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kava, soon in any good supplement store ?
though it was recently banned in a couple of countries kava may soon come back on the shelves
Here is an interesting article on the "kava issue"
The two different ways of making kava have become the central focus of the kava investigation.
"We aren't sure if it's the method of extraction that is causing the toxicity," says Singh, who points out that the kava supplement has been banned in countries like Great Britain, Switzerland, and Germany. "Water only extracts those things that are soluble in water, but with organic solvents, there is a good possibility other substances that may be toxic are also extracted."
To verify that the water extraction process does not cause toxicity, since island inhabitants report no liver problems, Singh and Ashwini Devkota, a junior SDSU pharmacy student from Nepal, conducted a research project to prove the point.
"We evaluated the level of toxicity of kava on the liver function of young rats by measuring the effects on certain enzymes," explains Singh. "A significant increase in these enzymes would be considered an indication of liver toxicity."
After a few weeks of monitoring the animals, blood was obtained and serum prepared for enzyme analysis. The results showed there were no notable differences in the body weight and enzyme activity of the animals after two different dosage levels of kava.
"The data shows that kava did not produce any significant effects on the normal biological markers of liver toxicity," notes Singh, who indicates the research will now turn its attention to acetone extracts of kava. "Acetone is a very common organic solvent used to extract kava, so that's the next step in our research effort."
International conference slated
The symposium Singh attended voted to hold an international kava conference in November 2003. The meeting will include representatives involved in the medical, pharmaceutical, social, trade, and economic aspects of kava.
The conference will have two goals, according to Singh. One: consider multi-national clinical studies on the safety of traditional kava use in the community, and, two: collaborative laboratory research on toxicity of traditional kava extracts and kava-based pharmaceutical products.
"We want to provide a clear statement of the broad issues involved in the safety of kava use worldwide," he says. "How safe is kava when consumed both traditionally or as a pharmaceutical product? We hope to address these issues at the conference this fall."
though it was recently banned in a couple of countries kava may soon come back on the shelves
Here is an interesting article on the "kava issue"
The two different ways of making kava have become the central focus of the kava investigation.
"We aren't sure if it's the method of extraction that is causing the toxicity," says Singh, who points out that the kava supplement has been banned in countries like Great Britain, Switzerland, and Germany. "Water only extracts those things that are soluble in water, but with organic solvents, there is a good possibility other substances that may be toxic are also extracted."
To verify that the water extraction process does not cause toxicity, since island inhabitants report no liver problems, Singh and Ashwini Devkota, a junior SDSU pharmacy student from Nepal, conducted a research project to prove the point.
"We evaluated the level of toxicity of kava on the liver function of young rats by measuring the effects on certain enzymes," explains Singh. "A significant increase in these enzymes would be considered an indication of liver toxicity."
After a few weeks of monitoring the animals, blood was obtained and serum prepared for enzyme analysis. The results showed there were no notable differences in the body weight and enzyme activity of the animals after two different dosage levels of kava.
"The data shows that kava did not produce any significant effects on the normal biological markers of liver toxicity," notes Singh, who indicates the research will now turn its attention to acetone extracts of kava. "Acetone is a very common organic solvent used to extract kava, so that's the next step in our research effort."
International conference slated
The symposium Singh attended voted to hold an international kava conference in November 2003. The meeting will include representatives involved in the medical, pharmaceutical, social, trade, and economic aspects of kava.
The conference will have two goals, according to Singh. One: consider multi-national clinical studies on the safety of traditional kava use in the community, and, two: collaborative laboratory research on toxicity of traditional kava extracts and kava-based pharmaceutical products.
"We want to provide a clear statement of the broad issues involved in the safety of kava use worldwide," he says. "How safe is kava when consumed both traditionally or as a pharmaceutical product? We hope to address these issues at the conference this fall."
