The KUDZU vine (or Kuzu in Japan) is a name that corresponds to several species or varieties of Pueraria(FABOIDEAE).
The main medicinal species or « true » kudzu is PUERARIA MONTANA VAR LOBATA, East Asian arrowroot, native to temperate Asia and Southeast Asia (examples: China, Japan, the Koreas, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand)
It is a plant used by Chinese doctors for several thousand years, it is also important in traditional Korean and Japanese medicines, it is also an edible plant due to its tuber rich in carbohydrates.
PUERARIA TUBEROSA is the « kudzu » of India and Nepal, widely used in Ayurvedic medicine.
PUERARIA PHASEOLOIDES is very close to « real » kudzu, more adapted to warm and tropical regions, its tubers are small while those of « real » kudzu are large, this is one of the only visible differences.
Pueraria species can hybridize and therefore complicate their botanical determination a little more.
Kudzu from Asia, pure or hybridized species of Kudzu have been introduced voluntarily or accidentally in many countries (for example in the USA, in many Pacific islands (Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia), in Australia, more recently in Brazil).
Kudzu is often considered an invasive plant because it is a liana with radiant stems which develops very quickly and runs over the ground, completely covering it with dense foliage (which smothers the vegetation) but which can also cover trees up to ten meters, sometimes more and cause them to wither.
It is not very sensitive to the quality of the soil since it is a legume which captures nitrogen from the air.
It can survive the cold in the soil and reappear in spring thanks to its highly developed roots rich in reserve substances.
KUDZU PUERARIA MONTANA VAR LOBATA PUEARIA PHASEOLOIDES PUERARIA TUBEROSA ROOT EDIBLE ALCOHOLIC WITHDRAWAL SMOKING CESSATION ANGINA PECTORIS SENESCENCE DIABETES 2 INVASIVE PLANT
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES
THE TUBEROUS ROOTS OF KUDZU
The roots of real Kudzu are sometimes very developed and can weigh several tens of kg in an old plant. They contain:
- carbohydrates: starch, sucrose, glucose, perfectly edible and digestible,
- proteins: amino acids in small quantities but with certain amino acids important for the proper functioning of the body (lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, leucine, valine, histidine, threonine),
- mineral salts of selenium, zinc, manganese,
- phenolic compounds: isoflavones which are found also in other fabals (soy, clover), the most characteristic and abundant are: puerarin (the most abundant) and daidzein, daidzin, genistein, genistin.
These isoflavones have a chemical structure close to estrogens (female hormone), they are phytoestrogens, - other pharmacologically active compounds in small quantities: saponosides, traces of alkaloids.
It is especially the isoflavones which are interesting from a pharmacological point of view:
LIMITING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
- Kudzu isoflavones help limit the consumption of alcoholic beverages in humans and animals (studies on the golden hamster). The mechanism of action is not well defined; there are at least two hypotheses.
An antabuse type action (by slowing down the metabolism of ethyl alcohol transformed into ethanal) which causes various disorders and discomfort and therefore a disgust for alcoholic beverages.
A direct or indirect action on the metabolism of dopamine and serotonin, two very important brain neurotransmitters which, among other things, act on our behavior, our emotions, our desires, our mood.
CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECT
Kudzu isoflavones cause a reduction in blood pressure through an effect probably similar to beta-blockers. The action on cardiac systolic pressure is weak but the vasodilation of small arterial vessels leads to better oxygenation of the heart (coronary arteries) and the brain.
ESTROGENIC EFFECT
- Isoflavones, through their estrogenic effects, limit hot flashes and osteoporosis in women, especially at the start of menopause.
- Phytoestrogens, therefore the isoflavones in Kudzu, can act on hormone-dependent cancers (breast, uterine, prostate cancer). The numerous studies are sometimes contradictory, cancers can be slowed down or, on the contrary, promoted.
- Kudzu or its extracts are contraindicated in patients who use tamixofen or more generally in people whose anticancer treatment is associated with a “hormonal” type treatment (e.g. breast cancer).
TYPE 2 DIABETES
Kudzu root extracts are very interesting in cases of type 2 diabetes: They promote the use by the muscles of the lipids which have accumulated there and which the body is no longer able to metabolize.
CAUTION : Kudzu or its extracts may destabilize anti-diabetic treatment and increase the risk of hypoglycemia.
Small reminder: normally the insulin secreted by the pancreas facilitates the use of these stored fats but in type 2 diabetes, this no longer works, « insulin resistance » develops, which is worsened by inflammatory phenomena.
