Kudzu

Kudzu/Nutrient Depletion:

  • CalciumCalcium: In animal research, kudzu decreased serum calcium levels (113).
  • GlucoseGlucose: According to animal research, kudzu and its constituents may have hypoglycemic effects (61; 62; 63) and may lower blood glucose levels (64). In human research, puerarin decreased fasting plasma insulin and increased insulin sensitivity index (58), and puerarin plus control treatment (metformin and captopril) and Avandia? decreased blood glucose (81).
  • LipidsLipids: In animal research, kudzu decreased serum cholesterol and HDL cholesterol and increased serum triglyceride levels (92; 108). In human research, Pueraria mirifica increased HDL, decreased LDL, decreased the ratio of LDL-C to HDL-C, increased apo A1, decreased apo B, decreased the ratio of apo B to apo A1 (82), and increased triglyceride levels (34; 35; 36). In a review and human research, puerarin reduced triglyceride and total cholesterol levels, plasminogen inhibitor-1, and LDL, and increased HDL (58; 68).