No more "One for the road"?
By Trina Hart

With the New Year comes the pressure of resolutions, which most people make and break within the first week. One of the most common resolutions is to drink less alcohol, but having now made your resolution, probably in front of many witnesses, how can you comfortably achieve your goal?

Help is at hand with an ancient Chinese herb, grown as a weed in the US, and which goes under the common name of kudzu.

The kudzu vine, known as Ge Gen in China, is commonly used in Chinese herbalism, where it is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs. Recent research has shown that compounds called 'daidzin' and 'daidzein', which are contained in the roots and the flowers, are a safe and effective method for treating alcohol abuse. They work by suppressing the appetite for alcohol, whereas existing treatments interfere with the way the alcohol is metabolised and can cause a build-up of toxins. The plant is often used in combination with Chrysanthemum x morifolium in treating alcohol abuse.

In 1993, Dr Wing-Ming Keung, a biochemist at Harvard University, compiled 300 case studies of patients with chronic alcoholism who had been treated with kudzu. After one week, their craving for alcohol lessened. Two to four weeks later, the majority said their desire to drink had gone. The medication, which has no toxic side effects, also improved the function of vital organs affected by alcohol.

Dr Keung then turned his attention to hamsters - known to have a fondness for alcohol. They choose alcohol over water every time, often drinking the hamster equivalent of five cases of wine a day. When given kudzu extract, however, the rodents drank half as much.

In December 2000, the importers Earth Force started a trial of the herb. Eleven people - who claimed to be heavy drinkers were given Kudzu Complex for seven weeks. At the end of the period, all claimed to be drinking less, had more energy, greater alertness and reduced stress. Pre-trial, the average number of units consumed per week was 36; post trial, it was 16.

One key participant, a 34-year-old lawyer, said "In the past, I could polish off two bottles of wine on Friday night and two more on Saturday. Now I just have a few glasses when I go out."

The jury is still out on how the herb works. One theory is that it boosts the natural opiates in the brain, including serotonin and dopamine, lessening alcohol cravings. If so, kudzu might also help suppress other damaging cravings.

Kudzu Complex is available by mail order from the Nutri Centre (tel: 020 7436 5122), priced £13.99 for 60 tablets.