Kava banned in France, Switzerland, UK

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<< Kava Kava banned in France, Switzerland, UK <fwd>

 

KAVA BANNED - FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

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A ProMED-mail post

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[1]

11 Jan 2002

ProMED-mail <promed@p...>

Source: National Post, Canada 10 Jan 2002 [edited]

 

http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/story.html?

f=/stories/20020110/1087094.ht

 

ml

 

 

Herbal remedy linked to liver disease - Kava bans multiply

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A popular herbal relaxant available off the shelf in Canada was

banned

in France yesterday as reports tied it to severe liver damage. Kava,

a

South Pacific pepper, is the eighth most popular herbal medicine in

Canada.

 

German and Swiss health authorities reported that, in addition to at

least 30 cases of hepatitis, one person has died and 4 others

required

liver transplants after regularly taking kava, an herb that grows in

the South Pacific and is available in Canada as a tea and a tablet.

 

Kava, a type of pepper that originated in Fiji and figures in a

traditional peace ritual there, is among the 8 most popular herbal

medications in Canada. It is used widely as a relaxant and a cure for

insomnia, according to Bob McCandless, a prominent herbalist in

Vancouver.

 

The European reports suggest it is also associated with increased

liver toxicity, which can lead to liver damage, cirrhosis, and

increased susceptibility to hepatitis.

 

France followed Switzerland in banning the drug outright yesterday.

Germany plans to do the same, and a voluntary recall was completed

last week in Britain. A European Union-wide ban is being considered

by

the continental pharmaceutical regulator.

 

Health Canada, which approved kava as a relaxant drug, has obtained

the German health authority's report and is evaluating whether the

risks are with kava itself, or whether they can be attributed to a

particular distributor or processing technique, said spokeswoman Tara

Madigan.

 

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration responded to the

European reports by urging doctors to revisit past cases of liver

toxicity to determine if any were associated with kava use. Ms.

Madigan said there have been no reports in Canada of liver toxicity

associated with kava. However, in a Health Canada file of reported

adverse effects from kava, which have not yet been proven

scientifically, 5 women and one man reported breathing difficulty,

numbness, nausea, spasticity, pallor and a host of other ailments.

Most of the reported effects were from people who had taken

tablets of powdered kava, as opposed to the tea.

 

Ms. Madigan said one reason Health Canada approved the drug in the

first place was that it has a long tradition behind it, with no

documented dangers. In Fiji, girls would chew kava's peeled root to

break it down and then ferment it in water to release kavalactones,

which are probably the active chemical ingredient. " If you drink kava

with someone in Fiji, you can't be enemies with them anymore. It's a

buddy drink, " Mr. McCandless said. In July, 2000, when the Fijian

Prime Minister was released after 2 months in captivity following a

coup, he shared a cup of kava with his captor, then gave him amnesty.

 

The popular drink made headlines last January [2001], when a

California court prosecuted a Tongan man accused of running his car

off the road after drinking 23 cups of the tea, also called 'awa'.

Doctors testifying for the defence said the kava suppressed the man's

central nervous system. A judge threw the case out, citing a lack of

evidence about the tea's effects.

 

[byline: Joseph Brean]

 

******

[2]

11 Jan 2002

ProMED-mail <promed@p...>

Source: Reuters 31 Dec 2001 6:41 PM EST (2341 GMT) [edited]

http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/12/31/health.kava.reut/index.html

 

FDA investigates kava-kava

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The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Monday

it

was looking into the possibility that kava-kava, a supplement sold to

promote sleep and stress relief, can damage the liver. " We are

looking

into it. We are in the information-gathering stage, " an FDA

spokesperson said. The FDA said it was acting on reports from Europe

that kava, a supplement made from a root found on Pacific islands,

could damage the liver. " We did hear reports from Europe, especially

Germany and Switzerland, of possible links to liver complications, "

the spokesperson said.

 

Britain's Medicines Control Agency said last week it had negotiated

with herbal food industry organizations and arranged a voluntary

withdrawal of kava from store shelves there by Tuesday. It cited

reports from Germany and Switzerland that 6 people suffered liver

failure after using the supplement, and one died.

 

- --

ProMED-mail

<promed@p...>

 

[There are several kava lactones, but they do not appear to be toxic.

Kava was licensed/registered in Germany as a drug in 1991. All of the

supposed deaths have occurred since 1998. When I say ´supposed´

 

deaths, I am not doubting that these people died, or that they had

poor livers. However, in every case where I have access to medical

records there are other liver damaging drugs, alcohol etc., involved.

What is being looked at is the second cultivar of kava that has been

used as a commercial source since 1998. - Mod.TG]

 

[Kava (_Piper methysticum_ G. Forst.) meaning " intoxicating pepper, "

is a psychoactive agent; it reduces anxiety much like the potent,

synthetic benzodiazapines (e.g. Valium) and is a potent muscle

relaxant. It does not cause dependency or addiction. In the 1950s and

60s, two teams of German scientists found that the various activities

of the kava plant were due to some 15 different chemical compounds

known as pyrones. Collectively named kavapyrones or kavalactones, the

compounds were found to increase the sedative action of barbiturates,

to have both analgesic and local anesthetic effects, to cause muscles

to relax, and to have antifungal properties.

 

In 1995, 100 patients suffering anxiety and stress symptoms were

given 210 mg of kavapyrones daily. After 8 weeks, the treated

subjects were clearly improved in comparison to those receiving a

placebo. As for side effects, 15 persons receiving the placebo

reported them in comparison to only 5 taking kava extract. - Mod.DH]

[Guest guest]

This squares with my experience. Back in 1973, i first tried it. Did it as

a tea, which had little effect. So i used the traditional recipe as given

in the Jeanne Rose herbal -- fermented it in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Lots of hassle to do that, so i never picked up the habit. The Polynesians

have 2,000 years experience with this stuff, and from their viewpoint

grinding it up into capsules would be just plain stupid. The fermentation

is very important, as it would modify the effects of its toxic components.

 

As for drinking 23 cups in an evening, that's also stupid. Jeanne Rose

warned against driving while on it! These companies that sell it are just

unethical. They either don't know what they're doing, or they don't care.

As for mixing it with other herbs in capsules, that's never been adequately

studid, and it should be.

 

At 01:41 AM 1/19/02 -0000, you wrote:

><< Kava Kava banned in France, Switzerland, UK <fwd>

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>KAVA BANNED - FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

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