Pueraria mirifica

Pueraria mirifica, also known as กวาวเครือ Kwao Krua (but not exclusively), is a plant found in northern and north eastern Thailand and Myanmar.

In Thailand, the plant is known as “Kwao Krua” and has a history of use in folk medicine.^{[citation needed]} Although the name “Kwao Krua” had been applied to several species of plants having tuberous roots, it was definitively identified as Pueraria mirifica in 1952. An unusual estrogenic phenol, miroestrol, was isolated eight years later from this plant.^[1]

History

Arimuttama was the old capital of the Pookham City of Myanmar. They had a sacred Buddhist precinct and one day the sacred Buddhist precinct was broken down. The Buddhist monks found this ingredient that was inscribed on the palm leaf and placed it in the sacred Buddhist precinct. The information is as below:^[2]

To take the tuberous root of Pueraria with big leaves, pound and blend with cow’s milk. The benefits of this medicine is to support memory, talk big, and be able to remember three books of the astrology, make the skin smooth like six year old kid, live more than 1,000 years and parasite diseases are not able to be of trouble

Kwao Krua is a native herbal plant found in deep forests of the northern region of Thailand. Since it is found deep within the bush, its notoriety has only been more widely recognized for approximately 80 years. In 1931, Luang Anusan Suntara published a pamphlet discussing the health benefits of Kwao Krua. He claimed it reduced wrinkles, got rid of gray hair, improved eyesight and memory, amongst other benefits. In 1952 Dr. Kerr, the Director of the Botanical Section of the Journal of the Siam Society, raised the profile of the plant when he identified the white variety of Kwao Krua to be Pueraria Mirifica. Dr. Kerr characterized the plant as the “Fountain of Youth” for men and women.

Kwao Krua is a plant indigenous to the forests of northern Thailand. There are four varieties of Kwao Krua: white, red, black and grey. White Kwao Krua is also known as Pueraria Mirifica. It is a white tuberous root (pictured below). The shrub it grows is unassuming in appearance. It is the most coveted type of Kwao Krua since it contains the most phytochemicals that are key to the health benefits associated with the plant. ^[3]

There are 4 varieties of kwao krua. They are White Kwao Krua (Pueraria mirifica), Red Kwao Krua (Butea superba), Black Kwao Krua and Dull Grey Kwao Krua.

Uses

Some cosmetic products and herbal supplements claim various health benefits of the extracts of Pueraria mirifica including increasing appetite, enlarging breasts,^[4] improving hair growth, and other rejuvenating effects; however, there is no scientific evidence to support any these claims.^[5] The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has taken action against manufacturers who make such fraudulent claims.^[6]

Chemical constituents

Pueraria mirifica contains various phytoestrogens including miroestrol, deoxymiroestrol, daidzein, genistin, genistein, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, coumestrol, pueraria, campesterol, mirificoumestan, kwakhurin, and mirificine.^{[citation needed]}

References