Editing Kudzu (section)

==Uses==

===Soil improvement and preservation===
Kudzu has been used as a form of [[erosion control]] and to enhance the soil. As a [[legume]], it increases the [[nitrogen]] in the soil by a symbiotic relationship with [[Nitrogen fixation|nitrogen-fixing]] [[bacteria]].<ref name="appalachia">{{cite web|url=http://www.a-spi.org/tp/tp55.htm|title=Kudzu in Appalachia|access-date=20 August 2007|publisher=Appalachia -- Science in the Public Interest|year=2000|author=Amanda Allen|work=ASPI Technical Series TP 55|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928071603/http://www.a-spi.org/tp/tp55.htm|archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> Its deep taproots also transfer valuable minerals from the [[subsoil]] to the topsoil, thereby improving the topsoil. In the deforested section of the central [[Amazon Basin]] in [[Brazil]], it has been used for improving the soil pore-space in clay [[latosol]]s, thus freeing even more water for plants than in the soil prior to deforestation.<ref name="brazil">{{cite journal|title=Changes in soil pore-space distribution following deforestation and revegetation: An example from the Central Amazon Basin, Brazil |year=1991|author1=Chauvel, A |author2=Grimaldi, M |author3=Tessier, D |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |doi=10.1016/0378-1127(91)90147-N |volume=38 |issue=3–4 |pages=259–271|bibcode=1991ForEM..38..259C |url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers16-03/38584.pdf }}</ref>

===Animal feed===
Kudzu can be used by grazing animals, as it is high in quality as a [[Fodder|forage]] and palatable to [[livestock]].  It can be grazed until [[frost]] and even slightly after.  Kudzu had been used in the southern United States specifically to feed goats on land that had limited resources.  Kudzu [[hay]] typically has a 22–23% crude protein content and over 60% total digestible nutrient value.  The quality of the leaves decreases as [[vine]] content increases relative to the [[leaf]] content. Kudzu also has low forage yields despite its rate of [[cell growth|growth]], yielding around two to four tons of dry matter per acre annually.  It is also difficult to bale due to its vining growth and its slowness in shedding water. This makes it necessary to place kudzu hay under sheltered protection after being baled. Fresh kudzu is readily consumed by all types of grazing animals, but frequent grazing over three to four years can ruin even established stands. Thus, kudzu only serves well as a grazing crop on a temporary basis.<ref name="alabama">{{cite web|url=http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0065/|title=Kudzu in Alabama: History, Uses, and Control|access-date=20 August 2007|publisher=Alabama Cooperative Extension System|year=1999|author1=John Everest |author2=James Miller |author3=Donald Ball |author4=Mike Patterson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616073734/http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0065/|archive-date=16 June 2012 }}</ref>

===Basketry===
Kudzu fiber has long been used for fiber art and basketry.  The long runners which propagate the kudzu fields and the larger vines which cover trees make excellent weaving material.  Some basketmakers use the material green.  Others use it after splitting it in half, allowing it to dry and then rehydrating it using hot water.  Both traditional and contemporary basketry artists use kudzu.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSQzR6_h9yEC&q=kudzu+basket|title=The book of kudzu: a culinary & healing guide|author1=[[William Shurtleff]] |author2=[[Akiko Aoyagi]] |publisher=Soyinfo Center|year=1977|isbn=9780394420684}}</ref>
[[File:Kudzu basket hen.jpg|alt=A basket with a large vine and its tendrils incorporated into the weave|thumb|Appalachian hen basket, {{Circa|2011}}]]

