ATS Camera-Phone Post from BlackJackal (Killer Kudzu)

found something interesting and possibly good news since we have an abundance of kudzu

New Study Suggests Kudzu Helps Curb Binge Drinking
BOSTON (AP) -- The hardy, invasive kudzu vine, introduced to this country decades ago to control soil erosion, could have what it takes to curb binge drinking, new research suggests.

Kudzu, an ever-expanding plant considered a pest in much of the South, appears to contain a compound that can be effective in reducing alcohol intake among humans.

Researcher Scott Lukas did not have any trouble rounding up volunteers for his study, published in this month's issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Lukas' team at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital set up a makeshift "apartment" in a laboratory, complete with a television, reclining chair and a refrigerator stocked with beer.

Findings show that subjects who took kudzu drank an average of 1.8 beers per session, compared with the 3.5 beers consumed by those who took a placebo.

Lukas was not certain why but speculated that kudzu increases blood alcohol levels and speeds up its effects. More simply put, the subjects needed fewer beers to feel drunk.

"That rapid infusion of alcohol is satisfying them and taking away their desire for more drinks," Lukas said. "That's only a theory. It's the best we've got so far."

In 2003, David Overstreet and other scientists found the herb to be effective in reducing alcohol intake on rats.

There's a big ditch that runs infront of my house, that stuff sucks it slowly creeps its way toward my house. Here in Tennessee they also use goats to keep that stuff off the roads.

Hmmmmmm Kudzu?

Considering that it such a fast growing plant -- up to a foot per day -- it might make an outstanding alternative energy source. Bio fuels, like corn, hemp etc. depend on organic plant matter to either ferment and thus produce an alcohol-type fuel or alternatively to "compost" and produce methane-like gas that can also be used as fuel.

I haven't done any research on Kudzu, I just found out about through this post, but it sounds like a very viable source for bio fuels. It certainly beats corn. Corn, even though it might not be used for food or feed for humans and animals, still needs fertilizer and insecticides to be grown and used for bio fuels. Considering that Kudzu is a very rapidly growing "weed", it might be an ideal alternative fuel candidate.