Kudzu Root Extract Does Not Perturb the Sleep Wake Cycle of Moderate Drinkers PMC

Kudzu root may help treat alcohol dependence, liver damage, and menopausal symptoms. Scientists need to do more human studies to determine its effectiveness in other areas, like inflammation, kudzu to stop drinking heart health, and headaches. Furthermore, the men who took kudzu had fewer heavy drinking days per week and had significantly more consecutive days with no alcohol consumption (2).

Any effect kudzu root extract may have on sleep is an important consideration for administration of this preparation as a potential medication to treat alcohol dependence. 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 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. All of the above mentioned mechanisms, with the exception of a disulfiram-like one, require repeated administration and time to develop.

Kudzu Root: Benefits, Uses, and Side Effects

While some studies have shown promising results, others have found no significant difference between kudzu and a placebo. It is important to note that kudzu should not be used as a substitute for professional medical treatment for alcoholism. As mentioned, one of the main reasons people use kudzu is to help with alcohol cravings or to cut back on their use of alcohol. Regular, excessive alcohol consumption can have severe adverse health consequences. 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.

American Addiction Centers recommend no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men, so keep that in mind as you’re setting a goal to cut back. Giving a Kudzu root extract twice daily failed https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to reduce craving and sobriety scores. As a result, the researchers gave compounds from Kudzu root to the special lab rats. The investigators found that the compounds reduced the rats’ alcohol intake.

RELATED TO VITAMINS & SUPPLEMENTS

This phenomenon therefore can create a strong synergy of action as complementary nutrients are made available in a timely fashion for ongoing bodily processes. Comprised of 100% food grade material, these spheres, upon releasing their payload of nutrients, are broken down and utilized by the system to improve overall well-being. Studies using both animal and human models have demonstrated that this type of technology can increase nutrient absorption from 50–400% [52–54]. Kudzu works somewhat similarly to acamprosate in many ways, but since it is an approved prescription medication, there’s more clinical evidence to show the benefits of acamprosate. Some people have a genetic predisposition to becoming dependent on alcohol and may be more vulnerable to the reinforcing effects it can have. Small studies in people have observed noteworthy improvements in these menopausal symptoms, among others, like vaginal dryness (9, 10).

• We have subsequently shown that puerarin is the major active isoflavone because 7 days treatment with this compound alone (1,200 mg/day) produced a similar reduction of binge drinking as the extract (Penetar et al., 2012).
• In addition, the two treatments greatly differed in the percent of days abstinent as well as the number of consecutive days of abstinence.
• While it does not completely eliminate drinking, it is clearly effective in significantly reducing intake, which offers individuals an opportunity to engage in more responsible drinking patterns.
• The Declinol Compound for the study was manufactured according to cGMP guidelines and was processed at an FDA registered, OTC, Rx facility.

A standardized formulation of kudzu extract produced minimal side effects, was well-tolerated and resulted in a modest reduction in alcohol consumption in young non treatment-seeking heavy drinkers. Although the number of sips taken per beer did not significantly increase in this study – contrary to what was found in our previous study (Lukas et al., 2005) – we did observe an increase in the time taken to consume a beer which is consistent with our previous study. This change in drinking topography was not secondary to alterations in the subjective effects of alcohol as kudzu-treated individuals still reported positive feelings (e.g., drunk, floating) without any change in the negative effects (e.g., clumsy, dizzy).

Will kudzu supplement pills make me drink less alcohol?

Nonetheless, they are safe to take and may help to alleviate some symptoms of withdrawal and cravings. Individuals who are dependent on alcohol often suffer from negative side effects such as physical dependence, anxiety, depression, confusion, organ damage, strained relationships and difficulty meeting major responsibilities. Making the decision to quit drinking can help alleviate these symptoms by improving mood and lessening the physical side effects. While we only selected a small number of patients (Table 2) to study in this pilot because we wanted to capture a positive effect prior to a much larger study being planned in the future, we are encouraged with these preliminary results.

• 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.
• In addition, the diaries permitted the participants to enter additional data that could not be recorded on the watch.
• Kudzu may interact with certain medications, such as benzodiazepines, and can cause adverse effects.
• This interpretation of kudzu’s possible mechanism of action was also suggested by Wong et al. (2011) who postulated that kudzu alters peripheral and cerebral blood flow.

Tangerine Peel has some bitter qualities as well, and is an excellent complement to the actions of Gentian. Tangerine Peel delivers several novel flavonoids that all offer numerous health advantages including enhancing metabolism, promoting detoxification, and protecting cells from free radical damage. Most importantly extracts of Tangerine Peel have been shown to enhance learning and memory.