Those unfamiliar with rise and fall of this herb
may think that kava-kava or kava as it is
also called, has something to do with coffee. It
doesn't. Not even close. In fact, if we were to
compare their effects, they are at opposite ends of
the spectrum. Coffee, of course, as an herb (if you
will), is a stimulant. Kava-kava is a mild
relaxant. I must admit, that kava was a name that
meant little more to me than a jive word for coffee
until about five years ago. I found myself on a
winter camping trip with a group of friends in
Death Valley. A magical spot on the planet,
inappropriately named, it is a beautiful dried
ancient lake bed, which not too many thousands of
years ago, looked much like the Great Salt Lake
does today. Far from the Islands of Polynesia,
Melanesia and Micronesia, where kava-kava
originates, Death Valley was an unlikely setting to
take part in a make-shift kava ceremony. A friend
on the trip had traveled to the camp-out from
Hawaii, his first leg on a one year sabbatical from
a university teaching position. Near his mountain
side home on the Island of Oahu, he had collected
some kava root, which he shredded and dried for the
journey. We pulverized the root in a crude mortar
and pestle, adding water to make a thick paste. We
added more water until we had a thick soupy cold
decoction, which we sipped from coconut
half-shells. The soupy mix had particles of the
root suspended in the mix, requiring slow sipping
and chewing of each small mouthful. After a few
minutes, my muscles began relaxing and my mouth was
numbed in a sensation similar to that produced by
oil of clove, or a good high quality fresh Echinacea angustifolia root.
It was one of those
memorable herbal adventures where you get to know
the herb first hand, experiencing it in as an
aspect of nature, rather than a finished product
form from a health food store. Similarly, I was
ecstatic on a trip to Hawaii last October when I
saw a live kava plant for the first time. It was
like meeting an old friend. It's one thing in my
experience to be familiar with an herb through the
literature or through knowing about herb products.
It's a great thrill for me to see a plant for the
first time. Since I can't grow my own kava in my
Ozark home, today, when I need to relax, I turn to
kava extracts, tinctures, or capsules or tablets.
It's more convenient than traveling to a south sea
island.
Just what is kava-kava?
Botanists call it Piper methysticum. The
genus Piper in the pepper family
(Piperaceae) is also the group to which black
pepper (Piper nigrum) belongs. This is a
large plant group, with over 1,000 species of Piper including shrubs, high climbing woody
vines (called lianas) and even small trees. Kava is
a highly variable shrub-like herb, usually growing
to about six feet tall, but it can reach a height
of 20 feet given lush soil and good sunlight. The
bright green, heart-shaped leaves are about six to
eight inches long. It does produce small flower
spikes, but they are sterile. The plant must be
propagated from dividing the roots. The succulent,
thick stems have strongly swollen nodes, which vary
in color from green to black.
In native cultures such as
Hawaii, these different variations were used to
name distinct varieties, recognized by those who
knew the plant well. Over a dozen types of kava
were known in Hawaii, at least five in Fiji,
several in New Guinea, nine in Samoa and on the
island of Vanuatu, where kava culture is perhaps
mostly highly developed, over 70 different
varieties have been recognized by the Island's
indigenous people. In short, kava embodies the
concept of endless variation. The plant is actually
considered a cultigen, which like garlic, has
evolved in cultivation over thousands of years. It
is estimated that kava has been cultivated on
islands in the South Pacific for over 3,000 years.
Vincent Lebot, a botanist at the University of
Hawaii, believes that kava originates from Piper
wichmannii, a wild species native to Papua New
Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. He
believes that kava should be considered a group of
sertile cultivated varieties selected centuries ago
from Piper wichmannii.
Whatever its origins, it
is certainly the most important cultivated plant
from a social perspective in the history of Pacific
island societies. With a resurgence of interest in
reasserting culture identity, masked by 200 years
of attempts by European culture to subdue
centuries-old religious traditions, kava is making
a come-back among Oceanic peoples. In older
literature it is some times described as a "drug,"
however, kava use does not produce physical or
psychological addiction or dependency. It does not
produce hallucinations, nor does it stupefy its
users. Dr. Lebot likens its cultural significance
as a traditional beverage to that of wine in
southern Europe.
When I was in Hawaii once, I met a kahuna, a native healer, who one
afternoon took me on an herb walk to show me some
of the native plants that he used in his practice.
He also showed me fish on a coral reef, each with
their own medicinal properties just like herbs. At
the end of the day, he said, what I have shared
with you today is the knowledge from my tradition,
from my family and teachers. If you talk to another
kahuna on the other part of the island he or she
may use the plant for completely different
purposes. I was struck by this importance of
cultural context. So it is with kava. Each island,
each society in the South Pacific that
traditionally uses kava has its own myths and
legends on the origins of kava use. The myths may
attribute origin to gods, spirits or animals.
