Naloxone does not reverse the pain-relieving properties of kava.
Hello kava aficionados, today’s fact is short but pertinent. If you notice I draw many facts-of-the-day from this paper, you're right. It's packed with excellent and very up-to-date kava information. Many different systems are implicated in the action of kava. From GABA, to dopamine to norepinephrine. One which is not, however, is the opiate-pathway of pain relief. Naloxone, the drug used to reverse opioid overdose, was applied in part of this study to assess its effect on the pain-relieving properties of kava. It was found that naloxone had no effect and was unable to reverse the relief of pain. What this suggests is that kava has extremely low or no affinity for the opiate receptors. Kavalactones involved in the reduction of pain include kavain, DHK, methysticin, and DHM. The pain-relieving properties of kava are theorized to be due to various anti-inflammatory effects, and not opioid receptor activation.
Bian T, Corral P, Wang Y, Botello J, Kingston R, Daniels T, Salloum RG, Johnston E, Huo Z, Lu J, Liu AC, Xing C. Kava as a Clinical Nutrient: Promises and Challenges. Nutrients. 2020; 12(10):3044 Page 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12103044