Is Kava Safe ? Yes
The question everyone comes to when learning about kava is ‘does Kava damage the liver?’ The answer is: No kava does not damage the liver or cause hepatotoxicity according to research studies. Studies in rats have shown no adverse effects on the liver or liver toxicity for even high levels of Kavalactones (the compound in kava that gives the effect).
There is a compound found in the leaves and bark in the above ground parts of the plant that arenot traditonally used in kava preparation that has een showen to create irritation in liver cells. Some people believe this to be the culprit in self reported liver toxicity from extracts made from solvents from the above ground parts of the plant, in addition to co-factors of medications, drugs, alcohol or preexisting conditions. These compounds are not found in the roots which have been used in the preparation of Kava by indigenous cultures throughout the south Pacific for thousands of years.
Traditionally a water extraction method is used not solvents. We offer the highest quality noble organic kava root (with no leaves or bark), prepared with traditional hand pressed water extraction method to ensure safety and to honor the traditions and cultural experience. We do also offer one non noble variety, the Isa from Papua New Guinea grown locally on Big Island. It is very strong and is a potent muscle relaxer and pain reliever that is not for everyday use.
What is Noble VS Non Noble Kava
This is what the Kava society of New Zealand says about noble and non noble kava.
“The highly desirable kava varieties that have been traditionally consumed on a daily basis are known as “noble” kava cultivars. According to Vanuatu’s legislation (Kava Act 2002) only noble cultivars can be legally exported from the islands in order to protect the country’s kava’s reputation. The other (arguably undesirable, at least when it comes to ordinary consumption) cultivars are known as “non-noble”/”other” (In Vanuatu this term encompasses groups of varieties known as “two-day/tudei” and wild kava). While non-noble varieties might have some potential ceremonial or medicinal use, they have not been traditionally consumed as daily beverage due to their higher potential for causing adverse reactions (for example: higher risk of nausea, next day hangover and lethargy) and less pleasant psychoactive effects.
Noble kavas have desirable compositions of kavalactones (chemotypes) that produce pleasant and beneficial effects. At the same time they also have very low concentrations of other compounds that may cause adverse side-effects. As noted by Dr Lebot and Dr Teschke only varieties considered as Noble have a “good reputation of safe use in Pacific Islands countries”. Such strains “have a long tradition of safe use” and have been “consumed on a daily basis without apparent adverse effects when used in normal quantities”.
Tudei kava or non-noble varieties tend to have very heavy and long-lasting effects and sometimes feel extra “potent” (albeit they are also much more likely to cause nausea, “kava hangovers”, next day lethargy/tiredness, skin problems and other unpleasant side-effects than noble kavas). People unfamiliar with kava chemotypes or the complexity of various kava experiences can easily be impressed by the deep “kick” they can get from non-noble kava (even though the nausea and “hangovers” associated with tudei can make them eventually give up kava).” https://kavasociety.nz/purity-and-quality
*Kava should not be taken with alcohol as it has a strong reaction with alcohol. Kava has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of parkinsons medication. Please consult your physician before taking Kava if you are currently taking any prescription medications. If you have a sluggish liver, hepatitis, or fatty liver disease you should not be taking anything that will cause the liver to work harder. Consuming alcohol and kava should also be avoided since when taken together have a strong synergistic interaction.
Empirical research on Kava
Some scientific studies showed that Kava causes muscle relaxation without depressing central nervous system function. Also kava was been shown to exhibit analgesic effects (pain releif) in mice, and showed moderate antioxidant activities. “The sudden increase in kava consumption in the Western world allowed millions and millions of people to try kava, including those people who either had preexisting conditions, such as a compromised liver, or were just genetically allergic, genetically supersensitive to kava,” says H.C. “Skip” Bittenbender, a kava expert at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
World health organization assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products: IIA Safety information -literature review • Clinical trials of kava have not revealed any hepatotoxicity. • Most experimental studies have not shown that kava has a tendency to have a toxic effect on the liver. • Most clinical reviews of case reports cast doubt on a causal association between kava products and liver problems. The cases have come to regulatory authorities as spontaneous. Risk factors for hepatic reactions appear to be the use of organic extracts, heavy alcohol intake, pre-existing liver disease, genetic polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 enzymes and excessive dose. Also, co-medication with other potentially hepatotoxic drugs and potentially interacting drugs, particularly other anxiolytics, antipsychotics and anti-thrombotics, might lead to harm. Kava should not be used in patients with liver disease or a history of such, or in patients who take excessive alcohol.” To read the World Health Organization assessment you can click the link belowhttps://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43630/9789241595261_eng.pdf.