HEPATIC PROTECTION
Saponosides and puerarin isoflavone have a protective effect against induced hepatotoxicity (animal studies), they are therefore hepatoprotective in vitro and in animals (mice)
KUDZU FLOWERS
The stems and leaves contain some pharmacologically active compounds, notably anti-inflammatory, but the flowers seem more interesting, they contain:
- Several compounds, mainly tectorigenin and genistein, which oppose cancerous development or which promote the death of cancer cells (apoptosis) these studies were not carried out on living organisms but only in vitro on cell cultures.
- Anti-inflammatory phenolic compounds.
USES
KUDZU TRADITIONAL ASIAN MEDICINAL PLANT
In China, kudzu extracts (ge gen) are used traditionally and mainly:
- in cases of fever (generally secondary to a viral infection) which is accompanied by aches with « spinal pain » (neck, nape, back),
- in case of symptoms suggestive of high blood pressure: headaches, dizziness, hearing problems including tinnitus,
- in the case of diarrheal disorders with feeling of thirst (sign of dehydration),
- and curiously to facilitate the appearance of measles rash (erythema morbillosus) which precedes the end of the disease.
Kudzu extracts also have more modern indications:
- disorders linked to coronary insufficiency (angina pectoris, following myocardial infarction),
- disorders linked to poor cerebral blood circulation (following stroke, senescence),
- type 2 diabetes,
- hot flashes and other disorders that accompany menopause,
- weight loss diet.
Asian doctors and herbalists generally prescribe mixtures of medicinal plants, however ge gen can also be used alone:
- in infusion-decoction of the fragmented dry root or powder: 5 to 15 g of root in 1/2 liter of water 2 to 3 minutes of boiling then 15 minutes of cooling, to consume during the day.
- by intravenous injection of kudzu extracts (puerarin), but this is not yet recommended in Western medicine.
Kudzu is generally associated with other traditional medicinal plants in Asia: for example ge gen tang recommended to alleviate the effects of the « flu » or the « cold ».
It contains 6 plants: Pueraria lobata, Ephedra sinica, Paeonia lactiflora, Cinnamomum cassia, Zingiber officinale, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Zizyphus zizyphus.
KUDZU FOOD SUPPLEMENT for alcohol or smoking withdrawal
To my knowledge there are no medicines based on kudzu in Western pharmacies, however there are many food supplements containing kudzu extracts, they are generally titrated at 8% isoflavones.
They are mainly used to support alcohol or tobacco withdrawal or to reduce alcohol or tobacco consumption.
Refer to the dosage recommended by the manufacturer.
KUDZU FOOD PLANT
Kudzu root is rich in starch and can be cooked after fragmentation without any special preparation like a vegetable.
But starch or « kudzu flour or powder » is used throughout Asia to:
- thicken soups or sauces,
- make desserts or special pastries.
Very young kudzu leaves and stems are edible as greens.
PLANTA FORRAJERA DE KUDZU
The leaves and young stems of kudzu are excellent fresh or dry fodder much appreciated by herbivores.
Grazing is also the only natural and economical way to control this naturally invasive plant.
Intensive and repeated grazing can even eliminate kudzu.
KUDZU USEFUL PLANT
Kudzu can regenerate very damaged soils, it is a legume which enriches the soil with nitrogen and which can be used as green “fertilizer”. BUT IT IS A PLANT THAT MUST BE CONTROLLED, because it can become invasive.
Kudzu is a traditional textile plant in Asia, it can be used to make quality paper.
Recently, there are plans to use kudzu as « biomass » to produce methane or ethanol.
Kudzu flowers are pollinated by insects, particularly bees, which make very good honey.
CULTIVATION OF KUDZU
This plant, considered invasive in many countries (particularly in the southeast of the USA), is nevertheless cultivated in Asia and tolerated in certain Pacific islands.
The propagation of all varieties or species of kudzu is done:
- using seeds which are numerous but which do not all germinate,
- using fragments of roots, more specifically the « collar » of the tubers,
- using kudzu cuttings.
Kudzu can be harvested as a forage plant but it must be dried well.
The tubers are dug up before the cold or cool period and kept cool and in the shade.
It is quite difficult to remove well-established kudzu by mechanical or chemical means. Only grazing animals will be able to destroy all of the leaves and stems, which will deplete the roots over the months. A troop of pigs is then very effective in digging up and consuming the roots.
SUMMARY
KUDZU , MEDICINAL, FOOD, USEFUL, BUT POTENTIALLY INVASIVE
Kudzu Species and varieties of kudzu have been used as medicinal plants for a very long time in Asia.
Their roots contain a nourishing starch and compounds that help limit alcohol or tobacco consumption.
Kudzu extracts are useful in coronary disorders, impaired cerebral blood circulation, type 2 diabetes and menopause-related disorders.
Copyright 2023 : Dr Jean-Michel Hurtel
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