===Phytochemicals and uses===
Kudzu contains [[isoflavone]]s, including [[puerarin]] (about 60% of the total isoflavones), [[daidzein]], [[daidzin]] (structurally related to [[genistein]]), [[mirificin]], and [[salvianolic acid]], among numerous others identified.<ref name="mol">{{cite journal|pmid=28353641|pmc=6154678|year=2017|last1=Wang|first1=F. R.|title=Rapid Determination of 30 Polyphenols in Tongmai Formula, a Combination of Puerariae Lobatae Radix, Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma, via Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry|journal=Molecules|volume=22|issue=4|pages=545|last2=Zhang|first2=Y|last3=Yang|first3=X. B.|last4=Liu|first4=C. X.|last5=Yang|first5=X. W.|last6=Xu|first6=W|last7=Liu|first7=J. X.|doi=10.3390/molecules22040545|doi-access=free}}</ref> In [[traditional Chinese medicine]], where it is known as ''gé gēn'' (gegen), kudzu is considered one of the [[50 Fundamental Herbs|50 fundamental herbs]] thought to have therapeutic effects, although there is no high-quality [[clinical research]] to indicate it has any activity or therapeutic use in humans.<ref name="drugs">{{cite web|url=https://www.drugs.com/npc/kudzu.html|title=Kudzu|publisher=Drugs.com|date=2017|access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="msk">{{cite web|url=https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/kudzu|title=Kudzu|publisher=Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center|date=2017|access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref>{{Refn|See, however, Zhang, Y., Kong, W. N., & Chai, X. Q. (2018).|group=note}} Compounds of [[icariin]], astragalus, and [[puerarin]] mitigates iron overload in the cerebral cortex of mice with Alzheimer's disease.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yu |last2=Kong |first2=Wei-Na |last3=Chai |first3=Xi-Qing |date=Apr 2018 |title=Compound of icariin, astragalus, and puerarin mitigates iron overload in the cerebral cortex of Alzheimer's disease mice |journal=Neural Regeneration Research |language=en-US |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=731–736 |doi=10.4103/1673-5374.230302 |pmid=29722328 |pmc=5950686 |s2cid=19158410 |issn=1673-5374 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Adverse effect]]s may occur if kudzu is taken by people with hormone-sensitive cancer or those taking [[tamoxifen]], antidiabetic medications, or [[methotrexate]].<ref name=msk/>[[File:KudzuLeaves.JPG|thumb|Kudzu leaves near [[Canton, Georgia]]]]

===Food===
[[Kuzuko|The roots]] contain [[starch]], which has traditionally been used as a food ingredient in East and Southeast Asia. In [[Vietnam]], the starch, called ''bột sắn dây'', is flavoured with [[pomelo]] oil and then used as a drink in the summer. In [[Korea]], the plant root is made into [[arrowroot tea|''chikcha'']] (칡차; "arrowroot tea"), used in traditional medicine, and processed starch used for culinary purposes such as primary ingredient for [[naengmyeon]] (칡냉면). In [[Japan]], the plant is known as ''kuzu'' and the starch named ''[[kuzuko]]''. ''Kuzuko'' is used in dishes including ''[[kuzumochi]], mizu [[manjū]]'', and ''[[kuzuyu]]''. It also serves as a thickener for sauces, and can be a substitute for cornstarch.<ref name="ShurtleffAoyagi1977">{{cite book|last1=Shurtleff|first1=William|last2=Aoyagi|first2=Akiko|title=The Book of Kudzu: A Culinary & Healing Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSQzR6_h9yEC|year=1977|publisher=Soyinfo Center|isbn=978-0-394-42068-4|page=9}}</ref>
[[File:2010 Kuzumochi(Kudzu starch cake) by Sanda-Minoya.jpg|alt=a translucent jelly with black soybeans visible inside|thumb|''[[Kuzumochi]]'', a Japanese pudding]]
The flowers are used to make a [[Fruit preserves|jelly]] that tastes similar to grape jelly.<ref name="Burney" /><ref name="connoisseur">{{cite book |last1=Marchese |first1=C. Marina |title=The Honey Connoisseur |last2=Flottum |first2=Kim |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal |year=2013 |isbn=9781603763325 |pages=84–85}}</ref><!-- pg 84 --> Roots, flowers, and leaves of kudzu show antioxidant activity that suggests food uses.<ref name="Burney">{{cite web|url=http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-03292010-130857/|title=Determination of antioxidant and total phenolic content of ''Pueraria lobata'' and evaluation of novel food products containing kudzu|author=Sandra Lynn Burney|year=2010|publisher=Mississippi State University|access-date=28 November 2011|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616034230/http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-03292010-130857/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nearby bee colonies may forage on kudzu nectar during droughts as a last resort, producing a low-viscosity red or purple [[honey]] that tastes of grape jelly or [[Bubble gum|bubblegum]].<ref name="connoisseur" /><!-- pg 85 -->

