Participants were instructed to always keep the beer glass on the table except when taking a sip. The scale was connected to a computer in an adjacent room that ran a customized program that sampled the scale at 5 Hz and detected any weight changes that exceeded 1 gm. Additional details and photos of the device can be found in Lukas et al. (2005). Kudzu extract was administered in gelatin capsules containing 500 mg of extract (Alkontrol-Herbal™; NPI-031) prepared by Natural Pharmacia International, Inc., Burlington, MA.
The fact that kudzu extract nearly doubled the number of consecutive days that individuals maintained abstinence suggests that it may be a useful adjunct during the early weeks of treatment. Separate general linear model ANOVAs for data with repeated measurements were used to analyze the number of drinks per week and the number of heavy drinking days per week. The two treatments (kudzu and placebo) were analyzed as fixed effects and time (weeks since randomization) as a repeated-measurements effect.
Kudzu is a natural remedy that has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat alcoholism. While it may not be as effective as some prescription medications, it can still be a helpful addition to a comprehensive treatment plan for alcoholism. Studies have found that the isoflavones in kudzu can help lower cholesterol levels https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and reduce blood pressure. Kudzu, also known as Pueraria Montana, is a climbing vine that belongs to the pea family. This invasive weed is native to East Asia, particularly China, Japan, and Korea, where it has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. Kudzu is a natural medicine that is extracted from the root of the plant.
Kudzu root is linked to a wide range of potential health benefits from easing menopausal symptoms to treating alcohol dependence. Still, more research needs to be done to prove whether it’s truly effective. The finding that alcohol intake was reduced without affecting desire to use alcohol at first seemed counter-intuitive. However, it is important to recognize that one of the major weaknesses of the measure that we used to record desire to drink alcohol was that it was unidimensional. It is kudzu for alcohol cravings quite likely that the desire to use alcohol in an outpatient setting cannot be captured with a single question; we also observed an absence of an effect on desire for alcohol in our previous study (Lukas et al., 2005). The safety of kudzu extract was monitored via a number of methods including twice weekly assessments of vital signs (resting pulse, blood pressure), collecting daily reports of side effects using a daily diary and twice weekly assessments of adverse events by study staff.
