The primary part of Kudzu that holds significance is its root, which is used heroin addiction to extract compounds with potential medicinal benefits. These compounds include isoflavones, particularly puerarin, daidzein, and genistein. Keung, not directly involved in Lukas’ study, said he has extracted a compound from kudzu root that he hopes to turn into a drug for reducing alcoholics’ cravings.
5. Other Natural Products for Alcohol Use Disorder
It may seem counterintuitive that kudzu plant can work both as a hangover cure and to curb the desire to drink, but the same elements that help ease the physical consequences may push the body to feel alcohol’s effects sooner. Original theories suggested that daidzin and daidzein inhibited enzymes that are essential to metabolizing alcohol, but current data, according to Lin and Li, has prompted the theory that components of kudzu plant may work within the central nervous system. They propose that the suppression of alcohol reinforcement produced by kudzu plant compounds is mediated centrally in the brain reward pathway.
Rats
Over time, chronic alcoholism leads to structural and functional changes in the brain. These changes affect parts of the brain related to emotional regulation, memory, and decision-making. You can find kudzu root supplements easily online and in a variety of natural food or supplement stores. Scientists need to do more research on the safe and effective dosages of kudzu root for various uses.
- The standard dose is 50 mg daily, but a multisite study demonstrated that 100 mg daily was also effective when combined with medical management7.
- ‘Perfectly safe’In 2003, David Overstreet and other scientists found the herb to be effective in reducing alcohol intake on rats.
- However, the experiments already carried out on average smokers have given very good results in just a few days.
- They are activated by ambient extracellular GABA or from ‘spillover’ of GABA from synaptic signaling, thought to be in the range of 100 nmol/L to 1 μmol/L64,65,66.
Anti-Inflammatory Effects
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide and superoxide ions, generated by CYP2E1 are contributors to the pro-inflammatory profile of alcohol-related liver damage 24,25. Alcohol consumption disturbs the balance between the pro- and anti-oxidant systems of the organism, so as to cause oxidative stress 26. Free radicals or reactive kudzu and alcohol oxygen species attack fats and proteins and rapidly enter cell membranes causing damage to the membrane, which leads to alcohol-induced oxidative tissue injuries. Therefore, effective antioxidant and anti-inflammatory drugs or foods might be useful for alleviating the harmful health consequences of excessive alcohol consumption 27,28,29,30. There are many ways, both medical and traditional, that are used to treat alcohol abuse or dependence.
How can I sleep better if I’m stressed or getting older?
Several studies on kudzu have shown that the root helps to reduce alcohol or nicotine intake. This is because the three main isoflavones present in kudzu extracts – daidzin, daidzein and puerarin – are responsible for the beneficial effects of reducing alcohol and nicotine consumption 2. Alcohol consumption is like other food culture; once an individual falls in love with alcohol, its consumption can be difficult to stop. In addition to the involvement of nervous system regulation, the changes in cognition caused by chronic alcohol consumption cannot be ignored. In mammals, alcohol acts on the CNS over time to enhance the excitatory NMDA signaling and discourage GABA signaling, inducing adaptation of GABAAR-mediated inhibition and a hyperexcitable nervous system.