Okay, I have no idea what everyone has already shared here but the more I research, the more I see how extremely
harmless kava is in our bodies, brains, etc. This is very exciting because the research turns up nothing that can make kava out to be abusive. I'll share a few excerpts again from another article and then the link to the article. Also, I'll find the interview on the Australian studies proving zero withdrawal, which is WAY more than we can say for benzos! Kava does not affect those receptors, so this makes sense.
"Kava and kava-containing products are not recommended for use in children younger than 12 years of age, or in patients with renal disease, thrombocytopenia, or neutropenia.
1 Additionally, patients with depression, liver disease, and Parkinson disease should avoid using kava."
12 years old? This is promising to me at to the harmelessness of kava.
"Many cultivars of kava are recognized. The comparative chemistry and ethnopharmacology have been studied in detail, and 121 named cultivars from 51 islands have been grouped into 6 chemotypes."
I know that many have already been actually working with the 6 chemotypes but 121 named cultvars caught my eye!
"The efficacy of kava is not diminished with continued use."
I'd like to read the studies referenced but this is true. No tolerance to kava, unlike benzos, where doses are increased every few months, etc.
"Other constituents of kava include 2 chalcones, flavokawains A and B,
39 that were postulated to cause dermopathy in heavy kava users."
Again, I need to read the full studies but we know what causes dermopathy. However, this really changes nothing other than being interesting because, with the full root, ground up, we are not able to pull these two chalcones out to prevent dermopathy 100% and I think we are all okay with that on these forums. They can and are pulled out at labs to make capsules, though.
"Kavalactones have a half-life of 9 hours and achieve peak plasma levels 1.8 hours after administration.
14 Kinetics of entry of kavalactones into mouse brains after intraperitoneal injection have been studied, and kawain and dihydrokawain were rapidly absorbed and quickly eliminated within several minutes, while yangonin and desmoethoxyyangonin were more slowly incorporated and eliminated."
True, this is not only different in humans but may vary from person to person. So, this is just vague data. Also, which type of kava was studied? I have to look into the studies. I'm sure that someone here has done this already but I will be researching it myself as well. Tmax= 1.8 hours, with a half-life of 9 hours! So, the kavalactones definitely build up, which is a good thing, in my opinion, especially for the purpose that I am looking at kava, to releive anxiety.
"Concerns about impaired performance under the influence of kava have motivated several studies in humans. One small study found insignificant decreases in cognitive function when using kava, with only the extent of body sway showing an increase. Subjects' rating of intoxication under kava was low to moderate, while respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure were unaffected. Kava lowered arousal rating without affecting stress rating, although the decrease was not statistically significant.
60Another small study of 12 patients compared the effects of kava and oxazepam on behavior and event-related potentials in a word recognition task. While oxazepam produced pronounced negative effects on performance, no effects were seen with kava.
61 A study of reaction time by the same authors concluded that kava may increase attention slightly, in contrast to oxazepam, which impaired attention.
62 Kawain in EEG studies showed mild sedation at high doses (600 mg) but not at lower doses (200 mg).
63 Kava had no effect on alertness and long-term memory in a subsequent trial.
64Minor changes in vision and balance were detected with kava in one subject."
That's a long excerpt, I know, but it is fascinating to me. Kava compaired to a benzo and disproving that kava causes impairment to any siginifcant degree. Whereas, the benzo *does* cause a lot of issues.
From: https://www.drugs.com/npp/kava.html
There is a LOT more but it is too long and probably boring to continue. These studies continue and are finding numerous benefits to kava use. Is this good or bad for us, as a kava loving community? Is this where big pharma takes it away from us or is this where they leave us alone? I hope that was okay to post! The more I read, the more I love my kava and the less benzos I am even needing to take! Sorry for the "book"
and BULA!
