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Research findings reveal
Kava, traditionally consumed in the Pacific as water
extracts, has been found to contain far less
kavalactones then what is present in kava pills, which
when consumed in excessive amounts resulted in cases of
liver toxicity in western countries, which has led to a
ban on kava imports from the Pacific Islands.
"The kava resin from the alcohol extraction of kava
contains amongst many chemicals, several kavalactones
and is mainly composed of water insoluble organic
compounds," said Dr Mani Naiker, organic chemistry
lecturer at University of the South Pacific (USP).
"Kavalactones are highly biologically active compounds,
which are responsible for the subdued effect one feels
after its consumption."
Dr Naiker presented findings of research on 'Major
Chemical Differences between Water extracts of Kava and
Kava Pills' at the two-day 'Pacific Kava Research
Symposium' held recently at the Pacific Islands Forum
Secretariat (FORSEC), Suva, Fiji. The Symposium was
jointly organized by USP, Fiji School of Medicine (FSM),
Fiji's Ministry of Health, FORSEC and the World Health
Organization (WHO). "The water extracts of kava contain
mainly water soluble products such as carbohydrates,
proteins and amino acids," Dr Naiker said. "Very small
amounts of water insoluble kava resins containing
kavalactones get filtered through."
"High concentrations of kavalactones on their own may
cause stress on the liver, but the presence of
glutathione from root-only kava extracts would be highly
beneficial to avoiding undue stress on the liver," Dr
Naiker said.
Tests conducted by the department has revealed that
alcohol extraction of kava roots yield 10-15 per cent of
kava resins, 50-60 per cent of which contain
kavalactones. Water extracts of the same kava roots
yield only 6-8 per cent of kava resins. "Therefore, the
water extracted 'grog' consumed in the South Pacific,
will contain only 3-4 per cent kavalactones," Dr Naiker
said.
"It is quite clear that the water extract consumed in
the South Pacific contain far lesser kavalactones than
the concentrated standardized kava extracts sold in
Europe and USA," Dr Naiker said.
The presence of glutathione in the kava water extracts
and its absence in many he kava pills is therefore, one
of the reasons why liver toxicity cases are only
reported in Western countries where the kava pills are
consumed, as opposed to the traditionally consumed water
extracts of kava in the Pacific."
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