Trust Me, I’m a Doctor, Series 4, Episode 4 Will kudzu supplement pills make me drink less alcohol?

The ActiWatch has a small button and digital LED faceplate and participants wore the device 24 hours a day for the entire 8-week study and were asked to record all drug and alcohol use by pressing the button to enter the proper code. Participants were provided with a small card that identified unique codes to record use of alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, and other drugs. Participants were instructed to report when they consumed each drink, which was defined as a 12 oz can of beer, 5 oz glass of wine or 1.5 oz distilled spirits.

Kudzu for Alcoholism: The Ultimate Dosage Guide

• Medication adherence was excellent and there were no adverse events, changes in vital signs, blood chemistry, renal or liver function.
• The complete lack of side effects would favor the conduct of such studies.
• Also a researcher made a small clinical study of 14 men and women who were heavy drinkers.
• The degree of reduction is often as high as 50% and the effects appeared within one to two days of treatment.
• Researcher’s evidence about Kudzu’s effectiveness is mixed and much more research is needed.
• The kudzu extract diadzein has been isolated as an aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH-2) inhibitor, which has been shown in animal models to reduce excessive drinking.

In all analyses, the baseline drinking level was modeled as a covariate of the respective dependent variable (e.g., the number of drinks per day in the baseline phase was modeled as a covariate when the dependent variable was the number of drinks during the treatment phase). Effect size is reported using the variance-accounted for statistic Partial Eta-Squared (η2Partial). All tests were two-sided with significance level of 0.05 and were performed using SPSS software (version 19.0, IBM SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL). We employed two different biochemical methods (urinary riboflavin and plasma puerarin levels), to monitor medication adherence. The lack of side effects after four weeks of treatment with both placebo and kudzu extract is likely one of the major reasons for the high rate of medication adherence. Vital signs, measures of blood chemistry, liver function tests and urinalysis assessments were all normal.

A standardized kudzu extract (NPI- reduces alcohol consumption in nontreatment-seeking male heavy drinkers

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 kudzu for alcohol cravings or Antabuse. These drugs are often prescribed to alcoholics to keep them abstinent. Even a tiny amount of alcohol can cause violent illness while on these drugs.

Kudzu and Alcohol: Is It Effective or Dangerous?

Also a researcher made a small clinical study of 14 men and women who were heavy drinkers. The investigator speculated that Kudzu increases blood alcohol concentration. The kudzu extract diadzein has been isolated as an aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH-2) inhibitor, which has been shown in animal models to reduce excessive drinking. Synthetic versions of this selective ALDH-2 inhibitor are being investigated as potential medications to suppress relapse in abstinent alcoholics. More clinical trials will need to be conducted to better understand the efficacy of kudzu extracts or synthetic variants for treatment of alcohol dependence. Drinking data were collected using a small wristwatch-like device (ActiWatch® Score, MiniMitter Co., OR) and daily diaries.

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There were no changes in any vital signs, hematology, blood chemistry, renal or liver function tests during the three phases of the study. The maximal possible observations were based on the number of side effect categories that were recorded, multiplied by the number of study days in each phase, which was then multiplied by the number of subjects participating in each study phase. The overall incidence of side effects (e.g., headaches, shakes, chills, nausea, etc.) in both groups ranged between 1.7 and 3%. None of the study participants reported any insomnia, sedation, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, or altered libido. 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.

The authors concluded that kudzu may be a useful adjunct in reducing alcohol intake, although the exact mechanism by which kudzu suppresses ethanol intake remains to be clarified. One Chinese herbal medicine, XJL (NPI-028), has long been used to reduce the inebriation that results from alcohol consumption. NPI-028 contains the extracts of several plants including Puerariae lobata (kudzu) and Citrus reticulata, which have long been used to lower intoxication (Sun, 600).

Another study shows that kudzu flower might be helpful to lessen hot flashes in menopausal women. Kudzu root comes from a trailing vine that often grows over other plants. When it’s raw, kudzu root looks like other root tubers (think yams or ginger). We found that, on average, each person consumed 7 units of alcohol after the placebo and, on average, 5.5 https://ecosoberhouse.com/ units after the kudzu. In China, it has been used to treat alcoholism since 600AD, and Western medicine is starting to take notice of this herbal remedy. The root in particular is valued for its medicinal properties, and the beneficial effects are thought be down to a group of compounds found in high concentrations within the plant, called isoflavones.

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 nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers to assess the safety and efficacy of 4 weeks of kudzu extract in an outpatient setting. Kudzu root gets some serious rep’ for helping folks ease off of the booze. One small study looking at the effects of kudzu in a group of men that reported drinking between 22 and 35 drinks per week shows promising results. After consuming kudzu extract for 4 weeks, the participants reduced their number of weekly alcoholic beverages by at least a third.

It is crucial for individuals struggling with alcohol addiction to seek professional help and consider evidence-based treatments. Research has demonstrated that taking a kudzu extract prior to drinking can reduce alcoholic intake by between 30 and 50%. The way it appears to work is that the isoflavones speed up the effect of alcohol on the brain, alerting us to slow down. However, it does not make people feel more drunk, or affect their physical abilities or mental agility.