I'm Concerned About Kava Having Parasites

[skippykava]

I was thinking that since kava is raw plant matter, that how can I be assured it doesn't have parasites. There are amoeba that can harm the liver or other parasites that can harm parts of the body which are very concerning. I've seen that some vendors do testing of the Kava for satefy. These tests include heavy metals, mold, and also the types of kavalactones. However, testing for parasites would pretty much be impossible. There would have to be a way to treat the kava to kill them. The fact that the kava is dry may help eliminate some parasites that require water, but many can got into hibernation. I know there was a scare some years ago where liver absesses were found in Fiji I think it was, but that was found to be due to contaminated water with amoeba, not the kava.

Does anyone know if it is possible to boil the strained kava before drinking? Does this destroy the kavalactones? I know that boiling the unstrained kava just makes it absorb the water and creates a thick starchy mess that is useless. Is there anything anyone can tell me about kava and parasites?

 

[neeko b]

I am interested. The only thing I can find online about this is a group in Hawaii who left Kava sitting out for days and contracted a parasite.

 

[skippykava]

I am interested. The only thing I can find online about this is a group in Hawaii who left Kava sitting out for days and contracted a parasite.

I saw that news report too. That was something where they left it out and slugs got into it and the slugs had some brain parasite which is hard to diagnose. I'm certainly not worried about that scenario. I don't put food outdoors. However, the kava comes from the ground, so whatever is in the ground when it is harvested or processed could be in the kava.

If you try to boil the kava even after straining it I think there is still enough starch to soak up the water and it will turn into a thick mess.

Can kavalactones be vaporized, or would heat destroy them?

Sometimes i hear that heat destroys the kavalactones, another time people say, they brew tea with hot water (which contradicts the heat-destruction-hypothesis). What is true? If heat resistant, than vaping would be an option?

kavaforums.com

Heating Kava, viscosity and the role of starch.

Why we suggest keeping your prep under 140°F/60°C

kavafacts.substack.com

Kavalactone Extraction at high heat and pressure with water.

Evidence showing kavalactones keep their integrity, even at some extremes.

kavafacts.substack.com

It looks like you could heat the kava up if you stay under 140F./60C to avoid turning it into a viscous gell.

This says "Cooking at core temperature 60–75 °C for 15–30 min inactivates parasites in most FoAO."

Inactivation of parasite transmission stages: Efficacy of treatments on food of animal origin

One third of parasitic outbreaks with known source in the US are attributable to food of animal origin (FoAO). Among 24 foodborne parasites ranked by …

www.sciencedirect.com

So, perhaps using 140F/60C on the filtered kava for 15-30 minutes would work to kill parasites. FaAO means "food of animal origin", so I'm not sure what that means for vegetables/plants.

However, this shows very high temperatures to kill parasites, so maybe this is not going to work:

Thermal Death Points For Common Parasites And Pathogens - Composting Guide

Infection is spread by the hand to mouth transmission of eggs resulting from scratching the anus, as well as from breathing airborne eggs. In households with

www.grovida.us

 

[bluemoonkava]

I was thinking that since kava is raw plant matter, that how can I be assured it doesn't have parasites. There are amoeba that can harm the liver or other parasites that can harm parts of the body which are very concerning. I've seen that some vendors do testing of the Kava for satefy. These tests include heavy metals, mold, and also the types of kavalactones. However, testing for parasites would pretty much be impossible. There would have to be a way to treat the kava to kill them. The fact that the kava is dry may help eliminate some parasites that require water, but many can got into hibernation. I know there was a scare some years ago where liver absesses were found in Fiji I think it was, but that was found to be due to contaminated water with amoeba, not the kava.

Does anyone know if it is possible to boil the strained kava before drinking? Does this destroy the kavalactones? I know that boiling the unstrained kava just makes it absorb the water and creates a thick starchy mess that is useless. Is there anything anyone can tell me about kava and parasites?

maybe its best that you dont have any, while your at it think about other tubers you eat such as turnip, potato etc

 

[Orz[EST]]

Raw tubers vs highly processed tubers are like nuclear power vs coal power.

The first seldom causes problems but if they do these are horrible, at least visually, and re risk factors for some diseases.

The second is as if certainly harmful in small way, ruining microbiota, blood vessels and general health; detrimental to body composition and life expextancy and also eosk factors.

Pick your poison.

 

[Orz[EST]]

From more practical viewpoint, I wonder how nematodes as well as kavalactones would fare at 65 °C dry heating in a microwave. It destroys most food pathogens but not sure about nematode eggs

Would mixing with bromelain help?

It would require "wer" experiment to really find out.

As concerns boiling, it'd make the taste too disagreeable, I am afraid. Never tried it but I guess I wont turn back from cold prep after trying hot water prep.

 

[Palmetto]

Don't make a simple thing a complicated problem. How often do you drink fresh kava mixed with unpurified tropical water? Probably Kava powder isn't likely to be a good environment for the survival of amoebas.

 

[ThePiper]

My understanding was that dry powder isn’t a risk