Yesterday, May 11, The University of Queensland in Australia, announced results of research into the safety and effectiveness of kava for treating anxiety.
Wikipedia tells us that:
- Kava (Piper methysticum) (Piper Latin for “pepper”, methysticum Greek for “intoxicating”) is an ancient crop of the western Pacific. Other names for kava include ?awa (Hawaii), ‘ava (Samoa), yaqona (Fiji), and sakau (Pohnpei). The word kava is used to refer both to the plant and the beverage produced from its roots. Kava is a tranquilizer primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. Its active ingredients are called kavalactones. In some parts of the Western World, kava extract is marketed as herbal medicine against stress, insomnia, and anxiety.
There have been some concerns about the safety of kava and some countries have banned it’s use or sale. Makaira’s Kava Kava Blog gives details about the legal status of kava in various countries.
Back to the recent research, the researchers in Australia found that
- The aqueous Kava preparation produced significant anxiolytic and antidepressant activity and raised no safety concerns at the dose and duration studied. Kava appears equally effective in cases where anxiety is accompanied by depression. This should encourage further study and consideration of globally reintroducing aqueous rootstock extracts of Kava for the management of anxiety.
The emphasis on “aqueous preparation” is due to concerns that other means of making the substance, chiefly ethanol and acetone extracts, may lead to liver damage.
I have no previous direct or indirect knowledge about kava and so this information is posted chiefly as a topic to be watched for further developments and research.
You can read the article from the University of Queensland here. And the article published in Psychopharmacology can be found here.
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