Sublingual Administration of Micronized Kava?

[Jonathan]

I just held 1 teaspoon of micronized Mahakea under my tongue for about 15 minutes. It was a bit weird at first, but it mixed with saliva and turned into a paste after a few minutes, so I just kept holding it there for the rest of the time, then washed it down with some water. I notice the effects are very close in potency to the 1 tablespoon I drank with water earlier today. In fact, it seems to create more of a sensation in my eyes and around my forehead.

Perhaps this is a way to make it a bit more efficient? I'm guessing the saliva breaks it down more and the kavalactones are absorbed more quickly into the bloodstream under the tongue.

Just curious, has anyone else tried this with micronized?

 

[simonsezso37]

I have never tried this, but some swear by swishing their grog in their mouth for 10 minutes. I assume this would be absorbed sublingually and buccally as well, so I would assume that some (if not all) of the kavalactones are able to be absorbed this way.

 

[KavaCat]

There is definitely some sub-lingual absorption. Kava has an analgesic effect, which is what causes some people to have odd sensations in their stomach. (It's often not so much indigestion, as they're unfamiliar with their stomach being numb, lol.) If you kept kava in your face for a long while, it would obviously provide more of its analgesic effects to your face, over time.

There may be something to your idea, but I don't think it's necessarily more effective than swishing or sipping. The enzymes in your mouth are important to overall digestion. Chugging may tend to bypass these enzymes and make it more difficult for your body to break down the kava; so exposing it to more time in the mouth could possibly help it absorb more quickly. Just a theory.