 Botany
Baai is a rather coarse, climbing, hairy, annual, herbaceous vine reaching a height of 8 meters. Leaflets are entire or slightly repand, ovate, 10 to 20 centimeters long, the upper surface smooth or nearly so, the lower surface densely covered with soft, grayish hairs. Flowers are about 2 centimeters long, borne on axillary racemes, 15 to 30 centimeters long. Calyx is hairy. Corolla is bright purple, 2 centimeters wide, with a large yellow spot at the base. Pods are 5 to 8 centimeters long, about 1 centimeter wide, covered with spreading brown hairs.
Distribution
- Open grasslands and thickets, at low and medium altitudes, and in Benguet it ascends to 2,000 meters.
- Found in Batan, Benguet, Quezon and the Rizal Provinces in Luzon; in Biliran; Banton; Negros and Mindanao.
- Also found in India to Japan southward to Malaya.
Parts
utilized
Roots, seeds, flowers, leaves.
Constituents
• Leaves contain glutamic acid, adenine, asparagin, butyric acid.
• Roots have yielded more than 25 isoflavonoids and flavonoids, including daidzein, daidzin, and puerarin. - • • Other isofavones isolated are kakkalide, tectoridin and tectorigenin.
• Flowers yielded six isoflavonoids, tectorigenin, glycitein, tectoridin, glycitin, 6"-O-xylosyltectoridin, and 6"-O-xylosylglycitin.
Properties
• Considered antidote, antiemetic, antipyretic, antispasmodic, antivinous, carcia, demulcent, depurative, galactagogue, hypolgycemic, hypotensive, styptic.
• Root considered antifebrile, antiemetic and antidote.
 Uses
Edibility
• Roots, flowers, leaves.
Folkloric
• Root of the plant is both food and medicine; however, above ground part is considered emetic.
• Root prescribed for fevers, colds, influenza, dysentery, snake bites.
• Use to counteract the effects of croton oil and other poisonous drugs.
• Externally applied to dog bites.
• Seeds used for dysentery and alcoholic excess.
• Flowers also used for alcohol excess.
• Leaves used on wounds as styptic.
• Shoots used to stimulate secretion of milk; applied to incipient boils and aphthous stomatitis in children.
• Every part of the plant used for skin rashes.
• Flowers used as diaphoretic and febrifuge.
• In Chinese traditional medicine, used to treat tinnitus, vertigo, deafness, diabetes; used as a remedy for alcoholism and hangover; flowers used to detoxify the liver.
Alcoholism
• Animal studies have shown daidzin and daidzein to diminish the craving for alcohol. Chinese Pharmacopoeia suggests 9-15 grams of kudzu root daily. However, results of use and supplementaion in humans have shown conflicting results.
Others
• Cultivated in China and Japan for its textile fiber and root.
• In the U.S. kudzu is used to make soaps, lotions, jelly and compost.
• Fiber studied for potential use as wallpaper, clothing and paper.
 Studies
• Inhibition of Cisplastin-Induced Damage / Free Radical Scavenging:
Study showed the radix of Pueraria thunbergiana prevented cisplastin-induced HEI-OC1 cell damage through inhibiton of lipid peroxidation and scavenging activities of free radicals.
• KS-III (Kaikasaponin III) / Hypoglycemic / Hypolipidemic: Study investigated the immunosuppressive effect of kaikasaponin III (KD-III) saponin in the diabetic rat. KS-III prolonged bleeding time and plasma clotting time in STZ-treated mice and increased TF (tissue factor) activirty. Results showed its hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects may be due to up-regulating or down-regulating antioxidant mechanisms via changes in enzyme activities.
• Antioxidant / Aldose-Reductase Inhibition: Study showed antioxidant and aldose reductase inhibitory activities.
• Anti-Inflammatory / Antinociceptive: Study of the combine extracts from three Chinese herbal medicines – Kalopanax pictus, Pueraria thunbergiana and Rhus verniciflua – used for diabetes mellitus in Korea were investigated for antiinflammatory effects. Results showed inhibition of NO production, decreased PGE2 and TNF-a release, dose-dependent analgesic activities in varying degrees among the different extracts.
• Tectorigenin / Cytotoxicity / Leukemia: Study isolated six isoflavonoids. Among these isoflavonoids, tectorigenin and genistein exhibited cytotoxicity against various human cancer cells. Tectorigenin induced differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells and caused apoptotic changes of DNA in the cells. Results suggest a potential for tectorigenin as a therapeutic agent for leukemia.
• Cognitive Effects: In a study comparing HRT and Pueraria lobata, the results did not demonstrate scientific basis for use of PL for postmenopausal health in general. However, cognitive improvements were noted. Both showed improvement in Mini-Mental State Exam and attention span. Also, HRT improved delayed recall, while PL improved flexible thinking.
• Suppression of Alcohol Intake and Withdrawal: (1) In a study of Kudzu root in alcohol-preferring rats showed a 50-60% reduction in alcohol consumption and abolishment of withdrawal symptoms. (2) In a study of male and female "heavy" alcohol drinkers, kudzu treatment resulted in significant reduction in the number of beers consumed, with decrease volume of each sip, and increase in the number of sips. Results suggest the plant may be a useful adjunct in reducing alcohol intake in a naturalistic setting.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Root extracts in the cybermarket. |
