Kudzu, Who knew?

Kudzu root, a starchy white root native to Japan and China, has been used for in traditional Chinese medicine to reduce alcohol intake and hangovers.

The Harvard Medical School is studying kudzu as a possible way to treat alcoholic cravings, by turning an extracted compound from the herb into a medical drug. The mechanism for this is not yet established, but it may have to do with both alcohol metabolism and the reward circuits in the brain.

Wing Ming Keung, a pathology professor at Harvard University, has studied kudzu since 1993, looking for active compounds that could one day be used as a drug for reducing alcohol cravings for alcohol rehab and treatment.

Kudzu is available in health food stores in capsules, tablets, and alcohol-free liquid tinctures. The dried root is also available in Asian herbal stores. Kudzu root has a bland, chalky taste. When the powdered root is mized with water, it acts as a thickener similar to arrowroot.

In Asia, kudzu is also used as a food or made into tea.

More info: about.com, wikipedia
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:: in tablet
:: as a root

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