Pueraria (Ge) in traditional Chinese herbal medicine

The root of kudzu (Ge Gen) is one of the most common ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine. The stem, leaf, flower and seed of Ge have also been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Only the root and flower are commercially available nowadays. The medical record of kudzu (Ge, Pueraria) dates back nearly 2000 years in China’s first medicinal work, Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Husbandman’s Classic of Materia Medica, Anonymous, c. AD 25-200), in which Ge is listed as a middle grade medicinal plant1, and Ge Gen is used for the relief of “thirsting and wasting symptoms,” fever, vomiting, and nonspecific intoxication (Jiangsu College of New Medicine, 1977). The stem is used for the treatment of carbuncles and sore throat. The leaf is used for wound bleeding. The flower was first recommended for alcohol intoxication (Sun SiMiao, 581-682) and later for alcohol abuse in Li Dong-Yuan’s (1180-1251) Pi Wei Lun (Discussion of the Spleen and Stomach, 1249). In Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, the seed is described as an antidysenteric agent but in Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica, 1596) it is recommended as an anti-alcohol intoxication agent by Li Shi-Zhen (Zeng et al., 2000).