Kudzu

Kudzu is cooked as food in China, and also is used as an herb in traditional Chinese medicine. However, in the United States, kudzu has become an invasive pest. It was deliberately planted earlier this century for use as animal fodder and to control soil erosion. It turned out to be incredibly prolific and soon spread throughout the South like an alien invader. The problem is that kudzu can grow a foot a day during the summer, and as much as 60 feet a year, giving it the folk name mile-a-minute vine. It swallows telephone poles, chokes trees, and takes over yards. The only defense may be to find a use for it.

Besides cooking with it, feeding it to animals, and weaving baskets out of its rubbery vines, kudzu may also be useful in treating alcoholism. In Chinese folk medicine, a tea brewed from kudzu root is believed to be useful in sobering up a drunk. Taking the hint, a 1993 study evaluated the effects of kudzu in a species of hamsters known to enjoy drinking alcohol to intoxication. Ordinarily, if given a choice, the Syrian golden hamster will prefer alcohol to water, but administration of kudzu reversed that preference. This animal study led to widespread speculation that kudzu may be useful in the treatment of human alcoholism. However, a 1-month double-blind study of 38 individuals with alcoholism found no improvement in the participants given kudzu as compared to those given placebo. These results significantly dimmed the excitement around using kudzu for this purpose. Perhaps it only works for hamsters. In academic Chinese herbology (as opposed to Chinese folk medicine), kudzu has different applications. One classic herbal formula containing kudzu is used for the treatment of colds accompanied by pain in the neck. However, there is no scientific evidence that it is effective.

The standard dosage of kudzu ranges from 9 to 15 g daily, in tea or tablets.

Based on its extensive food use, kudzu is believed to be reasonably safe. However, safety in young children, pregnant or nursing women, or those with severe kidney or liver disease has not been established.