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 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. 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.
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Endogenous levels of riboflavin are too low to fluoresce and participants were instructed to avoid multivitamin complexes while participating in the study. Because riboflavin is cleared from the body quickly, fluorescing urine indicated compliance in the past 18–24 hours. In addition, participants reported pill taking by checking time-of-day boxes on daily diaries and by entries on the wrist actigraphy watches. Extracts of the kudzu plant are best known for their ability to suppress alcohol intake or alter alcohol effects by laboratory animals (Heyman et al., 1996; Keung and Vallee, 1993b; Keung, 2003; Overstreet et al., 1996; Rezvani et al., 2003; Benlhabib et al., 2004).
Scott E Lukas, Ph.D.
- Kudzu is a natural remedy that has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine.
- If I had been committed to using it to wean off of alcohol and then quit, it might have been a very valuable part of my recovery.
- Inflammation is not something to be take lightly as it can contribute to more serious issues like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
The government runs the voluntary Traditional Herbal Registration (THR) scheme in an effort to combat this problem. Any product carrying a THR mark can be relied upon to contain the amounts of herb/active ingredient as stated on the bottle. The volunteers were all friends, and so were likely to enjoy a relaxed evening’s drinking. If you have any questions about using kudzu recovery for alcoholism, please leave them in the comment box below. In my opinion, the Planetary Herbals brand is a great option for someone who has not yet quit drinking, and who wants to try pure kudzu powder on its own. However, there are a lot of supplements that claim to contain it that are mostly cheap fillers.
The Promise of Kudzu in Alcoholism Treatment
This double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial tested the effects of kudzu root extract on the sleep/wake cycles of a population who continued to drink kudzu extract for alcoholism in their normal pattern, and thus were not experiencing withdrawal-related sleep disturbances. These participants were moderate drinkers and were not attempting to decrease alcohol intake, thus enabling assessment of the impact of kudzu root extract alone on sleep quality and quantity. Alcohol resulted in a dose-related alteration in subjective measures of intoxication, impairment of stance stability, and vigilance/reaction time. Kudzu extract did not alter participants’ subjective responses to the alcohol challenge or to alcohol’s effects on stance stability or vigilance/reaction time. However, individuals treated with kudzu extract experienced a slightly more rapid rise in plasma ethanol levels, but only after the 0.7 g/kg dose.
2.1 Blood Alcohol Levels
- Taking this plant would decrease the chance that a drink would turn into an endless parade of drinks.
- 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).
- Scientific research has been analysing the properties of kudzu since 1993 and has concluded that after treatment with kudzu, the percentage of alcohol or tobacco intake reduced by 50% 3.
Second, one goal of this study was to measure behavior and craving while participants went about their daily lives, and use of the wrist actigraphy device allowed this assessment to take place in the participants’ home environments. Third, this study already required participants to make several visits to the lab for measurements of alcohol metabolism and intoxication after alcohol administration. Therefore, the added requirement of spending several nights sleeping at the laboratory would have affected the normal behavior of participants, and added an unreasonable burden. A second limitation of this study is that these results rely on self-reported bedtimes and wake times and thus are subject to the limitations of any study for which behavior is not directly observed.
1 Participant Flow Through Study
If a person wants to reduce their alcohol or tobacco intake, kudzu root is recommended because its active principles (daidzin, daidzein and puerarin) are effective in helping to combat desire to consume alcohol or nicotine. The relatively few clinical studies carried out in humans have yielded mixed results. But one use of kudzu root that has proven itself in several human trials is its ability to reduce cravings for alcohol. Lukas and Lee applied for, and were granted, a patent for kudzu extract to treat alcohol abuse and dependence. McLean Hospital has licensed the production of kudzu extract (NPI-031) to Natural Pharmacie International (NPI), Inc. and they are marketing it as Alkontrol-Herbal®. All other authors declare that they have no actual or potential conflict of interest that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, this work.
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The last study above was designed to test the hypothesis that kudzu accelerates the subjective experience of alcohol intoxication. If this were the primary effect of kudzu increasing blood flow, then subjects should feel more intoxicated with fewer drinks after taking it. Kudzu is a unique plant that may offer health benefits, but keep in mind that more research is needed to gain a better understanding of the benefits of kudzu root and this climbing plant as a whole. There are numerous indications, however, that it may help someone with alcoholism. As a result, the researchers gave compounds from Kudzu root to the Substance abuse special lab rats.
One animal study in particular demonstrated that kudzu extract and its major components are very safe, even after relatively large doses (2 g/day) over a 3-month treatment period (Keyler et al., (2002). We previously demonstrated that short-term treatment with a standardized kudzu extract (NPI-031) reduced alcohol drinking by men and women in a natural setting. The present study was conducted in non treatment-seeking heavy drinkers to assess the safety and efficacy of four weeks of kudzu extract in an outpatient setting. The present study was conducted in nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers to assess the safety and efficacy of 4 weeks of kudzu extract in an outpatient setting. It is not known whether kudzu root extract has an effect on sleep stages, because this study did not record night-time polysomnography or assess sleep architecture. First, this method =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ allowed us to assess sleep continuously for the entire 9-day treatment periods.
