Top of the page. Topic Overview What is kava? What is kava used for? Is kava safe? Before you use kava, consider that it: Should not be combined with alcohol or psychotropic medicines. Psychotropic medicines are used to treat psychiatric disorders or illnesses and include antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Alcohol exaggerates kava's sedating effect. Can affect how fast you react, making it unsafe to drive or use heavy machinery.
May gradually be less powerful as you use it. Eventually may cause temporary yellowing of skin, hair, and nails. Can cause an allergic skin reaction rare.
Long-term kava use may result in: Liver problems. Shortness of breath reversible. Scaly rash reversible. Facial puffiness or swelling reversible. When using dietary supplements, keep in mind the following: Like conventional medicines, dietary supplements may cause side effects, trigger allergic reactions, or interact with prescription and nonprescription medicines or other supplements you might be taking.
A side effect or interaction with another medicine or supplement may make other health conditions worse. The way dietary supplements are manufactured may not be standardized. Because of this, how well they work or any side effects they cause may differ among brands or even within different lots of the same brand. The form of supplement that you buy in health food or grocery stores may not be the same as the form used in research. Other than for vitamins and minerals, the long-term effects of most dietary supplements are not known.
Related Information Complementary Medicine Anxiety. Kava in generalized anxiety disorder: Three placebo-controlled trials. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 21 5 : Kava kava comes from the Piper methysticum plant, which is native to islands of the Pacific Ocean.
People native to the South Pacific islands use this kava kava drink during cultural and religious ceremonies to create a state of altered consciousness. People can also make powder or tablets from the dried roots. Consuming kava has a relaxing, euphoric effect. Scientists call drugs that have this calming effect anxiolytic. Alcohol, which has similar effects to kava, is another anxiolytic drug. These properties are why many use it as a recreational drug and a medicine, as it can help reduce stress and anxiety.
People use kava kava to relieve anxiety and promote sleep. Below, we look at what the research says. The primary use of kava is reducing stress and anxiety. Research suggests that kava could help treat the symptoms of anxiety disorders. In a randomized controlled trial from , scientists gave 75 people with anxiety disorders either kava extract or a placebo drug over 6 weeks.
At the end of the study, they found that kava had a small but significant effect on reducing anxiety symptoms. Aside from headaches , the participants did not report liver problems or other side effects. The authors suggest that kava could be a useful short-term option for treating anxiety disorders.
A review study from reports that kava kava may improve stress and anxiety. However, the authors say that more research about the safety and effectiveness is needed before it becomes a recommended therapy. This makes it hard to draw any firm conclusions about how effective it really is at treating anxiety.
Kava kava could help induce sleep due to its anxiolytic effects. For this reason, people also use it as an alternative therapy for sleep disorders. However, a systematic review from did not find any evidence that kava can help treat sleep disorders. The review also found no evidence for other herbal medicines, including:. Research has suggested that kava kava may cause liver damage.
It appears to be hepatoxic, meaning that it can damage liver cells. Because of this, authorities in several countries, including Canada, Great Britain, and Germany, have restricted or banned kava kava. Kava kava is still legal in the U. However, in , the FDA directly warned consumers that kava-based products could cause liver damage. Some of this damage, such as that caused by hepatitis and liver failure, can be severe.
There have been over reports of serious liver damage related to kava kava. Its scientific name is Piper methysticum. Pacific cultures traditionally use the kava drink during rituals and social gatherings. To make it, people first grind its roots into a paste. It is largely unknown how kavalactones produce these effects, but they appear to work by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that nerves release to communicate with each other. One of these neurotransmitters is gamma-aminobutyric acid GABA , which decreases the activity of nerves 10 , Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders today.
They are commonly treated with talk therapy, medications or both 12 , Many types of medications are available, but they may come with unwanted side effects and can be habit-forming This has increased the demand for presumably safe, natural remedies like kava. The first long-term study investigating the effects of kava extract in people with anxiety was published in The researchers also noted no side effects related to withdrawal or dependency, whereas these effects are common with other drugs often used to treat anxiety Since this study, several other studies have demonstrated the benefits of kava on anxiety.
A review of 11 of these studies concluded that kava extract is an effective treatment for anxiety Recent research has continued to find evidence that kava is effective for anxiety 18 , 19 , A lack of sleep is linked to many medical issues, including high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, obesity and cancer 21 , 22 , 23 , Realizing this, many people turn to sleep medications to help them sleep better.
Like drugs used to treat anxiety, sleep medications may become habit-forming, resulting in physical dependence In one study in 24 people, kava was found to reduce stress and insomnia, compared to a placebo However, both the researchers and participants knew whether they were receiving kava or a placebo.
This may have caused a bias that affected the outcome. Despite these flaws, a subsequent, higher-quality study found kava to be more effective than a placebo at improving sleep quality and reducing anxiety Stress-induced insomnia is common in those with anxiety.
Therefore, in cases of insomnia, kava may be treating anxiety, which may then help people sleep better This is a liquid form of kava sold in small bottles ranging in size from 2—6 ounces 59— ml. You can take it with a dropper or mix it into juice or another drink to cover its whiskey-like taste. As with kava tea, look for products that list the kavalactone content. Experts recommend that your daily intake of kavalactones does not exceed mg 29 , An effective dose of kavalactones is 70— mg 18 , 19 , Kava supplements may list kavalactones in milligrams or as a percentage.
If the content is listed as a percentage, you will need to calculate the amount of kavalactones it contains.
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