Dr Yann Barguil talks about kava, it's effects, side-effects and current legislation in New Caledonia and France.
Dr Barguil has been studying kava for decades. In the wake of the "kava causes liver damage" bullshit of the late 1990s, he conducted a 3-year long (!) study on the effects of traditional kava consumption and concluded that the overwhelming majority of people can consume kava with no significant, adverse health effects. He noted that kava stimulates the lvier but there's no reason to supect that it actually causes any liver damage. In the above interview he repeats his earlier conclusions and states that as long as the kava is clean and served in the proper environment (i.e. with clean water, etc) it won't cause any liver damage or any adverse health effects. At the same time it is possible that a tiny % of people can be genetically unable to metabolise kava and might get sick from drinking it, but this only applies to these rare, specific cases of people whose bodies are unable to metabolise it.
As noted by Dr Barguil (New Zealand Herald):
"In New Caledonia, we have detected three cases of hepatitis linked to the consumption of kava.
We believe the active properties of this plant, the kavalactones, have an effect on the liver's enzymes.
And one person in about 170,000 has in his or her liver a type of enzyme that, if combined with kava, could produce a toxic enzyme. This could provoke a sort of allergy that would eventually destroy the liver."
Another quote from Radio NZ:
"People who are chronic kava drinkers are not going to be ill. I mean there is no liver toxicity for chronic kava drinkers. Sometimes there are rare liver accidents which are due to susceptability. Only a few rare people could do these sorts of accidents."
He's also co-authored a few articles in English. E.g.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/j.clpt.2005.01.021/full
Very interesting results:
"Our results suggest that traditional kava drinking inhibits CYP1A2. After stopping kava consumption, the subjects did not smoke more, which could have induced CYP1A2, and a comparison with established caffeine metabolic ratios, which correspond to the values observed after kava consumption is stopped, also supports the interpretation that we observed a “deinhibition” rather than an induction of CYP1A2 after kava consumption was stopped. In view of the inhibitory effect, caution should be used in consumers of kava who are prescribed drugs that are substrates of CYP1A2 (eg, theophylline, R-warfarin, fluvoxamine, and tizanidine). On the other hand, CYP1A2 is responsible for the metabolic activation of potent carcinogenic environmental toxins such as aflatoxins, and aflatoxin exposure is a problem in the warm and humid climate of the South Pacific. A previous study suggested an inverse correlation between cancer incidence and kava consumption for a number of Pacific Island Nations. Through inhibition of CYP1A2, kava consumption could thus have a protective effect against environmental carcinogens."
Dr Barguil has been studying kava for decades. In the wake of the "kava causes liver damage" bullshit of the late 1990s, he conducted a 3-year long (!) study on the effects of traditional kava consumption and concluded that the overwhelming majority of people can consume kava with no significant, adverse health effects. He noted that kava stimulates the lvier but there's no reason to supect that it actually causes any liver damage. In the above interview he repeats his earlier conclusions and states that as long as the kava is clean and served in the proper environment (i.e. with clean water, etc) it won't cause any liver damage or any adverse health effects. At the same time it is possible that a tiny % of people can be genetically unable to metabolise kava and might get sick from drinking it, but this only applies to these rare, specific cases of people whose bodies are unable to metabolise it.
As noted by Dr Barguil (New Zealand Herald):
"In New Caledonia, we have detected three cases of hepatitis linked to the consumption of kava.
We believe the active properties of this plant, the kavalactones, have an effect on the liver's enzymes.
And one person in about 170,000 has in his or her liver a type of enzyme that, if combined with kava, could produce a toxic enzyme. This could provoke a sort of allergy that would eventually destroy the liver."
Another quote from Radio NZ:
"People who are chronic kava drinkers are not going to be ill. I mean there is no liver toxicity for chronic kava drinkers. Sometimes there are rare liver accidents which are due to susceptability. Only a few rare people could do these sorts of accidents."
He's also co-authored a few articles in English. E.g.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/j.clpt.2005.01.021/full
Very interesting results:
"Our results suggest that traditional kava drinking inhibits CYP1A2. After stopping kava consumption, the subjects did not smoke more, which could have induced CYP1A2, and a comparison with established caffeine metabolic ratios, which correspond to the values observed after kava consumption is stopped, also supports the interpretation that we observed a “deinhibition” rather than an induction of CYP1A2 after kava consumption was stopped. In view of the inhibitory effect, caution should be used in consumers of kava who are prescribed drugs that are substrates of CYP1A2 (eg, theophylline, R-warfarin, fluvoxamine, and tizanidine). On the other hand, CYP1A2 is responsible for the metabolic activation of potent carcinogenic environmental toxins such as aflatoxins, and aflatoxin exposure is a problem in the warm and humid climate of the South Pacific. A previous study suggested an inverse correlation between cancer incidence and kava consumption for a number of Pacific Island Nations. Through inhibition of CYP1A2, kava consumption could thus have a protective effect against environmental carcinogens."