Kudzu Isoflavone Puerarin May Help Gucose Regulation
Published September 22nd, 2009
Kudzu an Asian vine was introduced to the American Southeast in the 1930s in an attempt to control erosion, it has colonized 10 million acres of farms and woods.
Scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham may have found a use for kudzu.
Two months after the UAB researchers began adding kudzu root extract to the diet of laboratory rats, the rats’ cholesterol, blood sugar, insulin, and blood pressure levels were lower than those of rats that did not receive the extract, with no apparent side effects.
The results of the study, which have been published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, could eventually lead to an inexpensive therapy for metabolic syndrome, the cluster of symptoms that often precedes type 2 diabetes.
The researchers found that kudzu root contains isoflavones, substances that improve the high blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose that characterize metabolic syndrome. The isoflavone that seemed to have the most impact, puerarin, is found only in kudzu.
J. Michael Wyss, PhD, a professor in the UAB Department of Cell Biology and lead author of the study, said that while puerarin helped lower blood pressure and cholesterol, its greatest effect is its contribution to glucose regulation. Wyss said that puerarin seems to steer glucose to places where it is beneficial, such as muscles, and away from fat cells and blood vessels.
Kudzu, which is common in China and Japan, has long been used as a dietary supplement in Asian countries, most commonly as a tea or powder.
