April 20, 1999

COMMENTS from Brendon:

Is there a noticeable difference in effect between your Hawaiian & Vanuatu whole kava root powder? If so, what are the differences?  why are the absorbance units of the 3 chromatograms so different?

  [eg absorbance for kavain is about 85 units for Hawaiin kava & about 700 units for the Fiji kava] was the concentration of the 3 [chromatograph] injection solutions the same?

if not why not as one is quantifying the same substances here?

   I need answers to these questions to help me decide which of the 2 products to buy so i look foward to your reply.

   Also, is it feasible for companies to sell fresh kava roots [like ginger, yams, potatoes, etc] as opposed to dried ones?

As I understand it, these have the most psychotropic effects.

Brendon

REPLY

Brendon,

Thank you for your question concerning the difference between the Hawaii Kava and Vanuatu Kava that is offered by Alden Botanica LLC. The potencies of the 18-month old Hawaii Kava and 3-year old Vanuatu Kava are comparable. This result is consistent with the statement of Vincent Lebot in his book, "Kava - The Pacific Elixir: The Definitive Guide to its Ethnobotany, History and Chemistry" (pg. 78):

"...kavalactone content is highest after 18 months on average, and this

content remains stable during the subsequent growth of the plant, although

the rootstalk biomass continues to increase over time."

Some people prefer the Hawaii Kava because the flavor is milder - some say sweeter - than the Vanuatu Kava.

In regard to the chromatograms, our intent was not to compare absolute concentrations of the six key kavalactones between different samples of kava, but to compare the relative amounts of the six kavalactones for a given sample. Thus, the Fiji Kava has the lowest percentages of kavain and dihydrokavain, while the Hawaii and Vanuatu Kava have the highest percentages. The relative concentrations of kavain and dihydrokavain are important to determine because these two kavalactones are critical to the anti-anxiety action of kava. One can obtain kava cultivars that promote muscle relaxation over that of anti-anxiety, and these "muscle-relaxing" cultivars will have a higher relative concentration of the dihydromethysticin kavalactone. The chemical structures for these different kavalactones can be seen on our website (www.aldbot.com). In summary, one needs to understand the relative concentrations of the six kavalactones in order to undersrtand what effect one seeks to obtain from the kava.

Finally, in regard to absolute concentrations of kava in the roots of Fiji Kava, Hawaii Kava and Vanuatu Kava (assuming all three types are minimum 18 months old), our extractions have shown the concentrations in the roots are all in the range of 10-15%. If one uses only total absolute kavalactone concentration to compare the three types of kava, then they all would appear very similar. However, as discussed above, the total absolute concentration of kavalactones is not the whole story, and the relative concentrations of the kavalactones also need to be determined.

I have not seen a difference in the potency of fresh kava roots versus dried ones, in fact the dried ones seem more potent to me. I guess that it would be possible for companies to sell fresh root, but the market demand is so small that it would likely be much more expensive than the dried root.

Sincerely yours,

John A. Pierce, Ph.D.

April 17,1999

COMMENTS from Nathan:

Hello, I came across your web site while looking for HPLC standards for analysis. I am at a loss right now as to who has these standards for sale. I would like to quantitate some kava that I have bought.
Are you familiar with a company who would have the major kava lactones in high purity available for the public? Indofine, Sigma and Fluka do not carry these standards.

If you know of a company that does this can you email me?

Thank you very much.
nathan

REPLY:

Nathan,

The one place we know where one can purchase standards for the six key kavalactones is Addipharma in Germany. They charge in the range of $1000-$1200 for these standards. As you might
have noted from our website, we have been successful in the HPLC analysis
of kava, and we are offering our services.

Sincerely yours,
John A. Pierce, Ph.D.

April 19, 1999

JANUARY 20, 1999

R.T. in South Carolina writes:

I have recently begun to take Kava Kava Root/St John's Wort for depression.  One of the side effects that I have noticed is a fishy smell that eminates from my body.   This is a potent smell and can be likened to a filet of fish.  Is there any record of this being a viable side effect of this medication?  Any assistance that you can offer is greatly appreciated.

NOVEMBER 8, 1998

P.K. in Scotland, UK writes:

I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO GET KAVA EXTRACT YET AND I AM USING PURE KAVA POWDER IN CAPSULE FORM

I HAVE FOUND IT TO BE EXTREMELY USEFUL FOR MY CONDITION
AS I HAVE SUFFERED DEBILITATING ANXIETY AND WORRY FOR
YEARS. ALSO I AM AN ALCHOHOLIC AND HAVE BEEN SOBER FOR 4 YEARS.

I AM WORRIED THAT THE PURE KAVA MAY BE RISKY FOR ME AND I NEED TO SHARE
INFORMATION WITH PEOPLE OF THE SAME DISPOSITION.

I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO STOP TAKING KAVA AS IT HAS BEEN
THE ONLY THING THAT HAS HELPED ME WITHOUT ANY SIDE EFFECTS
AND ALSO IT SEEMS TO HAVE HELPED MY COMPOSURE AND SHORT TERM MEMORY

I ALSO WANT TO FIND OUT IF IT IS BETTER TO TAKE AN EXTRACT
RATHER THAN THE PURE FORM AND THE SHORTAGE OF INFORMATION
LEAVES ONE IN THE DARK A BIT.

SEPTEMBER 12, 1998

E.P. in Riverside, CA asks:

QUESTION: Have clinical studies been performed on the effectiveness of Kava in treating anxiety? 

"Kava-kava extract WS 1490 versus placebo in anxiety disorders--a randomized placebo-controlled 25-week outpatient trial."

Pharmacopsychiatry, 1997 Jan, Vol. 30(1), pp. 1-5

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H.P. Volz and M. Kieser identified 101 outpatients suffering from anxiety of non-psychotic origin, i.e., generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, specific phobia, and adjustment disorder with anxiety, as defined by the DSM-III-R criteria. These outpatients were then included in a 25-week, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial that investigated the effectiveness of a special extract of the Kava (or Kava-kava) plant. The extract is designated WS 1490. The Hamilton Anxiety (HAMA) Scale was used the evaluate the anxiety of each outpatient. The HAMA Scale subscores somatic and psychic anxiety, Clinical Global Impression, Self-Report Symptom Inventory-90 Items revised, and Adjective Mood Scale. The HAMA Scale evaluations for the 101 outpatients over the 25-week period of the study showed the following:

• Significant superiority of the WS 1490 Kava extract over the placebo starting from Week 8 onward;
  
• Superiority of the WS 1490 Kava extract over the placebo with respect to the secondary outcome variables;
  
• Adverse events were rare and distributed evenly between the group given the placebo, and the group given the WS 1490 Kava extract, which means that the extract was found statistically to be just as safe as the placebo.