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\World Health
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Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity

with kava products
 WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products.

"WHO appointed committee: David Coulter ... [et al.]."

[Link] - toxicity. [Link] - adverse effects. [Link] - drug effects. [Link] reports.
[Link] assessment. I. Coulter, David. [Link] Health Organization.

ISBN 978 92 4 159526 1 (NLM classification: QV 766)

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WHO appointed committee

David Coulter, National Medal of Merit (Vanuatu), MB, ChB, DTM&H; Member WHO Advi-
sory Committee on Safety of Medicinal Products, Pharmacoepidemiologist, Research
Associate Professor (retired) University of Otago, New Zealand, Chair of Committee.
Carmen Tamayo, MD; Research and Development Consultant/Co-editor Journal of Comple-
mentary and Integrative Medicine
Subramaniam Sotheeswaran, DSc (Hull, UK); Professor of Organic Chemistry, The University
of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji Islands.

Co-opted member
Catherine Ulbricht, PharmD; Chief Editor Natural Standard Research Collaboration.

------------------------------ -~---- ---

Executive Summary

Opinion on key question reports. There have been no epidemiological studies and
1. Evidence from our review of case reports suggests that the incidence is not known.
kava lactones in any type of product may rarely cause
hepatic adverse reactions because of kava-drug interac- liB Safety information -review of case reports
tions, excessive alcohol intake, metabolic or immune 1. Findings from case reports
mediated idiosyncrasy, excessive dose or pre-existing • This was undertaken using standard pharmacovigi-
liver disease. lance and pharmacoepidemiological methods.
2. In addition to this background incidence, products made • 93 case reports were identified with the possibility of
from acetonic and ethanolic extracts appear to be hepa- a small number of duplications.
totoxic on rare occasions, seemingly from non-kava lac- • There were seven patients who died and 14 patients
tone constituents. The incidence is unknown, but is more had liver transplants.
significant than the background effect in '1'. • As is usual in pharmacovigilance, most of the reports
were incomplete to one degree or another.
General overview • Eight of the cases were coded as having a 'probable'
There has been international concern over the association association, meaning that essential information was
of kava products and serious hepatotoxicity. Regulatory action present for a standard assessment, that a close asso-
banning these products in Europe has been controversial. ciation between the use of kava and the liver problem
The objective of this report is to investigate the possibility of was established, that the patients recovered on with-
hepatotoxicity with kava. drawal of kava and that no other plausible cause for
This report is written in four major sections: the liver problems could be identified.
I Description of kava • 53 cases were classified as having a 'possible' relation-
IIA Safety information -literature review ship meaning that a causal association was plausible, but
liB Safety information -analysis of case reports that there were insufficient data for a full assessment, or
III Regulatory issues there were other potential causes of liver damage.
IV Conclusions and recommendations • Most of the other case reports were unassessable
The first 3 sections are written as stand-alone documents because of lack of information.
with their own references. In addition there is: • There were five cases with a positive rechallenge.
• A summary of findings • With the use of sales volume figures converted to a
• A summary of recommendations defined daily dose, rates of hepatic events were esti-
• A bibliography. mated for acetonic and ethanolic extracts and synthetic
products. Patients taking acetonic and ethanolic extracts
I Description of kava had a higher rate of liver problems than patients taking
• The known pharmacologically active components are a synthetic products. These differences were independ-
group of kava lactones. ent of age, gender, dose, duration of treatment, con-
• The types of preparation are water 'extracts' (the tradi- comitant therapy and/or alcohol use and are unlikely
tionally prepared microsuspensions in water and 'teas' to be confounded by other disease states.
prepared from powdered kava root), organic extracts 2. Conclusions from review of case reports
(ethanolic and acetonic) and synthetic. These different • The relationship (causality) ratings provide a sig-
products are not chemically equivalent. Products prepared nificant concern of a cause and effect relationship
from the organic extracts have been those principally used between kava products and hepatotoxicity. A non-
in Europe and North America in pill or capsule form. random effect is indicated by a higher rate for the
• The raw materials for the preparation of these products organic extracts than for synthetic products.
come from a variety of sources without adequate quality • Chemicals other than kava lactones might be respon-
control and without sufficient standardization of selection sible for hepatotoxicity with the organic extracts.
of plant varieties or cultivars or plant parts. • Kava products have a strong propensity for kava-drug
interactions.
IIA Safety information -literature review • Risk factors for hepatic reactions appear to be the use
• Clinical trials of kava have not revealed any hepatotoxicity. of organic extracts, heavy alcohol intake, pre-existing
• Most experimental studies have not shown that kava has a liver disease, genetic polymorphisms of cytochrome
tendency to have a toxic effect on the liver. P450 enzymes and excessive dose. Also, co-medication
• Most clinical reviews of case reports cast doubt on a causal with other potentially hepatotoxic drugs and potentially
association between kava products and liver problems. The interacting drugs, particularly other anxiolytics, antipsy-
cases have come to regulatory authorities as spontaneous chotics and anti-thrombotics, might lead to harm.

