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The result was that subjects receiving the kudzu drank significantly less than those
receiving the placebo. Subjects receiving the kudzu drank an average of 532 ml of
beer per session whereas subjects receiving the placebo drank an average of 906 ml
of beer per session. This was a statistically significant difference with P = 0.031.
The subjects reported no decrease in alcohol craving or urge to drink, however.
Studies have shown that kudzu root also leads to significantly reduced alcohol
consumption in rats. The active compounds in kudzu root which lead to reduced
drinking are called isoflavonids or isoflavones. Rat studies show that the reason
that subjects consume less alcohol is that the isoflavonids found in kudzu root
allow acetaldehyde to accumulate and this makes the alcohol less desirable.
Since kudzu root reduces the amount of alcohol consumed it may be effective as
hangover prevention. However, kudzu root is not effective as a hangover cure when
taken the morning after drinking. McGregor cautions that taking kudzu root the
morning after may actually have long term negative medical effects. The traditional
Chinese cure for hangover is kudzu flower (pueraria flos). Kudzu flower appears to
help eliminate acetaldehyde in humans, but the effectiveness of kudzu flower as a
hangover remedy has yet to be confirmed in a placebo controlled double blind
study.
http://hams.cc/kudzu/
Always make certain that any kudzu root supplement you buy actually contains
enough of the active ingredient to be effective. The Lukas study used 500-mg
capsules of kudzu extract (NPI-031, Natural Pharmacia Int., Inc., Research Triangle
Park, NC) containing sugar beet-based filler and 19% puerarin, 4% daidzin, and
2.0% daidzein. Participants in the Lukas study were instructed to take two 500-mg
capsules three times daily.
REFERENCES:
Benlhabib E, Baker JI, Keyler DE, Singh AK. (2004). Effects of purified puerarin
on voluntary alcohol intake and alcohol withdrawal symptoms in P rats receiving
free access to water and alcohol. J Med Food. Summer;7(2):180-6.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15298765
Benlhabib E, Baker JI, Keyler DE, Singh AK (2004). Kudzu root extract
suppresses voluntary alcohol intake and alcohol withdrawal symptoms in P rats
receiving free access to water and alcohol. J Med Food. Summer;7(2):168-79.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15298764
Lin RC, Guthrie S, Xie CY, Mai K, Lee DY, Lumeng L, Li TK. (1996).
Isoflavonoid compounds extracted from Pueraria lobata suppress alcohol
preference in a pharmacogenetic rat model of alcoholism. Alcohol Clin Exp Res.
Jun;20(4):659-63.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8800381
Lowe ED, Gao GY, Johnson LN, Keung WM. (2008). Structure of daidzin, a
naturally occurring anti-alcohol-addiction agent, in complex with human
mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase. J Med Chem. Aug 14;51(15):4482-7.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18613661
Lukas SE, Penetar D, Berko J, Vicens L, Palmer C, Mallya G, Macklin EA, Lee
DY. (2005). An extract of the Chinese herbal root kudzu reduces alcohol drinking
by heavy drinkers in a naturalistic setting. Alcohol Clin Exp Res.
May;29(5):756-62.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15897719
McGregor NR. (2007). Pueraria lobata (Kudzu root) hangover remedies and
acetaldehyde-associated neoplasm risk. Alcohol. Nov;41(7):469-78.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17980785
http://hams.cc/kudzu/