VALIDATION SCIENTIFIQUE
Laure Fourchaud – {{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}4.11.{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}0{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}1
Dr en physiologie de la nutrition
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What is kudzu (or kuzu)?
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It is also increasingly used to quit smoking and to remedy sugar addiction, although its inhibitory actions in these contexts have not been proven.
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Nutritional Composition
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🍻 Helps fight addictions
Kudzu helps fight addictions, particularly tobacco, alcohol, and sugar, and this is perhaps its most intriguing property. For now, only its impact on alcohol consumption has been scientifically proven. But its effect on smoking and excessive sugar consumption is under study.
This study conducted by Harvard University on men and women considered “heavy drinkers” is the most significant. Researchers offered participants their favorite beer. Those taking a kudzu cure spontaneously drank less alcohol, more slowly, and in smaller sips than those on a placebo.
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🌵 Anti-inflammatory
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Also read the These natural and tasty anti-inflammatory foods
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Traditional Chinese medicine praises its positive effects on the heart. Indeed, kudzu helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and protect the arteries.
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This study conducted by the University of Alabama in the United States on rats demonstrated that a course of kudzu root extract reduces blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels, thus protecting cardiovascular function.
🍭 Regulates blood sugar
Kudzu is also known to contribute to regulating blood glucose levels.
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Moreover, its anti-addiction effects could help reduce our excessive sugar consumption.
💆♀️ May alleviate hangovers
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The saponins it contains are believed to be responsible for this property, by supporting liver function and promoting liver detoxification, similar to aloe vera, which is also recognized for its detoxifying properties.
Thus, combined with other plants, it is often included in herbal teas meant to reduce hangover symptoms. However, its efficacy in this context has not yet been scientifically proven.
How to consume it
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Generally, it takes 1 kg of roots to produce 100g of kudzu powder. While it is used in the composition of dishes and desserts, it can also be consumed as an infusion in water or plant-based milk.
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In capsules
Many dietary supplements in capsule form contain kudzu. When consumed, it is important to check that they contain puerarin, the main active ingredient, and daidzin.
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Cooking with kudzu
In Japan, kudzu is not a dietary supplement, it’s used in cooking! Its leaves are prepared in salads and its flowers are made into tempura (fritters). Its roots serve as a culinary thickener, somewhat like agar-agar: in powder form, they are mixed into different dishes. As it doesn’t have much taste, it can easily blend into all sorts of recipes.
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⏳ The dosage of kudzu varies depending on how it is consumed. In any case, it is advised to start with three-month courses to assess its effects on the body.
💊 In capsules: up to 1800 mg of dry extract standardized to 40% in isoflavones can be taken
🥄 In powder: 1 teaspoon per cup, two to four times a day
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Kudzu poses no danger at recommended doses and no side effects have been observed when consumed orally.
However, its concentration of isoflavones, whose action can disrupt hormones, means it is not recommended in cases of breast cancer, ovarian cysts, and endocrine diseases.
History, culture, and market
Kudzu, as we have seen, has been used for therapeutic purposes in Asia for over 2,000 years. In Japan, a tea called kuzuyu was made from kudzu powder. In traditional Chinese medicine, a beverage known as Gěgēntāng, “kudzu root soup,” was prepared, containing its dried roots as well as ginger, cinnamon, and other medicinal plants.
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Detailed Nutritional Values
This data has been synthesized and verified for Darwin Nutrition by Laure Fourchaud, PhD in Nutrition Physiology.
| Kudzu (powder) | /100g | %DV* | /5g (1 tsp) | {{{TEMP_MARK_81}}} |
| Energy (kcal) | {{{TEMP_MARK_148}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_111}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_111}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_113}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_105}}} | ||||
| {{{TEMP_MARK_108}}} | ||||
| Macronutrients | ||||
| Protein (g) | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}1}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_114}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_115}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_100}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_155}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_156}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}3}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}4}}} |
| Of which Sugars (g) | ||||
| {{{TEMP_MARK_10{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}1}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}6}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}7}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}7}}} |
| Minerals | ||||
| {{{TEMP_MARK_101}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}9}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_130}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_131}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_156}}}}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_107}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_149}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_116}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_133}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_150}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_103}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_134}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_201}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_117}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_151}}} |
| Magnesium (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_15{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_135}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_136}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_137}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_91}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_134}}} | 1 | {{{TEMP_MARK_117}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_139}}} |
| Phosphorus (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_140}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_141}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_14{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_143}}} |
| Potassium (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_149}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_133}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_133}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_119}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_104}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_149}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_146}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_133}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_1{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}0}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_109}}} | ||||
| {{{TEMP_MARK_106}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamins | ||||
| {{{TEMP_MARK_9{{{TEMP_MARK_201}}}}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin C (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin E (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin B1 (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin B2 (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin B3 (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin B5 (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin B6 (mg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| {{{TEMP_MARK_71}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
| Vitamin K (μg) | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} | {{{TEMP_MARK_157}}} |
*%DV: % Daily Value for an adult
Antioxidants: flavonoids (isoflavones: puerarin, daidzein, and genistein)
Other compounds: coumarin, sterols (beta-sitosterol), saponins, glycosides (puerosides A and B)
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Keung, W.M., Vallee, B.L., 1998. Kudzu root: an ancient Chinese source of modern antidipsotropic agents. Phytochemistry 47, 499–506.
Pieters, A.J., 1932. Kudzu a Forage Crop for the Southeast. United States Department of Agriculture, Leaflet, p. 91, p. 8.
Lukas SE, Penetar D, Berko J, Vicens L, Palmer C, Mallya G, Macklin EA, Lee DY, 2005. An extract of the Chinese herbal root kudzu reduces alcohol drinking by heavy drinkers in a naturalistic setting.
Penetar DM, Toto LH, Farmer SL, Lee DY, Ma Z, Liu Y, Lukas SE, 2012. The isoflavone puerarin reduces alcohol intake in heavy drinkers: a pilot study.
Lee JH, Jeon YD, Lee YM, Kim DK, 2018. The suppressive effect of puerarin on atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions through regulation of inflammatory mediators in vitro and in vivo.
Jin SE, Son YK, Min BS, Jung HA, Choi JS, 2012. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of constituents isolated from Pueraria lobata roots.
Ning Peng, Jeevan K. Prasain, Yanying Dai, Ray Moore, Alireza Arabshahi, Stephen Barnes, Scott Carlson, and J. Michael Wyss, 2009. Chronic dietary Kudzu Isoflavones Improve Components of Metabolic Syndrome in Stroke-prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.
