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Kava Kava

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Clinical Studies
In April 1998, an important clinical study on daily stress showed benefits for a standardized kava kava extract. This ground-breaking kava kava study supports the results of a 1996 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study in Phytomedicine that evaluated kava kava's effects on general anxiety syndromes. ¹ In the latter kava kava study, two groups of 29 patients each were treated for four weeks with three daily doses of kava kava extract (100 mg each) or placebo.

Results were measured using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), the Adjectives Check List, and the Clinical Global Impression Scale after one, two, and four weeks of kava kava treatment. The kava kava group experienced an improved sense of well-being and a marked reduction in nervousness and tension after just one week of kava kava treatment, as compared to placebo. Improvement continued with no side effects for the kava kava group during the four-week study. ²

Kava kava may also be an important herb for menopausal women. A 1991 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study evaluated kava kava's effects on 40 women experiencing anxiety and mild depression associated with menopause. After just one week of treatment, the kava kava group's HAMA scores showed significant improvement compared to those taking placebo. Over the course of the eight-week study, the kava kava group also showed improvement in depressive mood, subjective well-being (patient diary), severity of the disease, and menopausal symptomatology. ³

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References

1. Lehmann E, Kinzler E, Friedemann J, et al. Efficacy of a special kava extract (Piper methysticum) in patients with states of anxiety, tension, and excitedness of non-mental origion - a double blind placebo-controlled study of four weeks treatment. Phytomedicine 1996; 3(2):113-119
2. Singh NN, Ellis CR, Singh YN, et al. A double-bling, placebo controlled study of effects of kava (Kavatrol) on daily stress and anxiety in adults. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 1998; 4(2):97-98
3. Warneke VG. Neurovegatative dystonia in the female climacteric: studies on the clinical efficacy and tolerance of kava extract WS 1490 [in German]. Fortschritte der Therapie 1991; 109(4): 119-122.
4. Holm E, Staedt U, Heep J, et al. Studies on the profile of neurophysiological effects of D,L-Kavain: cerebral sites of action and sleep-wakefulness-rhythm in animals [in German]. Arzneimittel-Forschung 1991; 41(2): 673-683.
5. Jussofie A, Schmiz A, Hiemke C. Kavapyrone enriched extract from Piper methysticum as modulator of the GABA binding site in different regions of rat brain. Psychopharmacology 1994; 116: 469-474.
6. Duffield PH, Jamieson D. Development of tolerance to kava in mice. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 1991; 18:571-578.
7. Jamieson DD, Duffield PH. The antinociceptive actions of kava components in mice. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 1990; 17: 495-508.
8. Blumenthal M, Busse W, Goldberg A, eds. The Complete German Commission E Monographs. Austin, TX: American Botanical Council; Boston: Integrative Medical Communications, 1998.
9. Foster S. 101 Medicinal Herbs. Lovelend, CO: Interweave Press, 1998

By Krista Morien in Herb Research News. Herb Research Foundation, Summer, 1998; 4-5. Article is reproduced with exclusive permission from the Herb Research Foundation.

Photo courtesy of NIEHS News: Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 107, Number 12, December 1999

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