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Kava and Liver Health

Government Warnings
US FDA's Warning on Kava & Liver Damage, Mar 2002 logo_small_wht.gif


Reviews of the Data
Evaluation of the effects of Kava on the Liver, by Dr J. Malani logo_small_wht.gif
Is kava really hepatotoxic?, by M. Schmidt
Kava: The Unfolding Story


"To date there are no reports of adverse reactions related to hepatic [liver] dysfunction associated with the use of kava in the U.S. or Canada."
M Blumenthal
American Botanical Council Jan, 2002
Opinions Disputing Kava Causes Liver Damage
Ethnobotanist Disputes Liver Damage Claim - Honolulu Advertiser
Awa and the Liver, Ed Johnston AHA, April 2002 logo_small_wht.gif
Dr Ray Sahelian's Views on Kava & Liver Damage
Dr Hylla Class's Views on Kava & Liver Damage, April 2, 2002
Toxicologist Concludes Kava Does Not Damage Liver, April 2002
Kava's Link to Liver Disease Questionable, another report on Waller's Findings, 2002


Link & Article Collections
Kava Kauai's Kava & Liver Information & Links
Secretariat of the Pacific Community Kava Page


Kava-Related Organization Position Statements
Secretariat of the Pacific Community
Public Statement by Kava Industry Reps at Pacific Herbs Business Forum
Reaction from Univ of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture, Bittenbender, Mar 2002


NEWS
Researchers Propose Explanation of Kava-extract health problem, April 2003
Kava warnings cripple state's industry, March 26, 2002
Kava May Cause Liver Damage, WebMD
Controversy over Kava Use, Ke Alaka'i
Kava Banned in Switzerland, Sep 2001 (trans. from German) logo_small_wht.gif
German Law Change, Nov 2001 (trans. from German) logo_small_wht.gif


Technical Resources
Kava Chemistry & Toxicology Executive Summary (technical) logo_small_wht.gif
Kava Journal Articles on Health & Toxicity logo_small_wht.gif


"According to the sales figures of the German Institute of Medicinal Statistics, approximately 250 million daily doses of kava were sold during the last 10 years in German speaking countries. Correlated to this estimation, the probability of ethanolic kava extracts being responsible for hepatic adverse effects was calculated to 0.008 cases in one million of daily doses."
Dr. Mathias Schmidt
November 2002
Journal Articles
Kava-induced fulminant hepatic failure, Campo 2002
Kava References


Kava Lawsuits
The somewhat disturbing US trend towards litigation in how quickly webpages and sites dedicated to promoting lawsuits against kava sellers can be seen by simply searching google on kava and looking at the paid advertisements for kava lawsuits. Or search on "kava lawsuit" to see what comes up.