Lee Swanson Research Update

Kudzu May Help Curb Binge Drinking

June 2005

kudzu

Consumption of the herb kudzu may be an effective means to reduce alcohol intake among humans, according to a study completed by researchers at McLean Hospital in Boston.

Investigators set up a makeshift "apartment" in a laboratory, complete with a television, reclining chair and a refrigerator stocked with beer. They recruited 14 men and women in their 20s to spend four 90-minute sessions consuming beer and watching TV. Researchers selected people who said they regularly consumed three to four drinks per day.

Subjects were treated with either a placebo or a kudzu extract for seven days and then given the opportunity to drink their preferred brand of beer. A digital scale that was located in the top of an end table monitored drinking behavior.

Kudzu treatment resulted in significant reduction in the number of beers consumed. In fact, subjects who took kudzu drank an average of 1.8 beers per session, compared with the 3.5 beers consumed by those who took a placebo. Researchers noted an increase in the time it took subjects to consume a beer and a decrease in the volume of each sip.

Researchers concluded that "an extract of this leguminous plant may be a useful adjunct in reducing alcohol intake in a naturalistic setting."

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 29(5):756-762, 2005

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