Kava is prepared and consumed in a variety of ways throughout the Pacific Ocean cultures of Polynesia, Melanesia and some parts of Micronesia. In many areas, like Fiji and Tonga, it is consumed as an herbal tea; that is, an infusion made from straining a mixture of water and shredded, pounded, dried root and/or stump. The plant may also be chewed (traditionally by virgin girls) as part of preparing the kava using this method; this will affect the final product due to the enzymes in saliva.
Perhaps the simplest method of making the tea is to put two or more heaped tablespoons of kava root powder per person into a clean sock or stocking, tie a knot in it, and squeeze it repeatedly in a bowl of cold water. An even easier method is to whisk up root powder and cold water in a blender. In the west, it is often taken in pill form.
The effects of drinking kava, in order of sensation, are slight tongue and lip numbing caused by the contraction of the blood vessels in these areas (the lips and skin surrounding may appear unusually pale); mildly talkative and euphoric behavior; calming, sense of well-being, clear thinking; and relaxed muscles. Sleep is restful and there are no after-effects the next day.
Kava prepared using fresh ground roots, as is practiced in Vanuatu, has a much more pronounced effect then the watery Kava produced in most Pacific nations using dried, pounded Kava.
Other interesting uses of kava include dispensation to military personnel (Fiji) to aid in vigilance and anxiety reduction; to provide concentration, focus, and muscle control before sports and music performances; to reduce the anxiety associated with public speaking and other public performances; use in corporate board rooms to aid in mental clarity, sociability and improved decision making.
Some indigenous communities in Australia have encouraged the use of kava as a safer alternative to alcohol. Many of these communities have problems with alcohol abuse and related violence.
Large amounts of kava can cause a numbing sensation in the stomach that is similar to nausea, and excessive consumption will eventually cause vomiting. Along with the aspect of nausea, excessive use can also cause an unusual sort of fatigue.
It is reported that many people experience rather vivid dreams after consumption of kava.
Safety
Recently, concerns have been raised about the safety of kava.[1] There have been several reports of severe liver toxicity, including liver failure in some people who have used dietary supplements containing kava extract. While a conclusive link to kava has not been established, the severity of liver damage have prompted action of many regulatory agencies. Regulatory drug agencies in France and Switzerland have outlawed kava completely. The health agency of Canada issued a stop-sale order for kava in 2002. However, subsequent legislation in 2004 rendered the legal status of kava in question.[2] The United States CDC has released a report[3] expressing reservations about the use of kava and its possibly adverse side effects (specifically severe liver toxicity), as has the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)[4]. Some counter that the cases resulting in the liver toxicity included concomitant use of alcohol or other drugs[5]. Another claim is that kava extracts used by patients experiencing liver toxicity were made with solvents other than the traditional water and that the whole plant was used rather than just the roots. Not a single conclusive case of adverse liver effects has ever been reported amongst natives who have used it for hundreds of years. The issue is controversial and debate is fuelled by economic interests of kava-exporting nations of the Pacific Islands as well as disagreements between the medical establishment and proponents of herbal and natural medicine.
There is ongoing research into the causes of kava liver toxicity and why it apparently does not affect traditional kava users. One study at the University of Hawaii at Manoa found that an alkaloid called pipermethystine may be responsible for the liver toxicity cases, based on its effects on liver cells in vitro[6]. This alkaloid is found primarily in stem peelings and leaves of the plant, but is not present in the roots. Users of kava in the South Pacific have traditionally discarded the peelings and leaves, using only the roots for the consumed product. However, industrial production of kava extracts encouraged the use of these peelings and leaves because of their higher concentrations of the psychoactive kavalactones. Industrial use of peelings and leaves was aided by the fact that traditional producers considered them a waste product and sold them inexpensively as compared to the roots. Since traditional users avoided consumption of these parts of the plant, this may explain the extensive use of kava in the Pacific with no ill effects, whereas the novel use in Europe and America witnessed cases of liver toxicity due to improper use of the plant.
Meanwhile, the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) that first evoked a total ban, has since agreed with teams of other experts, that, on closer inspection, the evidence does not support this stance. This included a team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO). Thus, the BfArM has agreed to a partially revoke its actions. This allows for manufactures of products derived from kava reapply for product registration in Germany.[7][8]
A New Zealand committee who also looked at the same evidence, commented in their summary: "A comparison with paracetamol-associated hepatotoxicity, results in the conclusion that these potential risks for kava are dramatically less than that of a popular non prescription drug widely sold through grocery outlets."[9] The NZ government is currently only looking at the possibility of a suitable advisory label standard to go on kava products.
Heavy use of kava is associated with kava dermopathy, a scaly eruption of the skin which is reversible by discontinuing its use. It is considered to be a harmless curiosity. Ancient Hawaiians would drink copious amounts of kava to encourage this in order to bring about a smoother layer of new skin. With normal use kava dermopathy is non-existent.
Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete of the Fiji School of Medicine told the conference of the Pacific Islands Surgeons Association (7 March 2006) that kava adversely affected a person's nervous system. Students under the influence of Kava had proved unable to correctly complete a symbol test, he claimed.
