If you are looking for an herbal remedy to knock the edge off of your anxiety and help you sleep more soundly, you may take a look at the herb kava. Known in its native South Pacific as a sedating, alcohol-like substance, kava is sold in the United States as a nerve tonic supplement. However, kava's use is controversial, and possibly alarming, and you should thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of the herb with your doctor before you use it to treat yourself for any condition.
Identification
Kava, or kava kava, originates from the Piper methysticum plant, an herbal shrub indigenous to the Pacific Islands. Kava's roots, which grow in thick, hairy-looking bundles, are the medicinal part of the plant used to create powdered capsules, tablets, standardized extracts and liquid nutritional supplements.
Uses
Kava supplementation is an effective anxiety treatment, and may also decrease the time it takes you to fall asleep and improve your sleep quality, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC).
Theories/Speculation
Kava contains constituents known as kavapyrones, or kavalactones, which have been proven to relax muscles, promote sleep and relieve pain in animals. Kavapyrones have also been shown to equal Valium, or diazepam, in altering brain activity in humans, an occurrence that suggests that kava and diazepam work the same way in the brain, according to UMMC.
Considerations
You should only take kava under a physician's direct care. Kava's use was associated with at least 25 cases of liver-related injuries, including liver failure, cirrhosis of the liver and hepatitis, according to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements. In fact, in 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement warning consumers about the herb's possible adverse reactions in the liver. Kava may also negatively interact with your prescription medications, such as levodopa, used to treat Parkinson's disease; diuretic water pills; anti-anxiety medications such as Valium and Xanax, and anticonvulsant medications such as Dilantin.
Expert Insight
The FDA's claims that kava is a hepatotoxic, or liver poisoning, drug may be unfounded, states Dr. Hyla Cass, orthomolecular physician and psychiatrist, and author of "Kava: Nature's Answer to Stress, Anxiety and Insomnia," on the Health Sciences Institute's website. Cass states that most of the FDA reports on liver toxicity resulting from kava actually involved subjects who abused alcohol or engaged in multiple drug use. Valium causes more liver damage than kava, and nothing would be gained by switching from kava to a more toxic prescription medication, explains Cass.
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