-treatment with kudzu. Sixteen of this group -- 11 with episodic cluster headache and 5 with chronic cluster headache -- agreed to further evaluation. With kudzu treatment, the vast majority of the episodic group reported a decrease in attack frequency and about a third had a decrease in attack length. Among those with chronic cluster headaches, 60 percent reported a decrease in frequency and 40 percent reported a decline in headache length. Headache 2009.

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