The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has recommended that no more than 250mg of kavalactones be taken in a 24 hour period.[10]
Secondary substances and other effects
Kava contains several other purportedly psychoactive substances which are not appreciably soluble in alcohol or water, but are soluble in fats. Extractions of these into various vegetable oils with lecithin added are possible. Even though kava is usually an acquired taste, the taste of the resulting mixture is reportedly horrendous. Also such an extraction would require at least basic chemistry skills and tools. The potential for use of kava as a hallucinogen therefore seems low.
Kava botany & agronomy
There are several cultivars of kava, with varying concentrations of both primary and secondary psychoactive substances. The Republic of Vanuatu is recognised as the 'home' of kava because it hosts the largest number of cultivars. The kava plant has historically been grown only in the Pacific islands of Hawaii, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Samoas and Tonga. In modern times (i.e., since WW2) there has been some kava grown in the Solomon Islands, but most kava used in that country is imported. Kava is a cash crop in Vanuatu and Fiji.
The kava plant, a shrub, thrives in sandy well-drained soils and it grows well as an understory crop (i.e., too much sunlight, especially in early growth, is deleterious). It grows naturally where rainfall is plentiful (over 2,000mm/yr). Traditionally, plants were not harvested until they were at least 5 years of age, as older plants have higher concentrations of kavalactones. However, over the past two decades farmers have been harvesting younger and younger plants--even as young as eighteen months. Older plants are not much taller (around 2m.) than younger plants; growth adds diameter to the culm and more stalks than height.
Kava culture and mythology
Main article: Kava culture
Kava is used for a variety of purposes, medicinal, religious, political, cultural and social throughout the Pacific. These cultures have a great respect for the plant and place a high importance on it.
The Tongans have a story about the origin of kava:
In the place of Fāʻimata on the island of ʻEueiki, close to Tongatapu, there lived a man and his wife. Fevanga and Fefafa were their names. They had a baby daughter called Kavaʻonau, who had a scaly skin disease (possibly leprosy).
Then once upon a time it happened that an important envoy of the Tuʻi Tonga king, Loʻau, came to ʻEueiki, and landed his canoe at the house of Fevanga and Fefafa. Customs required that such a high chief was to be received with an abundant meal. But a famine was over the land, and only a kape (Alocasia macrorrhiza) plant was available with no meat at all. In despair the parents killed their little daughter and baked her as a pig in the same oven as the kape.
Loʻau was impressed by the sacrifice the poor people had made for him. He said that he could not eat from their daughter, and that instead she was to be buried as a chief. He ordered her head to be buried on one place, and her body on another place. And then he left. After a time two new, unknown plants grew from the parts. Fevanga tended them until they were mature. Then a rat came and chewed from the plant which was growing from the head, and was as scaly as the skin of Kavaʻonau had been. The rat became partly paralysed. Next it chewed from the other plant, growing from the girl's intestines, and the animal recovered and ran away.
Fevanga harvested the plants and brought them to Loʻau's residence in Haʻamea on Tongatapu. There Loʻau announced that the first plant was to be called kava, being the daughter of Fevanga and Fefafa, and that it would be the beverage of chiefs from now on. But like the rat, they would also consume in conjunction the second plant, which was to be called sugar cane, to balance the influence of the kava. (for several more variants see: Gifford, Tongan myths and tales, 1923)
This myth symbolizes the importance of Kava within the Tongan culture in terms of peace-making, sacrifice, diplomacy and loyalty.
References
- ^ Mark Blumenthal (2002). Kava safety questioned due to case reports of liver toxicity. American Botanical Council. HerbalGram. Retrieved on 2005-12-07.
- ^ Heather S. Boon & Albert H.C. Wong (2003-11-25). Kava: a test case for Canada's new approach to natural health products. Canadian Medical Association. Retrieved on [[2006-07-10]].
- ^ United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002). "Hepatic Toxicity Possibly Associated with Kava-Containing Products --- United States, Germany, and Switzerland, 1999—2002". Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 51(47): 1065–1067. Retrieved on 2005-09-16.
- ^ Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (2002). "Kava-Containing Dietary Supplements May Be Associated with Severe Liver Injury". United States Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved on 2005-06-16.
- ^ Schmidt, Mathias (2003-05-28). Is kava really hepatotoxic? An analysis of the known data on adverse effects of kava preparations on the liver. Universität Münster. Retrieved on December 3, 2005. (Download PDF 1.87MB)
- ^ "UH scientists may have solved kava mystery", Honolulu Advertiser, 2003-04-07. Retrieved on 2005-10-27.
- ^ American Botanical Council. German Government Reconsiders Kava. Retrieved on 2006-05-12.
- ^ University of the South Pacific. USP plays a major role in the partial lifting of the Kava ban in Germany. Retrieved on 2006-05-12.
- ^ New Zealand association of medical herbalists (2005). Submission on proposed reclassification of kava as a prescription medicine (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-05-12.
- ^ Kava fact sheet. Therapeutic Goods Administration, Government of Australia (April 2005). Retrieved on 2006-07-10. (Download PDF 44KB)
External links