ABSTRACT

One of the unique features of the kudzu plant is its ubiquitousness in the environment and its widespread availability via health, herbal medicine and grocery stores. This factor alone might make it more desirable as an aid to control drinking. United States species of kudzu contain only about 0.7-1.1 per cent total isoflavones, and with the advent of electronic purchasing on the web, many suppliers of pueraria-based preparations have surfaced to sell these directly to the public. In spite of the claims of high purity, potency and quality, the actual content of pueraria and related isoflavones is very low, highly variable and inconsistent even from the same manufacturer. Further, even the claim that a preparation is an “extract” does not ensure greater potency as these preparations usually contain the same small amounts of puerarin as the raw powder. Given the extremely low potency of OTC available kudzu products, extrapolation from the animal data suggests that doses of 7-10 g of raw kudzu root powder needs to be taken at least two times daily, to match the doses that have been effective in animals.