Kava Research mouse/rat study on kava toxicity/carcinogenicity - old (2012) but interesting

[Kavacoobz]

I recently came across a study from 2012 (testing effects of Kava Kava extract on mice) and decided to post it here on a whim - curious if you've seen this study before and if you have any thoughts?

Liver Toxicity and Carcinogenicity in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice Exposed to Kava Kava

Apologies if there are any rules against linking to outside sites but wanted to make the study available...This is a mouse model so obviously not mimicking the human pharmacokinetics, but at the same time there's a reason mice are used in this regard due to at least prompting further research.

As a frequent Kava consumer I'm hoping there is someone more well versed in interpreting such research to dismiss my concern upon initially reading this. Looking forward to hearing from you guys.

Edit: The study is using a kava extract, and I don't think its specified which parts of the plant are used...

 

[Alia]

This was a CO2 extract, as I recall, not kava beverage.
Doing the math, the amount of actual product they are consuming
is enormous. We also would not know the source of the
extract...like what parts of the plant did they decide to use to make it.
Caveat- this is all my comment from remembering a Prof. who
did a comprehensive review of this paper right after it was published.
I may be remembering incorrectly, so take a closer look to see how much
they were made to consume.

 

[Kavacoobz]

This was a CO2 extract, as I recall, not kava beverage.
Doing the math, the amount of actual product they are consuming
is enormous. We also would not know the source of the
extract...like what parts of the plant did they decide to use to make it.
Caveat- this is all my comment from remembering a Prof. who
did a comprehensive review of this paper right after it was published.
I may be remembering incorrectly, so take a closer look to see how much
they were made to consume.

Thanks for the response! Very cool that you were able to hear some well-informed perspectives on this research! As you mentioned, as a Kava extract, this is an entirely different product from traditional kava drink thus its effects when consumed should be considered as distinct.

I couldn't find much info regarding the extract itself, couldn't even find the extraction method: "Kava Kava extract (CAS 9000-38-8), a medium yellow powder was obtained from Cosmopolitan Trading Co. (Seattle, WA)":

Regarding the amount mice/rats were consuming, these are the concentrations of the extract, diluted with corn oil: 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg, over the course of 2 weeks, 3 months or 2 years.

 

[kavamehameha]

Without knowing any details about the study, the following general statement always holds:

The normal consumption of traditionally prepared noble kava does not lead to a higher risk of getting cancer or liver problems (provided you don't have any health issues from the outset). Several hundreds of years of kava culture in the South Pacific prove this.