iv I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Recommendations 2.2. Conditions of use
1. Further research into kava products is necessary, in par- 2.2.1. It would seem advisable that all kava products
ticular to identify and gain information about the toxicol- prepared as pharmaceuticals be available on
ogy of the non-kava lactone constituents. This needs to prescription only in order to better monitor
include any differences between root and rhizome. their use and apply necessary controls.
2. Should any kava product be considered for approval by 2.2.2. Kava should not be used in patients with liver
regulatory authorities, the following should be important disease or a history of such, or in patients who
considerations: take excessive alcohol.
2.1. Post-marketing surveillance and research. 2.2.3. Warnings should be made available about the
2.1.1. A risk management plan should be drawn up early in extensive risk of interactions with other drugs or
the approval process. This plan would include sugges- herbal preparations. In particular, kava should
tionsforpharmacoepidemiological studies, in particular not be used with antipsychotics, other anxiolytics
cohort event monitoring, preferably with international or antithrombotics because of the risk of interac-
collaboration. These studies should be undertaken on tions which could include effects on the liver.
all products, including synthetic and water based. Reli- 2.3. Standards
ance should not be placed on spontaneous reporting 2.3.1. A pharmacopoeial standard for kava should
alone for post-marketing surveillance. be created. This should address the issues of
2.1.2. Pharmacogenetic studies should be undertaken quality, plant parts, dosage and methods of
to determine differences in cytochrome P450 preparation. The findings of this review indi-
metabolic enzyme activity and any relationship cate that:
to hepatotoxicity. This could be undertaken 2.3.2. Only the root or rhizome of Piper mcthysticum G
using case control studies, ideally nested case Forst should be used for preparation of medici-
control studies of cohorts of users of kava from nal kava. No other species and no aerial parts
cohort event monitoring studies. should be used. Agreement should be reached
2.1.3. Products from water based suspensions and on the appropriate cultivar(s).
further synthetic preparations should be devel- 2.3.3. Adequate quality control measures standard-
oped and tested in clinical trials and consid- ized across the producing countries with agreed
eration given to using these in preference to standard operating procedures, should be insti-
acetonic and ethanolic extracts. tuted for growth, harvesting and processing of
the raw kava root or rhizome.

