Posted by catmint on April 2, 2003, at 15:29:47
In reply to Re: is kava kava as effective as benzos?, posted by Viridis on April 1, 2003, at 20:45:09
It is wise to be concious of the use of this herb. Heavy users (local chiefs and visionaries of the South Pacific), have been known to develop 'crocodilianism' or flaking of the skin, yellow eyes and utter lethargy, evidently from an overload on the liver which processes the resins. Such effects are associated with very heavy daily intake over a period of years, so it is hard to imagine any Westerner having such an adverse reaction. It is entitely possible that those persons who had liver failure from supposed use of Kava, already had a preexisting condition.
The FDA is hasty to restrict use of any herb that is associated with a handful of bad reaction. Similar restrictions have been replaced on Comfrey. It has potentially harmful chemicals, and like Kava should not be use heavily or over prolonged periods, but the benefits far outweigh this.
Often, a single chemical component of an herb is isolated and concentrated (i.e. a standardized extract). Without the sum total of all the hundreds of chemical components within the plant, the action of the herb on the body is altered. This denatured method is safe with benign herbs like St. John's Wort, but is it as effective as the whole herb? That is questionable.
As for Kava, the issue is not effectiveness but rather, safety, of which it is completely, if used wisely.
I am not sure if Kava comes in a standardized extract but if it does, that could be the reason for the negative reacions unless of course these people are taking above and beyond what a rational dose would be.
Perhaps Larry Hoover is reading and could chime in. I know he agrees with me about standardized extracts.
Amy
poster:catmint
thread:214835
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030402/msgs/215477.html