Herbal treatment for alcoholism

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http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/09/19/are_there_an\

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Are there any herbal remedies for alcoholism or alcohol abuse?

 

September 19, 2005

 

Yes, an extract from the kudzu vine -- which grows rampantly all over

the Southeast and in China and Japan -- appears to be effective at

reducing the amount of alcohol a person drinks, according to a

placebo-controlled study published this spring by researchers at McLean

Hospital in Belmont.

 

The only catch is that the formulation of kudzu that proved effective in

the study, is not yet available. The forms of kudzu that are currently

available may be too weak to work, said the study's author, Dr. Scott

Lukas, director of behavioral psychopharmacology research at McLean.

Kudzu, which appears to have no adverse side effects, is an herb that

Chinese traditional healers have been using for centuries to treat

alcohol intoxication and hangovers, said Raye Litten, a physiologist and

associate director of treatment and recovery research at the National

Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Although the research on

kudzu for alcohol problems is still preliminary, Litten said, it is

promising enough that the government agency is now funding further

research on the herb and its active ingredients, puerarin, daidzin, and

daidzein.

 

In the McLean study, which appeared in the May issue of ''Alcoholism:

Clinical and Experimental Research, " Lukas and his team showed that

binge drinkers who took kudzu drank substantially less than normal --

1.8 beers per session rather than 3.5.

 

Kudzu appears to act by increasing blood flow to the brain. If it makes

alcohol get to the brain more quickly, it could lead drinkers to feel

satisfied sooner and thus turn off the craving for more, Lukas said.

 

JUDY FOREMAN