Alden Botanica: kava, herbs, cultivation, extracts, and HPLC analysis

Alden Botanica Offers Only High Quality Kava Products

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Alden Botanica is making every effort to provide you with a complete WebSite on kava, which includes information on our standardized kava extract and ground whole kava root products, a kava library, a kava bookstore, details on our chemical analysis of kava, as well as a Kava Forum to share your experiences on the use of kava. We welcome your suggestions and comments.

Our product Essence of Kava^Ž is a very high quality, standardized (minimum 30%) extract of whole kava root harvested from mature plants over 7 years old in Vanuatu, Melanesia. There are six key factors determining the quality of Alden Botanica's kava products.

The first quality factor concerns the part of the plant that is harvested because the kavalactones comprising the active ingredients in kava are concentrated in the roots, with virtually none in the leaves and stems.

Essence of Kava^Ž consists of KAVIAR^Ž, a high potency extract of whole kava root harvested from mature plants over 7 years old in Vanuatu, Melanesia. Alden Botanica’s other kava products are 100% ground whole root from Vanuatu and Hawaii.

The second quality factor is the rate of kavalactone bioabsorption.

The extract of the whole kava root in Essence of Kava^Ž is a spray-air dried, micronized powder that greatly facilitates bioabsorption. This absorption can been experienced by tasting the contents of an Essence of Kava^Ž capsule. Bioabsorption of the kavalactones derived from the ground whole root is facilitated by preparing a beverage. A pleasant kava beverage can be prepared by mixing the following in a blender for one minute: 1) one ounce (28 grams) of ground whole kava root from either Vanuatu or Hawaii, and 2) one quart (or about 1 liter) 50:50 milk:water solution, or 50:50 soy milk:water solution, and then pouring the mixture through a filter (with a mesh comparable to that of a cheesecloth) into a bowl. The addition of milk or soy milk to the solution introduces fats that assist in the extraction and emulsification of the water-insoluble kavalactones. This extraction can be enhanced by the addition of other fats or oils to the solution, e.g., olive oil or coconut milk.

The third quality factor is the origin of the kava cultivar used in the product.

Essence of Kava^Ž consists of an extract from kava plants grown in Vanuatu, which has a very long history of cultivating kava for medicinal applications - with over 245 distinct kava cultivars. We also offer ground whole kava root from Vanuatu, and a Vanuatu cultivar grown in Hawaii.

The fourth quality factor is that the age of the kava plant should be at least one and a half years, and preferably older, to obtain a concentration of the kavalactones in the roots that is medicinally active .

Alden Botanica uses kava plants over 7 years old from Vanuatu in the preparation of Essence of Kava^Ž. Our ground whole kava root products from Vanuatu and Hawaii are harvested from kava plants with minimum ages of 3 years and 1.5 years, respectively. The Hawaiian kava is younger because the formal cultivation of kava in Hawaii for medicinal applications was re-established in 1994.

The fifth quality factor concerns the relative concentrations of the seven major kavalactones in kava: methysticin, dihydromethysticin, kavain, dihydrokavain, dehydromethysticin, dehydrokavain, and yangonin. These relative concentrations are very critical because an effective kava product should have a much greater amount of the kavain and dihydrokavain kavalactones than the methysticin and dihydromethysticin kavalactones.

Alden Botanica’s HPLC analyses confirm that the kavain and dihydrokavain kavalactones dominate in our Essence of Kava^Ž product, as well as in our ground whole kava root products from Vanuatu and Hawaii.

The sixth quality factor is the standardized weight percentage of all seven kavalactones in the product. A total kavalactone weight percentage of 30% is the standard for kava extracts, i.e., 30% of the weight of the extract is due to the seven kavalactones. Ground whole kava root should have a minimum kavalactone weight percentage greater than 5%. It is important to know the relative concentrations of the seven kavalactones in combination with the total kavalactone weight percentage to ensure that this weight percentage is not padded with less significant kavalactones such as yangonin.

Essence of Kava^Ž is standardized to a total kavalactone weight percentage of 30%, and Alden Botanica’s ground kava root products from Vanuatu and Hawaii have total kavalactone weight percentages exceeding 6%. The kavain and dihydrokavain kavalactones dominate in all of our kava products.

Alden Botanica’s kava products meet the six quality criteria described above, and promote a relaxed sense of well-being and calm*. These kava products can be classified as GRAS, the medical term for Generally Regarded as Safe, with little side effects*. The following precautions apply to kava: do not exceed recommended dose except under the advice and supervision of a medical professional; do not use with other substances that cause drowsiness, including alcohol; not for use by pregnant or nursing women; use caution when driving a motor vehicle or operating machinery; store in a cool and dry place; and keep out of the reach of children.

Our kava library provides information on the history, uses, morphology, genetics, chemistry and clinical studies of kava. Our kava bookstore offers four books that have excellent discussions on kava. Take a look at our kava photo album for pictures of a variety of kava plants, and harvested kava roots.

Alden Botanica LLC, P.O. Box 111, Moreno Valley, CA 92556-0111 USA
Tel: 909 204-8841 Fax: 909 247-0125
Disclaimer: *Statements made, or products sold through this web site, have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These statements, or products, are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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Essence of Kava^Ž Resistered Trademark of Alden Botanica LLC
KAVIAR^ŽRegistered Trademark of Cosmopolitan Trading, Seattle, WA
Copyright Š 1998 Alden Botanica LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Designed by Giovanni della Svizzera
Revised: June 04, 2003.

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Essence of Kava^Ž is currently found in the following retail stores:
	University of California at Riverside Bookstore in Riverside, California Loma Linda Market in Loma Linda, California Shannon's Health Foods in Moreno Valley, California John's Place in Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii Viva Nova Health Foods in Coronado, California
Other retail outlets are welcomed
Satisfied customers of our kava products are world-wide: Australia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Japan, Hong Kong, Hungary, Netherlands Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA, Venezuela

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