[admin]

Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 6 2008 at 10:57 PM Louise (Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Just interested as it's a relation of PM and has a higher isoflavone content than soy.



MermaidSlur
(Login MermaidSlur)
Re: Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 6 2008, 11:11 PM

I was just researching this and was wondering if anyone else has tried it, too. I saw it at whole foods market and considered buying it.



MermaidSlur
(Login MermaidSlur)
Re: Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 6 2008, 11:12 PM

I was just researching this and was wondering if anyone else has tried it, too. I saw it at whole foods market and considered buying it.



waxingmoon
(Login waxingmoon)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 6 2008, 11:18 PM

Hi,
Just so you know, the kudzu in PM is completely different from what you commonly find. I forget the exact name difference, but there is one. I posted about this some time back - sorry can't remember time frame of what the thread topic was.

I know for a fact the Kudzu offered at Whole Foods is not the right kudzu.

FYI
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit*

Well that wasn't hard when I used the search feature.... here is what I posted before...

Regarding the last post that mentions KUDZU...

PM is not the kudzu that is found growing as an invasive crop in the US. That species is Pueraria lobata. They are of the same family but have different chemical compositions and thus different drug effects.

Just thought I would mention that because when I saw the word Kudzu I immediately thought of the plague of a weed the poor farmers have to battle in the southeastern US.

I pulled this up on Wikipedia:

Kudzu, Pueraria lobata (syn. P. montana, P. thunbergiana), is one of about 20 species in the genus Pueraria in the pea family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It is native to southern Japan and southeast China in eastern Asia. The name comes from the Japanese word for this plant, kuzu. The other species of Pueraria occur in southeast Asia, further south.

So, hopefully this will help head off confusion -I have seen Kudzu as an herbal remedy in some stores and on some websites.

waxingmoon



This message has been edited by waxingmoon on Oct 6, 2008 11:21 PM




Louise
(Login Louise1982)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 6 2008, 11:34 PM

Waxingmoon - I know that - lol! Just wondered if it had any useful effect as it has such a high isoflavone content and if you read the info on the herbalextractsplus.com site it says it shouldn't be used by people on tamoxifen (breast cancer treatment).




may
(Login Cselestyna)
Re: Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 7 2008, 8:22 AM

i actually posted a thread about this herb a couple months ago, but no one had tried it, personally i think that because it's so close to P.M it could probably work, AND it's ALOT less expensive.



Moon
(Login -Moon-)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 7 2008, 8:26 AM

I know that one new commercial product contains this herb. Don't remember the product, but it contains at least 1 other unusual herb and soy and hops. I was sceptical when I saw it contains pueraria lobata, because I thoguht they simply swaped PM with it cause it's cheeper, eventhogubh it might not be as good as PM.

Ah remembered now, the other unusual herb in that product is sage. A very strange choice of herb, because it's an anti-galactogogue.



This message has been edited by -Moon- on Oct 7, 2008 8:27 AM




waxingmoon
(Login waxingmoon)
SENIOR MEMBER
Re: Has anyone actually taken kudzu?
October 7 2008, 2:29 PM

Here is an article that sheds some light on the pueraria lobata (North American kudzu) effect versus the Asian kudzu:

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,552062%7CPueraria%2Blobata,00.html

From the article:

"The isoflavones in kudzu belong to a larger chemical group known as phytoestrogens. In the human body, phytoestrogens may exhibit weak effects like the female hormone, estrogen. The type of kudzu that grows in North America may not have enough phytoestrogens to provide natural hormone replacement, but the types that grow in Asia may be more effective. In small studies of menopausal women, Asian kudzu relieved hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause slightly or moderately."

So according to the article the North American kudzu is a weaker phytoestrogen - which may not be all that bad - Asian kudzu seems to have a track record of side effects which I find disturbing.

By the way, kudzu has all sorts of effects. The article was interesting.

Best wishes,
waxingmoon