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Kava History Reference

FijiFreshKava

https://fijifresh.com
Kava Vendor
There is an excellent research article by Lebot and Lèvesque, written in 1989 entitled, "The origin and distribution of kava: a phytochemical approach". It tells the story of kava's origins in Vanuatu and spread through the South Pacific through analysis of the chemical properties of kava[1]. It's a must read for anyone interested in kava or the Pacific Island societies.

This article is behind a paywall, but I was given permission to host the complete article by The National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii with the aim of promoting more knowledge and appreciation of both kava and the Island societies in the Pacific.

This article can be found at this link on my web site, where I am starting a history of Fijian Kava. If you just want the pdf of the article, you can read or download the article here.

[1] Lebot, V., and J. Lèvesque. "THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF KAVA (PIPER METHYSTICUM FORST. F., PIPERACEAE): A PHYTOCHEMICAL APPROACH." Allertonia 5, no. 2 (1989): 223-81. http://www.jstor.org.sri.idm.oclc.org/stable/23187398.
 
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nashfire

Stay Rooted
There is an excellent research article by Lebot and Lèvesque, written in 1989 entitled, "The origin and distribution of kava: a phytochemical approach". It tells the story of kava's origins in Vanuatu and spread through the South Pacific through analysis of the chemical properties of kava[1]. It's a must read for anyone interested in kava or the Pacific Island societies.

This article is behind a paywall, but I was given permission to host the complete article by The National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii with the aim of promoting more knowledge and appreciation of both kava and the Island societies in the Pacific.

This article can be found at this link on my web site, where I am starting a history of Fijian Kava. If you just want the pdf of the article, you can read or download the article here.

[1] Lebot, V., and J. Lèvesque. "THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF KAVA (PIPER METHYSTICUM FORST. F., PIPERACEAE): A PHYTOCHEMICAL APPROACH." Allertonia 5, no. 2 (1989): 223-81. http://www.jstor.org.sri.idm.oclc.org/stable/23187398.
Sweet! Thanks for the link and info! Bula!
 

FijiFreshKava

https://fijifresh.com
Kava Vendor
Thanks for posting this, I have that article, I got it years ago through a friend and Dr Lebot. It is a great article, I encourage all to read it. Aloha.

Chris
I gather that many have read the article, but I thought it was nice that the NTBG allowed me to host the complete pdf for download. Saves everyone $30 and the whole community can use it as they please, save it on their own machine, etc. Previously the article was only viewable through the web interface at JSTOR.

Dave
 

Alia

'Awa Grower/Collector
There is an excellent research article by Lebot and Lèvesque, written in 1989 entitled, "The origin and distribution of kava: a phytochemical approach". It tells the story of kava's origins in Vanuatu and spread through the South Pacific through analysis of the chemical properties of kava[1]. It's a must read for anyone interested in kava or the Pacific Island societies.

This article is behind a paywall, but I was given permission to host the complete article by The National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii with the aim of promoting more knowledge and appreciation of both kava and the Island societies in the Pacific.

This article can be found at this link on my web site, where I am starting a history of Fijian Kava. If you just want the pdf of the article, you can read or download the article here.

[1] Lebot, V., and J. Lèvesque. "THE ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF KAVA (PIPER METHYSTICUM FORST. F., PIPERACEAE): A PHYTOCHEMICAL APPROACH." Allertonia 5, no. 2 (1989): 223-81. http://www.jstor.org.sri.idm.oclc.org/stable/23187398.
Thank you for making this down-loadable . I have had paper copies but never a download. As for the Hawai'i portion- the two main caveats are weakness in Hawaiian material. It simply had not been done at the time of this work and Lebot's Post-Doc days. We now have cross-referenced, numerous, more up to date kavalactone analysis which completely contradicts what is presented in this article. They also did not track down the proper Hawaiian names and rather used Number reference and Island. I suggest, at least for the Hawaii portion, readers cross reference with the 1999 Economic Botany paper** on Hawaiian 'Awa and the Hawaiian 'Awa book* available on-line.
*Hawaiian 'Awa, Views of an Ethnobotanical Treasure.
** Morphological, phytochemical, and genetic variation in Hawaiian Cultivars of 'Awa
 
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