Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Kudzu (Pueraria lobata), of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family. Vigorous twining perennial vine with large trifoliate leaves; native range: East Asia — China, Japan and Korea; naturalised and famously invasive in the southern United States. Globally recognized as ge gen (葛根) in Chinese, and kudzu, kudzu vine, Japanese arrowroot in English. The part used is root (and, separately, the flower). A massive starchy root, pale and fibrous within, faintly sweet and bland with a cooling, mealy character when dried and sliced.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
KUDZU
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Kudzu
- Scientific name
- Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
- Family
- Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
Form
- Part used
- root (and, separately, the flower)
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · pungent
- Western
- sweet, mildly acrid
Temperature
TCM: cool
Western: cool
convergence: both {witness_count} witnesses agree — a moistening, heat-clearing coolness
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Spleen · Stomach
- Western
- circulation · liver · nerves
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- releases the muscles and exterior, clears heat, vents rashes, generates fluids to check thirst, raises the yang to stop diarrhoea, and eases wine damage
- Western
- antipyretic, antispasmodic, peripheral vasodilator; used for alcohol craving and hangover, and as a phytoestrogenic support in menopause
Cautions
Contraindications: cold, deficient stomach without heat, and sweating from exterior deficiency; caution in hormone-sensitive conditions given the phytoestrogens
Toxicity: a food-grade root, well tolerated; occasional light-headedness or digestive upset at high dose
Interactions
- Western
- hormonal therapy: isoflavones (daidzein, puerarin) are phytoestrogenic and may add to or oppose oestrogenic drugs and tamoxifen · antidiabetic agents: may add to blood-glucose lowering
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