Japanese Knotweed Research

Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) is one of the most invasive yet useful plants on Earth. This is not being dramatic - there is literally a billion dollar industry in England to eradicate it from home sites. Lore persists around how destructive the plant can be. Some sources claim it can break through sidewalks and housing foundations. These reports are misleading. While knotweed can exploit cracks in pavement and foundations, it is not capable of breaking through these structures. Anyone who has worked with the tender shoots can easily ascertain this fact.

Aside from being a very persistent and prolific plant, why do we care so much about knotweed? Well, there’s tons of it (literally) growing all around western North Carolina where I live. NC Department of Transportation attempts to maintain it by spraying herbicides at it along our waterways, which does nothing to stop its spread because of the haphazard application and timing of their efforts. It does poison our aquatic life and potentially ends up in our drinking water. We are currently exploring solutions for using this plant rather than spraying it.

Knotweed root has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Recent studies have shown that it is a potent treatment for Lyme disease as well as a cardio and neuro protective. It also has the potential to support human telomere growth. Shortening telomeres are responsible for a lot of the cellular damage that causes our bodies to age. Knotweed basically has the potential to slow the aging process, while increasing the overall health of our bodies. There are lots of amazing herbal medicines out there which work amazingly for reducing inflammation. Knotweed, however, is my #1 go-to for reducing inflammation. I’ve watched stubborn back pain completely disappear from working with knotweed in short periods of time. It’s truly an herbal medicine powerhouse, and we have an almost limitless supply in many part of eastern North America.

We hope to bring knotweed medicine to more people while also removing stands of the roots in the process. We are working on testing our knotweed tinctures this spring to determine potency and be able to better utilize it as medicine. Knotweed also has incredible potential to be used as a biofungicide and as a plant immune booster. Exotic pathogens continue to wreak havoc on all types of plants and being able to boost their immune response with a natural solution like knotweed is a huge win. This testing already exists and agricultural products like Regalia already use knotweed as the primary ingredient for improving plant health and even increasing crop production. In our vision, knotweed could also be used to treat pathogens that affect native plants, such as the various fungal issues plaguing Oaks.

We look forward to bringing this research forward in the coming years as solutions to currently degrading human and ecological health. If you’d like to support our work, please feel free to make a tax-deductible donation and/or purchase knotweed products in our shop.

Thanks!

Bryan