Univ of Hawaii scientists may have solved kava mystery

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

See this, from Susan Wynn, of the VBMA List.

Best regards,

Phil

 

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UH scientists may have solved kava mystery

 

By Kevin Dayton

Advertiser Big Island Bureau

 

HILO, Hawai'i — A team of University of Hawai'i scientists may

have solved the mystery of why some Europeans who used

products containing kava extract suffered severe liver damage,

prompting a number of nations to ban sales of the herbal

supplement.

 

The culprit may be a compound found in the stem peelings and

leaves of the kava plant — known in Hawai'i as 'awa — but not in

the roots that are used to make the traditional kava drink

consumed by Pacific Islanders.

 

Just to be safe, people should avoid tea or anything else made

from the leaves or stems of the plant, according to C.S. Tang,

professor of molecular biosciences and biosystems engineering at

UH-Manoa.

 

Bans in Singapore, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and

elsewhere wiped out pharmaceutical sales of kava and virtually

destroyed it as an export crop in Hawai'i. While kava supplements

are not banned in the United States, the Food and Drug

Administration issued an advisory in March 2002 warning of the

potential risk of severe liver injury from dietary supplements

containing kava.

 

The health alarms left farmers in Hamakua and elsewhere with

crops that were hardly worth harvesting. Experts were unable to

explain how a plant used in island cultures for 2,000 years could

suddenly be so toxic, causing liver damage that was fatal in some

cases.

 

Now researchers led by Tang believe they may have found the key:

Peelings from the stem bark of kava plants apparently were used to

create the extract for the herbal supplements, and may be to

blame for liver failure and liver-related injuries that included hepatitis

and cirrhosis.

 

Traditional kava drinkers discard the peelings, but Tang and his

team learned from a trader in Fijian kava that European

pharmaceutical companies eagerly bought up the peelings when

demand for kava extract soared in Europe in 2000 and 2001.

 

" Peelings are traditionally avoided by the kava drinkers with good

reason, " Tang said. " If you don't respect the traditional use or

people who learn by experience, if you don't respect that, you

might get yourself in trouble. "

 

Supplements containing kava are promoted as remedies for

sleeplessness and menopausal symptoms.

 

Drinking kava has not been associated with liver damage.

 

In Europe, where most of the health problems occurred, kava

extract is used in capsule form, and the cases of liver damage

apparently involved people who took the capsules, the scientists

reported.

 

In a research paper accepted for publication in the scientific journal

Phytochemistry, researchers Klaus Dragull, W.Y. Yoshida and

Tang report they found an alkaloid called pipermethystine in tests

of stem peelings and kava leaves.

 

Pipermethystine also was present in lower concentrations in the

bark of the stump but was not found in the root itself. The root is

what is used to make the traditional drink.

 

Preliminary tests by researcher Pratibha Nerurkar show

pipermethystine has a " strong negative effect " on liver cell cultures.

If peelings containing the alkaloid were used to make kava

capsules — and the scientists suspect they were — that could

explain the liver damage in some of the people who took the

capsules.

 

The peelings were available during the kava boom because kava

drinkers in the Pacific didn't want them, and the stem peelings

contain high levels of kavalactones, the ingredient in kava that

provides its calming effects.

 

The Fijian kava dealer reported the peelings had emerged as a very

important trading item because " it's cheap and it's a waste product

by the kava drinkers, therefore the pharmaceutical companies, they

love it and it became part of the trade, " Tang said.

 

The UH researchers also learned that the analysis method used by

some companies to test plant products could not detect the

difference between the alkaloids and kavalactones, " and therefore

they mistakenly thought there's no problem, that it's similar stuff, "

Tang said.

 

" I'm fairly optimistic that we are on the right track, because

everything seems to be falling into the picture because of the use

of peelings, " Tang said. " But like any scientist, I would say that

nothing is final until our results are accepted by the regulatory

agencies. "

 

If the researchers are right, kava could again emerge as a viable

export crop. But that could take quite awhile.

 

At its peak in 2001, the state Department of Agriculture estimates

there were 65 farms in Hawai'i growing kava, but growers agreed

that has dropped off dramatically.

 

Matthew Archibald, vice president of operations for Agrinom, an

agricultural company in Hakalau on the Big Island, said the UH

research is an important step in resuscitating the kava industry

worldwide, but that it could take years and millions of dollars to

rebuild the European market.

 

In August 2001, Agrinom was shipping 50,000 pounds of dried kava

a month, grossing $300,000. That operation collapsed two months

later when the German government banned sales.

 

" The damage has been done, " he said. " For example, we're not

going to get into Germany for a very, very long time. There would

have to be some major development for us to be able to get back in

there. But if someone could open up China, for example, where

they're more accepting of herbal medicines in general, that could

be a possibility. "

 

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton or (808)

935-3916.

Best regards,

 

 

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