The inhabitants of the South Pacific, Melanesia and Polynesia, before their contact with the Europeans, knew only one intoxicating drink prepared from the roots of the inebriating pepper: PIPER METHYSTICUM PIPERACEAE.
This drink, KAVA, was usually prepared by soaking the root of the plant in water, pulverized with a pestle or chewed for a long time.
In Polynesia, it was young girls or boys, who chewed freshly dug up roots; the fibrous mass impregnated with saliva, placed in a large wooden container, was mixed with a very precise quantity of water; the whole, coarsely filtered, was ready to drink, without being subjected to fermentation.
Further west (Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu), and still today, the roots are ground in a mortar and the pulp is diluted in water, or the ground dry root powder is diluted with water .
KAVA is generally a ceremonial drink but the men of the tribe also consume it in the evening in their collective house (the nakanal).
The beverage has an uninviting coffee-milk color, its flavor is initially sweet and becomes pungent, bitter, burning the tongue a little.
There are « wild » forms (Piper wichmanni) of Piper Methysticum which is a selected (domesticated) variety.
.
It grows in damp and shaded valleys, it is generally cultivated with care (it is harvested after 3 to 5 years). It is a bushy shrub with large heart-shaped leaves.
The neighboring wild species can be confused: Piper excelsum (mainly in new zealand), Piper latifolium (polynesia and tropical south pacific) .
In the Marquesas Islands in 1920, the inhabitants distinguished 21 varieties which have all disappeared since, for lack of care and by prohibition of cultivation; KAVA was drunk before fighting or during human sacrifices.
Currently in the rest of the Pacific, at least 67 varieties are grown; in 1995-99 root production was estimated at 20 to 30,000 tonnes per year, almost entirely consumed locally; KAVA culture has since developed considerably to supply the international market with variations linked to the evolution of import bans or authorizations.
Main roots (rhizome) and small secondary roots are the medicinal parts of Piper methysticum.
KAVA TRADITIONAL DRINK PIPER METHYSTICUM SEDATIVE ANXIOLYTIC SOOTHING INSOMNIA ANTISPASMODIC HEPATOTOXIC
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES
The active constituents are pyrones: Kawaïne, Methysticine, Yangonine.
The water soluble fraction is analgesic in mice.
The water-soluble and liposoluble fractions reduce spontaneous mobility and induce sedation without loss of muscle tone.
The fat-soluble fraction alone (the resin) induces sleep.
Animal studies and observations in humans conclude that KAVA has a SEDATIVE AND TRANQUILIZING ACTION without significant side effects.
It is also a MYORELAXANT, SPASMOLYTIC, ANTICONVULSANT AND SLIGHTLY ANALGESIC.
USES
TRADITIONAL USE OF KAVA
One can, of course, drink KAVA like the ancient Maori warriors, that is to say very concentrated, extracted from the freshly dug root, almost toxic (the dried root seems less active), and in this case it is not a pleasant drink, drunkenness is painful, is accompanied by headaches , the noise becomes intolerable; it is better to reduce the dose and it is then a convivial drink, relaxing, without unpleasant effects.
MODERN USE OF KAVA
If the use of KAVA has disappeared in Polynesia (but there is talk of reviving its cultivation), on the other hand, in the South-West Pacific, it is very easy to obtain it.
Traditionally, only men drank kava but there are more and more KAVA bars in major cities including Noumea and Australia.
Far from the Pacific, you can use KAVA powder to be diluted or in capsules precisely dosed in active ingredients.
The KAVA drink has a relaxing effect on the physical but also on the mind and paradoxically increases the capacity for ideation.
It is a « social » drink which facilitates human relations, gives a feeling of lightness, possibly a slight intoxication.
It can be prepared from dried root powder or instant dissolving powder.
MEDICAL USE OF KAVA
The extracts standardized in active substances are an alternative to the consumption of synthetic anxiolytics, antidepressants and even sleeping pills.
Toxicological studies have shown that KAVA is not dangerous in moderate doses and for a limited time (less than 3 months); it is nevertheless not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women as well as for children.
The most commonly observed SIDE EFFECTS are digestive (gastric disorders), allergic (urticaria, migraine).
Very heavy users can develop SKIN DISORDERS (dry skin with pruritus) which is reversible when treatment is stopped.
The addiction is low but there may be a dangerous strengthening of the effect of other substances acting on the central nervous system such as alcohol or psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, barbiturates).
A recent study has shown that kava can induce HEPATIC DISORDERS which are generally mild but can lead to severe hepatitis (see below).
It remains to be determined what are the hepatotoxic substances, perhaps concentrated during the processing of crude kava extracts.
PRECAUTIONS AND REGULATIONS
Some people are allergic to kava and can develop very serious hepatitis from the first dose (1 in 150 to 200,000 people).
In 2002, following several cases of serious hepatitis in Germany in particular, kava and kava extracts were banned from importation and use in the majority of Western countries.
Since then we have seen that these poisonings (mainly of elderly people) were probably due to :
- Adulterations of export kava: by toxic neighboring species, by poorly preserved and fermented kava plants, by the marketing of parts of the kava plant which are not the root and which contain toxic substances.
- The extraction techniques of Western laboratories which use non-aqueous solvents which can concentrate undesirable hepatotoxic compounds.
Since that date, kava bans have been lifted or reduced in Western countries because exporting countries (mainly VANUATU and FIJI) have undertaken to respect standards to guarantee the good quality of their exported kava and pharmaceutical companies have adapted their extraction technique.
KAVA CULTIVATION
Kava, Piper methysticum, is grown in humid and warm tropico-equatorial zones often in semi-shady places.
There are many crop varieties (especially in Vanuatu); some are « light » kava, other strong kava with lenghty effect(« two days » kava).
It is an « hybrid », polymorphic plant which does not reproduce by seed even if the plants have male or female flowers.
Propagation (cloning) is easily done by cuttings using woody twigs on 2 to 3 year old plants.
The growing soil should be deep, rich in organic matter, regularly moist but well drained.
The roots (rhizome and secondary roots) are harvested at least after 3 years, preferably 5 years.
A kava plant can last for several decades.
The root system is carefully washed and then dried (in the sun or in a coprah oven) often after having been cut into slices or fragments by machine or machete.
ABSTRACT
KAVA a natural and friendly antidepressant
Kava is a traditional drink from the South Pacific that is produced from the roots and rhizome of a pepper tree.
It is a mild anti-anxiety and soothing antidepressant that sometimes causes mild intoxication.
In 2002 most western countries have banned its marketing because of possible liver toxicity, since then, the cause of toxicity being discovered, kava product are again on the market.
Copyright 2020: Dr Jean-Michel Hurtel
You are on www.phytomania.com
French site dedicated to medicinal plants and essential oils
PHYTOTHERAPY, AROMATHERAPY, MEDICINAL PLANTS, ESSENTIAL OILS