Kava, a Pacific herb consumed worldwide for medicinal, recreational and cultural purposes, has been associated with rare hepatotoxicity, and there is currently a critical need to determine this causation. The previously proposed Pacific kava paradox was based on the theory that kava hepatotoxicity was not observed following use of traditional aqueous extracts in the Pacific region, but was restricted to use of Western acetonic and ethanolic extracts. Subsequent cases analyzed by the World Health Organization and published case reports revealed that traditional aqueous extracts used in New Caledonia, Australia, the USA and Germany may also be hepatotoxic; thus, there is no longer a basis to sustain the previously proposed Pacific kava paradox. It appears that the primary cause of toxicity may reside in the time before the preparation of the various kava extracts, possibly attributed to poor quality of the raw material caused by mould hepatotoxins. Rigorous testing of kava raw material is urgently advised, in addition to Pan-Pacific kava manufacturing quality standards.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3269575 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2011.04070.x | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The potential of AB-free kava in enabling tobacco cessation via management of abstinence-related stress and insomnia: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.
BMC Complement Med Ther
December 2024
College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Background: As the primary cause of various preventable illnesses, smoking results in approximately five million premature deaths each year in the US and a multitude of adults living with serious illness. The majority of smokers know the health risks associated with smoking and intend to quit. However, quitting is very difficult partly because of insomnia and stress associated with it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAssessment of the efficacy of Piper methysticum (Micrembryeae: Piperaceae) as a bioinsecticide, and/or spinosad combined with attractive plant volatiles for a novel lure and kill strategy against Bactrocera tryoni (Diptera: Tephritidae) in laboratory.
J Econ Entomol
June 2024
IAC, Institut Agronomique néo-Calédonien, Equipe ARBOREAL (AgricultuRe BiOdiveRsite Et vALorisation), Station de Recherches Fruitières de Pocquereux, Laboratoire d'Entomologie Appliquée, BP 32, 98880 La Foa, New Caledonia.
The Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a crop pest of global economic importance because of its wide range of hosts and its invasiveness capacities. To develop a novel integrated and sustainable crop protection, we have investigated the insecticidal properties of different varieties of kava (Piper methysticum [Frost]) extracted by two methods and the attractive effects of six plant volatiles identified from B. tryoni host plants to female, mated or not.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffect of kava (Piper methysticum) on peripheral gene expression among individuals with generalized anxiety disorder: A post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial.
Phytother Res
December 2023
Department of Medical Genetics, Psychiatry, Physiology & Pharmacology Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Kava is a South Pacific plant-based medicine with anxiolytic properties, but little is known about the impact kava has on gene expression or whether gene expression can serve as a marker of kava response. This study aimed to determine whether kava treatment alters the expression of genes with physiological relevance to anxiety pathophysiology and whether the baseline expression of these physiologically relevant genes modifies the efficacy of kava treatment. In this post hoc analysis, we examined the expression of 48 genes relevant to the pathophysiology of anxiety collected from a double-blind randomized controlled trial that assessed the efficacy of kava treatment in generalized anxiety disorder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeneficial biological effects of Flavokawain A, a chalcone constituent from kava, on surgically induced endometriosis rat model.
J Ethnopharmacol
January 2024
Sichuan Provincial Center for Gynaecology and Breast Diseases, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, PR China; Academician (Expert) Workstation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, 646000, PR China. Electronic address:
Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Shrub kava has long been grown and utilized, primarily in the South Pacific region, for ceremonial, religious, and social occasions. It has been used as a pain reliever and muscle relaxant in medicinal practices from the eighteenth century. Interestingly, relatively low incidence of lung cancer may attribute to the high consumption of kava products in this region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKawain Inhibits Urinary Bladder Carcinogenesis through Epigenetic Inhibition of LSD1 and Upregulation of H3K4 Methylation.
Biomolecules
March 2023
Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA 92868, USA.
Epidemiological evidence suggests that kava () drinks may reduce the risk of cancer in South Pacific Island smokers. However, little is known about the anti-carcinogenic effects of kava on tobacco smoking-related bladder cancer and its underlying mechanisms. Here we show that dietary feeding of kawain (a major active component in kava root extracts) to mice either before or after hydroxy butyl(butyl) nitrosamine (OH-BBN) carcinogen exposure slows down urinary bladder carcinogenesis and prolongs the survival of the OH-BBN-exposed mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!