===Folk medicine===
Kudzu has also been used for centuries in East Asia in [[traditional medicine|folk medicine]] using [[herbal tea]]s and [[tincture]]s.<ref name="stewart">{{cite magazine|magazine=Smithsonian Magazine|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/kudzu-love-it-or-run-68095358/|title= Kudzu: Love It or Run|date = 30 September 2000|author=Doug Stewart|accessdate=21 June 2021}}</ref> Kudzu powder is used in Japan to make an herbal tea called ''[[kuzuyu]]''. Kakkonto ({{cjkv|c=葛根湯|p=gégēntāng|j=葛根湯|r=kakkontō|l=Kudzu Root Soup}}) is a herbal drink with its origin in [[traditional Chinese medicine]], intended for people with various mild illnesses such as [[headache]].<ref name=stewart/>

===Fiber===
Kudzu fiber, known as ko-hemp,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ko-hemp|title=Definition of KO-HEMP|website=Merriam-Webster}}</ref> is traditionally used to make clothing and paper,<ref>{{Cite journal| title = Kudzu (''Pueraria lobata'' (Willd.) Ohwi) | author = Larry W. Mitich | journal = Weed Technology | volume = 14 | issue = 1 | date = Jan–Mar 2000 | pages = 231–235 | doi = 10.1614/0890-037X(2000)014[0231:KPLWO]2.0.CO;2 | jstor = 3988532 | s2cid = 86120103 }}</ref> and has also been investigated for industrial-scale use.<ref>{{Cite journal| title = Kudzu (Pueraria Lobata): Potential agricultural and industrial resource | journal = Economic Botany | issn = 1874-9364 | volume = 33 | issue = 4 |date = October 1979| doi = 10.1007/BF02858336 | pages = 400–412 |author1=Robert D. Tanner |author2=S. Shahid Hussain |author3=Lindsey A. Hamilton |author4=Frederick T. Wolf | bibcode = 1979EcBot..33..400T | s2cid = 2680987 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| title = The effect of fermentation (retting) time and harvest time on kudzu (''Pueraria lobata'') fiber strength | journal = Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology | issn = 1559-0291 | volume = 57–58 | issue = 1 | date = March 1996 | doi = 10.1007/BF02941690 | pages = 75–84 |author1=Sibel Uludag |author2=Veara Loha |author3=Ales Prokop |author4=Robert D. Tanner | s2cid = 189908496 }}</ref> Kudzu fiber is a [[bast fiber]] similar to hemp and linen and has been used for clothing in China for at least 6,000 years and in Japan for at least 1,500 years. In ancient China, kudzu was one of three main clothing and textile materials, with silk and ramie being the other two.<ref name="Zhenyu"/> 
Kudzu is still currently used in Japan, primarily to weave {{transliteration|ja|[[Obi (sash)|obi]]}} worn in the summer.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.motoji.co.jp/blogs/artists-origins/kudzufu | title=静岡県・葛布（くずふ） }}</ref>

===Other uses===
It may become a valuable asset for the production of [[cellulosic ethanol]].<ref>Richard G. Lugar, R. James Woolsey. The New Petroleum. Foreign Affairs. 1999. Vol. 78, No 1. p. 88.</ref> In the [[Southern United States]], kudzu is used to make [[soap]]s, [[lotion]]s, and [[compost]].<ref name="basket">{{cite web|url=http://www.dukeemployees.com/offthewall2.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621013954/https://www.dukeemployees.com/offthewall2.shtml|archive-date=21 June 2024|title=If You Can't Beat Kudzu, Join It|access-date=20 August 2007|publisher=Duke Energy Employee Advocate|year=2003|author=Jeffrey Collins|work=Off the Wall}}</ref>