Common threads prevalent in the origin myths which
have been recorded by western observers for 200
years often include recurring themes such as kava
coming from a body in the ground, an animal first
observed chewing the root or a woman may be
involved in its discovery.
In a traditional context,
there were three major kinds of kava ceremonies,
including those held on very formal occasions such
as to honor royalty. Second were kava ceremonies
performed at community meetings, such as elder's
councils, and third, more informal kava ceremonies,
such as for a Friday night social occasion.
Cultural context dictated who prepared the drink,
usually a specially designated individual or group
of individuals in the community. Historically,
preparation of kava beverage involved chewing the
root. Today, the root is ground in mortar and
pestles, or powdered mechanically, if commercially
available powdered root is used. Socially regulated
moderate consumption of the beverage is considered
soothing to the temperament, helping to ease moral
discomfort, allaying anxiety, relieving nervous
tension, and leading to a serene state of mind.
Heavy consumption can cause users to appear as if
intoxicated. While in control of their minds, they
can lose control of muscle movement of the limbs,
as well as the eyes. Such as state is achieved with
ingestion of inappropriate excessive amounts of the
herb.
Traditionally, kava was
considered to be a beneficial herb for healthy
individuals, but should be avoided by the sick or
infirm. It was considered a medicinal plant in
cultures were it was also consumed as a ceremonial
beverage. In Fiji, a tea of the root, considered a
diuretic was used for kidney and bladder ailments.
It was also used to treat coughs and colds and sore
throat. After giving child birth, mothers were
given a root decoction to help keep them from
getting pregnant again. The leaves were also chewed
and as a contraceptive. Externally, a juice from
the fresh leaves was used as an embrocation on
wounds. Fresh leaves were then used as a Band-Aid.
Kava has also been used historically to treat
gonorrhea, rheumatism, bronchitis, asthma, as well
as treat stomachache and backaches. The root tea
was used to relieve pain in cases of muscle aches
and headaches.
Kava was adopted as a
medicinal plant by Europeans, soon after its
discovery in the Pacific Islands. It was used in
Germany for treating urinary tract ailments and
gonorrhea as early as 1850. The first kava products
appeared in Europe as early as the 1860s. Kava
extracts were common in German herb shops by the
end of the last century. The first pharmacy
preparations were found in Germany in the 1920s,
offered as a tincture for use as a mild sedative
and hypotensive herb. Much of the modern chemical,
pharmacological, and clinical research on kava has
been conducted by German scientists.
A group of at least nine
compounds known as kavalactones or kava pyrones are
responsible for biological activity associated with
kava. Among the more important kavalactones are
kavain, dihydrokavain and dihydromethysticin. The
analgesic or pain-reducing effect of the latter two
compounds has been compared with that of aspirin. A
localized numbing-sensation or anesthesia produced
in the mouth by chewing the root is primarily
produced by kavain. While often called muscle
relaxants, unlike most muscle-relaxing plant
constituents that have a sedative effect on the
central nervous system, the kavalactones have a
direct action on muscle contractility. In other
words, the compounds directly relax muscles rather
than blocking neurotransmitter signals in nerve
tissue.
Preparations of the
rootstock of kava, like so many medicinal plants
are better known in Germany than they are in the
United States. It is only within the past couple of
years that kava has begun to gain popularity here
as a dietary supplement. In Germany, kava
phytomedicines products are widely used for cases
of nervous anxiety, stress, and unrest. Kava is
also recognized for its diuretic and
anti-inflammatory qualities and is often combined
with pumpkin seed and used in the treatment of
irritable bladder syndrome. The German regulatory
monograph on kava cautions against used of the herb
during pregnancy and lactation. It is also
contraindicated in cases of depression. Since it is
considered to be somewhat sedative, use should be
avoided when consuming alcohol and when operating
machinery or vehicles.
Kava is certainly the most
important non-food plant of the South Sea islands.
Well known in European herbal medicine for nearly
150 years, kava emerged as an important herb in
dietary supplement markets in the United States.
Alas, it was associated with liver toxicity, right or wrong, which severely impacted the kava market, now a shadow of its former self.
References
- Akana, A. (trans.)
1922. Hawaiian Herbs of Medicinal Value.
reprint. Rutland, Vermont: Charles, E. Tuttle,
Co.
- Cambie, R. C. and J.
Ash. 1994. Fijian Medicinal Plants.
Australia: CSIRO.
- Lebot, V. 1991. Kava
(Piper methysticum Forst. f.): The
Polynesian Dispersal of an Oceanian Plant. in P.
A. Cox and S. A. Banack, eds. Islands, Plants
and Polynesians: An Introduction to Polynesian
Ethnobotany. Portland, Oregon: Dioscorides
Press, pp. 169-201.
- Lebot, V., et al.
1992. Kava: The Pacific Drug, New Haven
and London: Yale University Press.
- Whistler, W. A. 1992. Polynesian Herbal Medicine. Lawai, Kauai,
Hawaii: National Tropical Garden.
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