What, no Kava Kava?
If you visit any reputable herbal retail outlet you may notice that Kava Kava has been withdrawn from sale. This is a voluntary suspension by retailers whilst further investigation takes place into a possible health risk reported in Germany. It must be emphasised that there is no known problem associated with the Bio-Health herbal capsules or the Artemis Herbs kava kava tincture and customers who may have bought these products should not be alarmed. The products being tested are not generally available in the UK. Indeed, since they are manufactured from kava extracts and contain other concentrates, it is entirely possible that the kava kava herb itself may turn out not to be implicated.The request for withdrawal suggests that liver toxicity was found in a number of people reported to have taken kava products. It is not yet known whether these people may have already been suffering from liver complaints associated with other illnesses. Meanwhile, we are being urged to take the matter seriously - as any responsible retailer would - and hold stocks back from sale.
As shopkeepers rather than scientists, we find ourselves rather bemused by all this. Naturally, we don't want to sell any product which may turn out to have harmful effects. The loss of business in such cases is insignificant compared to the possible consequences if tests prove some element of risk or danger. Yet, Kava Kava has been widely used for centuries by native populations with no serious side effects reported. It plays an important part in the culture of Polynesia and has been available in Europe since Captain Cook returned from his voyages of discovery in the South Pacific. Kava kava is much prized as a natural muscle relaxant and tranquiliser, supposedly without the side effects and addictive properties associated with benzodiazepines.
This is the latest in what appears to have been a spate of warnings related to herbal remedies. We certainly don't wish to belittle or take them lightly. But let's keep this in perspective. Some common manufactured products, available over the counter without prescription, are actually known to cause liver damage if taken in excess - alcohol and paracetemol to name but two - and no one is suggesting these should be banned or taken off the shelves.
Scientists have done wondrous things with plant extracts in recent times. Without them, we might not have morphine, quinine, digoxin or even the contraceptive pill. But herbalists will tell you that Nature is much more subtle than man might suppose. There is a school of thought that even so-called 'inactive' components play an important part in the beneficial synergy of plant medicine.
If the cause of this latest scare is shown to be somehow related to the extraction, concentration and standardisation of kavalactones - the so-called 'active ingredients' in kava kava - it may strengthen the 'whole plant' approach to herbalism. That is one reason why Bio-Health and Artemis products have such an excellent reputation for quality. The bio-health pure-fil capsules are just that: pure herb, with nothing added and nothing taken out, and similarly with Artemis herbal tinctures.
John Kerr
January 2002
www.thinkherbal.co.uk
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