This article examines the benefits, uses, and potential side effects of kudzu root. More recently, kudzu root has made its way to Western countries as an herbal supplement. In terms of what I felt when I took this plant, my experience supports the observations of others who note that it might act like a much gentler form of disulfiram or Antabuse. Even a tiny amount of alcohol can cause violent illness while on these drugs. By contrast, kudzu creates a mild flushed feeling at most and leaves the drinker craving alcohol a bit less.

May Help Treat Alcoholism

Data due to dropouts were handled as missing data and no values were entered. Missing data points within the treatment weeks in non dropout participants were Missing Completely at Random and so were imputed using multiple regression. A total of 42 out of 532 data points in the kudzu extract group and 26 out of 357 alcoholism treatment data points in the placebo group were handled this way, corresponding to 7.9% and 7.3% of the data, respectively. The safety of kudzu extract was monitored via a number of methods including twice weekly assessments of vital signs (resting pulse, blood pressure), collecting daily reports of side effects using a daily diary and twice weekly assessments of adverse events by study staff. An industry standard adverse event reporting form was used to collect information on potential adverse and serious adverse events during each laboratory visit. Side/adverse effects also were tracked on a daily basis by entries in their diaries; items addressed a wide range of somatic complaints.

Kudzu root benefits

The root of the Kudzu plant has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to treat a variety of ailments, including alcoholism. The root contains isoflavones, a compound that has been shown to reduce alcohol consumption in rats. Kudzu root extract is now widely used in the United States as a natural remedy for alcoholism. The participants reported their desire for and consumption of alcohol for the duration of the study. Researchers found that the kudzu extract had no effect on alcohol cravings, but it reduced the number of weekly alcoholic drinks by 34–57% (2).

Don’t Miss a Day of Best Health

Pharmacotherapies to curb excessive drinking are important for treating alcohol use disorders. Kudzu is a vine that is native to East Asia and is popular (as a starch) in Asian cooking. The roots and flowers of the kudzu plant are packed with an array of biologically active compounds that can have many beneficial effects; it’s often used as a hangover cure and to suppress cravings for alcohol. Studies have shown that kudzu may work by increasing blood flow to the brain, reducing the desire to drink, and reducing the severity of hangovers. Kudzu is also known for its flower, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat fever, headache, and other ailments.

1 Participant Flow Through Study

Nor will it drastically enhance your quality of life after the first dose. However, if you want to cut down on drinking or detoxify your body during alcohol withdrawal, this plant may be able to help. There are some known risks https://ecosoberhouse.com/ of kudzu root that you should be aware of before consuming. Birth control pills may interact with kudzu since kudzu, too, contains estrogen-like effects. Taking kudzu along with birth control pills might decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills.

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. Although blood samples were collected from all participants to examine the safety of kudzu, only the last 12 subjects had blood samples collected for quantitative analysis of puerarin levels. A growing number of double-blind, peer-reviewed studies have confirmed the effectiveness of using kudzu supplement alcohol kudzu for alcoholism. Early research focused on rats with good results, which were later replicated with human subjects. In 2012, I ordered some high-quality organic kudzu capsules after reading about the potential for it to curb alcohol consumption.

• The finding that alcohol intake was reduced without affecting desire to use alcohol at first seemed counter-intuitive.
• The major dependent variable was self-reported alcohol consumption as measured via the wrist actigraphy device.
• However, further research is necessary to fully comprehend the effects of kudzu on the body.