2018 March 16 SPDS

SMPR Key Points: Kava

From: Chua et al. Kavain, the Major Constituent of the Anxiolytic Kava Extract, Potentiates GABAA Receptors: Functional Characteristics and Molecular Mechanism. PLoS One . 2016 Jun 22;11(6):e0157700. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0157700.

SMPR Key Points: Kava

▪ Need to know strength of raw materials, ingredients, and finished products ▪ Quantitate individual kavalactones, list in order of predominance ▪ Perceived need to determine cultivar type of starting material (noble cultivar vs. two-day/tudei) ▪ Quantitate amounts of individual six major kavalactones ▪ Different cultivars are regulated differently in Vanuatu ▪ Concern for controlling/limiting amount of suspected hazard ▪ Limits for flavokavain B (< 2 mg/g) have been proposed.*

* Planta Med. 2015 Dec;81(18):1647-53. doi: 10.1055/s-0035-1558295.