the Stakeholder Panel on Dietary Supplements

Kava Rituals

Kava Adverse Effects ▪ Kava dermopathy – reversible scaly skin condition ▪ Formerly considered a sign of royalty (able to drink kava all day) ▪ Cases of liver damage and liver failure associated with use of commercial extract preparations ▪ Analysis of 78 case reports from 1990-2002 concluded that four established a certain probability from kava ingestion ▪ During the kava boom several non-traditional forms ingested ▪ Use of undesirable cultivars (two-day), plant parts (stem peelings), solvents (acetone), and production issues (mold) were known to occur around this time.