lv
Table of contents

Executive Summary iv Safety tables-Summary of Adverse Effects in

Opinion on key question iv Clinical Trials: 19
General overview iv Table 1a Kava Extract Ll150 (Ethanolic extract) 20
Recommendations v Table 1b Kava Extract (Extract uncertain) 20
Table 1c Kava Extract Naturel Bradel (Extract uncertain) 20
Preamble viii Table 2a Kava Extract Ll150 (Ethanolic extract) 21
Terms of reference from WHO viii Table 2b Kava Extract Ll150 (Ethanolic extract) 21
Table 2c Ethanolic extract 21
Introduction Table 2d Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract) 22
Background Table 2e Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract) 22
Table 2f Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract) 23
Methodology of the report 2 Table 2g Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract) 23
Identification of available published documents 2 Table 2h (Ethanolic extract) 24
Search terms 3 Table 2i Kavosporal forte (Ethanolic extract) 24
Selection criteria 3 Table 2j (Ethanolic extract) 24
Identification of case reports 3 Table 2k (Ethanolic extract) 25
References 25
Section I Description of kava preparations 4
General 4 Section liB Case reports of hepatotoxicity 29
Table 1 Natural products in typical kava root stock (100 g) Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava 29
(Lebot & Levesque 1989; Singh 2004) 4 Sources 29
Table 2 Natural products soluble in organic solvents Numbers 29
such as 95% ethanol-water 4 Gender and age 29
Pharmacological properties of kava extracts and kava Products and extracts 29
natural products 5 Doses 30
Toxicity/side effects 5 Duration to onset of the event 30
Table 3 Evidence table of studies of the use of kava for Hepatic events 30
treatment of anxiety 6 Concomitant therapy 30
Table 4 Natural Standard evidence-based validated Dechallenge 31
grading rationale'M 7 Outcome 31
References to Section I 9 Relationship and causality 31
Rechallenge 31
Section IIA Safety information: Differential diagnosis 31
A literature review 11 Liver transplants 32
Historical use 11 Outcomes of death 32
Kava adverse events 11 Interactions 33
Summary of clinical case reports addressing Idiosyncratic reactions 33
hepatotoxicity 12 Incidence 33
Overview of original case reports 1990-2002 and Comparative risk of extracts 33
regulatory action 14 Table: Comparison of risk of extracts of kava 34
New cases 15 Risk factors 34
Summary of hepatotoxicity with kava 15 Summary of findings of review of case reports 35
Causality issues 17 Key to tables 35
The type of extract paradigm 17 Main sources 35
Kava clinical trials 17
Safety results in clinical trials 18

vi I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 1 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Section Ill Regulatory issues 55
Basic pharmacovigilance data 37 Regulation I registration of kava products 55
Table 2 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Table 1 Country status of kava usage before the ban in
additional data 39 Europe 55
Table 3 Hepatic events reported in association with kava 41 Regulatory actions on kava containing products 55
Table 4 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Table 2 Regulatory actions on kava containing products 56
histological data 42 References for Section Ill 58
Table 5 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava:
significant concomitant medicines 43 Section IV Conclusions and recommendations 59
Table 6 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Background 59
concomitant therapy not suspect 43 Possible mechanisms 59
Table 7 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Differing opinions 59
summary of outcomes 43 Incidence 59
Table 8 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Clinical trials 60
cases with 'probable' relationships 44 Causality 60
Table 9 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Benefit-risk 60
'possible' relationships showing concomitant therapy 45 Post-marketing surveillance 60
Table 10 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Toxicological research 60
reports with positive rechallenge 46 Quality control 61
Table llA Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Clinical review of case reports 61
patients with liver transplant (basic data) 46 Interactions 61
Table 11 B Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Pharmacoepidemiology 61
patients with liver transplant (additional data) 47 Risk factors 61
Table 12 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Pharmacovigilance versus clinical trials 61
patients who died 48 Recommendations 61
Table 13 Potential drug interactions with kava: Overall summary 62
alphabetical listing by drug 49 Opinion on key question 63
Table 14 Potential kava-drug interactions by ATC code 51 Acknowledgements 63
Table 15 Potential kava-drug interactions by ATC groups 52 Information sources 63
Table 16 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava:
excluded cases 52 Bibliography 64
Table 17 Cases considered 'unrelated to kava intake'
by Schmidt (2003) 53
Table 18 Cases coded 'probable' in this report compared
with the evaluation of Schmidt (2003) 54
References for Section liB 54

I vii
Preamble

Terms of reference from WHO Regulation:

