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Kudzu

Uses

Botanical names:
Pueraria lobata

Parts Used & Where Grown

Kudzu is a coarse, high-climbing, twining, trailing, perennial vine. The huge root, which can grow to the size of a human, is the source of medicinal preparations used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and modern herbal products. Kudzu grows in most shaded areas in mountains, fields, along roadsides, thickets, and thin forests throughout most of China and the southeastern United States. The root of another Asian species of kudzu, Pueraria thomsonii, is also used for herbal products.

What Are Star Ratings?

This supplement has been used in connection with the following health conditions:

Used for Why
1 Star
Alcohol Withdrawal
Refer to label instructions
Traditional Chinese medicine, animal research, and some preliminary studies have found extracts of this herb may help reduce alcohol cravings, though some studies have not shown benefit.

is most famous as a quick-growing weed in the southern United States. Alcoholic hamsters (one of the few animals to become so besides humans) were found to have decreased interest in drinking when fed kudzu extract. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners generally recommend 3 to 5 grams of root three times per day; some herbal practitioners also suggest that 3 to 4 ml of tincture taken three times per day may also be helpful to reduce alcohol cravings. Nonetheless, a double-blind trial using 1.2 grams of powdered kudzu root twice per day failed to show any benefit in helping alcoholics remain abstinent from alcohol. On the other hand, supplementing with a kudzu extract (1,000 mg three times a day for seven days) significantly reduced the amount of beer consumed by heavy alcohol drinkers in a short-term experiment.

1 Star
Angina
Refer to label instructions
Kudzu is used in modern Chinese medicine as a treatment for angina. Standardized root tablets are sometimes used for angina pectoris.

is used in modern Chinese medicine as a treatment for angina. Standardized root tablets (10 mg tablet is equivalent to 1.5 grams of the crude root) are sometimes used for angina pectoris in the amount of 30 to 120 mg per day.

Traditional Use (May Not Be Supported by Scientific Studies)

Kudzu root has been known for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine as ge-gen. The first written mention of the plant as a medicine is in the ancient herbal text of Shen Nong (circa A.D. 100). In Traditional Chinese Medicine, kudzu root is used in prescriptions for the treatment of wei, or “superficial,” syndrome (a disease that manifests just under the surface—mild, but with fever), thirst, headache, and stiff neck with pain due to high blood pressure.1 It is also recommended for allergies, migraine headaches, and diarrhea. The historical application for drunkenness has become a major focal point of modern research on kudzu. It is also used in modern Chinese medicine as a treatment for angina pectoris.

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