It’s almost too much fun to write about kudzu. The care and feeding of kudzu has taken on a mythology that rivals that of Audrey, the horticultural star of the sci-fi, romantic-comedy, horror/thriller Little Shop of Horrors. There are some eerie parallels between kudzu and the alien plant in Little Shop, especially the original 1960 B&W version.
Like Audrey, kudzu is virtually unstoppable. Unlike Audrey, kudzu has an insatiable appetite for growing space, rather than for blood. Since its introduction into the United States, the invasive vine has swallowed trees and buildings whole, smothered fields, and left little alive in its wake. Incredibly, there could soon be a thriving market for kudzu—planned cultivation and even increased acreage, or the sale or lease of harvesting rights on kudzu-smothered land. The reason? Substance-abuse research has determined that a kudzu extract can effectively reduce alcohol consumption in binge drinkers and alcoholics.
Alcohol abuse is linked to numerous health problems, both short and long term. These include dehydration, electrolyte loss, chronic vitamin deficiency over time, pancreatic and liver damage, and malnutrition. Any treatment that can eliminate or reduce the incidence of binge drinking can cut down on the negative health effects as well.
To date, several drugs are available in this market, each with a different alcohol aversion mechanism. One makes the drinker extremely nauseous, a second eliminates the drinking “high,” and a third helps maintain the body’s chemical balance after alcohol withdrawal is accomplished.
Kudzu vine extract seems to work in yet another way—by speeding up the body’s reaction to alcohol. While the chemistry is not completely understood, kudzu extract may cause blood alcohol levels to increase rapidly, so it takes less alcohol for a subject to feel drunk. The result: less total alcohol consumed. Aside from tipsiness, the kudzu capsules that test subjects took appeared to have no adverse side effects.
Commercial cultivation of kudzu, if the extract becomes widely used, could be both easier and much more difficult than one might suppose. Kudzu will grow almost anywhere in the Southeastern United States, and for the novice, helpful gardening tips are available online.
On the down side, once it gains a toehold, kudzu vines may be nearly impossible to control. A pilot program in Florida experimented with controlling the vine with 250 to 500 grazing lambs. Though the experimental sheep were perfectly willing to graze on the vines, controlling 7 million acres of kudzu-covered land in Florida would require an estimated 50 to 60 million sheep—and kudzu can grow up to a foot per day. Many more sheep have since been added. If those animals don’t keep moving and chewing, however, they are destined to become part of the landscape.
From the gardening tips guide: Recommended growing conditions: “Although kudzu will grow quite well on cement, for best result you should select an area having at least some dirt,” and “[Th]e best fertilizer I have discovered for kudzu is 40 weight non-detergent motor oil. Kudzu actually doesn’t need anything to help it grow, but the motor oil helps to prevent scraping the underside of the tender leaves when the kudzu starts its rapid growth. It also cuts down on the friction and lessens the danger of fire when the kudzu really starts to move.”
The opportunity to turn any nuisance into a valuable product is a tremendous victory for entrepreneurial discovery. Like the realization that the black sludge puddling in farmers’ fields in Titusville, Pennsylvania had a huge commercial potential, the ready availability of kudzu for market use may also offer great economic, as well as health, benefits.
Throw it over your shoulder, as they say, and run.