Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is a vine whose root, contains isoflavones such as puerarin and is sold to help cut down on drinking. Small trials from one US research group found kudzu extract reduced how much alcohol people drank.
Also known as: Pueraria lobata, Pueraria montana, kudzu root, puerarin, gegen.
A 4-week trial used an extract with 250 mg of isoflavones 3 times a day (Lukas 2013); a single-dose study used 2 g of extract with 520 mg of isoflavones (Penetar 2015). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: in a 4-week trial in 17 young men who drank heavily and were not seeking treatment, kudzu extract cut weekly drinks by 34% to 57% and increased days without alcohol, with no change in craving (Lukas 2013). In 20 men, a single dose 2.5 hours before a drinking session reduced beers drunk from 3.0 to 1.9, while the placebo group drank slightly more (Penetar 2015). These were small studies by the same group, funded by NIH.
Safety: the 4-week trial reported no adverse events and no changes in blood tests or liver and kidney function (Lukas 2013). In 12 moderate drinkers, kudzu did not change how drunk people felt or their coordination, but blood alcohol rose slightly faster for 10 to 15 minutes after the higher alcohol dose, with no change in peak level, and heart rate and skin temperature effects of alcohol were stronger (Penetar 2011).
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for kudzu that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. Plant extracts are mixtures of many compounds, so no single figure would describe them.
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