Medicinal Usage, Interactions, Dosage of Kava Kava

Alternative Names of Kava:

Piper methysticum, Waka, Kawa, Awa, Lawena, Sakau, Yaqona.

Herb Description

The kava plant widely accepted as Piper methysticum comes under the pepper family, and is widely cultivated throughout the Pacific Islands. Kava is a hardy perennial which reach up to 3 to 4 metres. It is believed to originate from Melanesia, and grow well in the sun-drenched islands of Polynesia. In the U.S. are sold as food supplements and marketed for the remediation of premenstrual syndrome, anxiety, occasional insomnia and stress. These food products are generally in the type of raw plant material or concentrated extracts, which are got by using either acetone or ethanol extraction or cryoprecipitation .

Kava contains a good amount of active properties stems from the kavalactones found in its roots. This makes a pleasurable and favorable experience every time for the consummate kava drinker. It has mild psychoactive and antianxiety properties. It has been a popular liquid refreshmentm with Pacific Islanders in traditional celebrations for the past 3000 years. Kava is effective for treating malady such as cramps & migraine headaches and but best of all, it keeps the mind active as the body relaxes. Based on many European randomized controlled trials, kava apperats to be efficacious for mild anxiety or stress. The relative efficacy of kava compared to usual doses of pharmaceutical anxiolyric drugs is not known.

Uses and Benefits

kava extracts are commonly used as an herbal product in North America for anxiety, stress, tension, and insomnia. A mildly psychoactive beverage made from the rhizome of the kava plant has been used for centuries by South Pacific Islanders, both ceremonially and socially, reportedly with relaxing or calming properties.

Kava is a wonderful medication that eliminates pain, but its modus operandi as a pain reliever has yet to be determined. Kava is an effective muscle relaxant and can make the pain of an aching back, a sore neck, or any other cramped, sore, or injured muscle disappear. Product containing the herbal composition of kava are promoted for abate stress, anxiety, tension & efficacious for sleeplessness, menopausal symptoms and other uses.

Its tea made from kava powder can used to make tinctures to use as drops either directly on the tongue or mixed in with beverages, or packed into capsules for easy intake. It has also been used as a remediation for fight fatigue, as well as to treat asthma and urinary tract infections.

Side Effects

Excess or continual use of kava supllemnts may result in scaly, yellowed skin. In few cases kava has been reported to produce severe liver toxicity, including hepatitis and liver failure in some people who have used dietary supplements containing kava extract. It has been associated with many cases of abnormal tonicity of muscle.

Kava appears to be well tolerated at prescribed therapeutic doses, but there is potential for advrser effects with higher than recommended doses and for drug ractions. Rare, serious reactions such as hepatitis may occur,would the herb should not be used in patients with liver disease. It would be prudent for patients susceptible to extrapyramidal side effects such as those with Parkinson's disease or those using drugs such as antipsychotics or metoclopramide, to avoid kava until interactions have been more clearly defined. Likewise, kava should not be mixed with CNS depressants such as benzodazepiness or alcohol.

Side effects of the standardized preparalions were rare and mild in the controlled trials. There were isolated reports of stomach complaints, restlessness, drowsiness, tremar, and headache. Gastrointestinal discomfort, headache, dizziness, and allergic skin reactions have been reported in 2.3% of patients in open trials.

Dosage

The usual prescribed dose of kava is 140 to 250 mg daily of the kava pyrone constituents, in 2 to 3 divided doses. In European studies, the most common dose was 70 mg t.i.d. (210 mg daily), but ranged from 60 to 210 mg daily. In U.S. brands kava pyrone content usually varies between 30% and 55%. Kava extracts are commonly available in capsules, tablets, and liquid forms.

Drug Interactions

There is limited data on drug interactions with kava. Severe disorientation has been reported in a patient using a U.S. kava product in conjunction with alprazolam, cimetidine, and terazosin; whether his symptoms were actually due to a drug­herb interaction is unknown. When taken with alcohol the therapeutic doses of a European kava preparation did not affect the safety-related perfor­mance, but on the other hand the liquid kava preparation potentate the CNS-depressant properties of alcohol according to a recent study.