1. How were kava products registered /regulated in coun-
SAFETY OF KAVA: Terms of Reference for Inquiry Committee tries (ie, what category did they come under: as medical
In October 2004, the WHO Advisory Committee on Safety products I nutraceuticals I dietary supplements etc)?
of Medicinal Products (ACSoMP) considered the safety issues 2. What was the basis for registering these products?
underlying the contemporary use of kava. The Committee was
particularly concerned about the case reports of hepatotoxicity Hepatotoxicity with kava
associated with the ingestion of kava. 1. Analysis of adverse reaction reports from the WHO global
The Committee resolved to commission an inquiry of database, regulatory databases and any databases main-
three experts to assess all available published and unpub- tained by manufacturers that are related to hepatotoxicity
lished evidence related to this safety issue. The three mem- of kava.
bers were selected by the WHO secretariat and the Chair 2. Synopsis of all other kava- related ADRs from the above
of the ACSoMP. The Chair of the inquiry was a member of mentioned databases.
ACSoMP. 3. Analysis of evidence from all safety studies, published and
The principal focus of the inquiry was on the safety of unpublished, related to the hepatotoxicity of kava.
kava and addresses issues related to the following areas:
Product Withdrawal, Ban, Restrictions
Kava species: 1. Identify those countries that have taken regulatory action
1. How many species of kava exist? and describe the basis for their action.
2. Which of these species are used commercially? 2. Identify those countries where no action has been taken.
3. Examine the pharmacological properties of kava pyrones,
kava lactones and any other substances in kava. Outcome
The resulting report was critically reviewed by all the
Preparations: members of the ACSoMP. The conclusions and recommen-
1. How was kava prepared traditionally? dations are supported by the majority of the members. The
2. How are current preparations prepared with a focus on UK member of the Committee supported some but not all the
aqueous, ethanol, and acetone extractions? recommendations.
3. How are these preparations standardized?
4. Analysis of evidence supporting efficacy for each method
of preparation/formulation.

viii I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Introduction

The Committee appointed to handle this enquiry has done nations and denied patients an effective treatment for anxi-
its best to gather evidence and opinion from as many sources ety which, it was also claimed, was safer than other current
as possible and examine them in an impartial manner, but pharmaceutical treatments. The issue was reviewed in WHO
admits that in spite of best efforts there will be unintentional Pharmaceuticals Newsletter, No.5, 2003: p. 8-9.
gaps in some relevant issues, due in part to the extensive The current review of the alleged hepatotoxic effects of
expertise required involving so many different fields of scien- medicinal kava products undertaken by this expert committee
tific endeavour, including hepatology, pharmacology, phar- was requested by the Quality Assurance and Safety of Medi-
macogenetics, pharmaceutical science, toxicology, safety of cines, Medicines Policy and Standards, World Health Organ-
modern pharmaceutical medicines and of herbal medicinal ization on the advice of its Advisory Committee on Safety of
products, botanical science, pharmacoepidemiology, clinical Medicinal Products. This followed a Pacific European Kava
trials and experimental studies. Stakeholders meeting organized by the Centre for Develop-
The report is written in four major sections: ment Enterprise (CDE), an EU-ACP (African, Caribbean, and
Description of kava Pacific states) organization, PRO INVEST Management and
IIASafety information -literature review Phytopharm Consulting and was attended by representatives
liB Safety information -analysis of case reports of international organizations such as the Pacific Islands
III Regulatory issues Forum Secretariat (PIFS), World Health Organization
IV Conclusions and recommendations (WHO), European Commission (EC), Technical Centre for
The first three sections are written as stand-alone docu- Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and the
ments with their own [Link] addition there is: Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC). It included ambas-
• A summary of findings sadors of Pacific countries (Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu), companies,
• A summary of recommendations institutions and others with an interest in kava as a tradi-
• A compilation of resources. tional medicinal product. Phytopharm Consulting presented
While there is some overlap and minor duplication between a summary of their in-depth investigation into EU Member
some sections, this has been retained for the sake of complete- States' market restrictions on kava products and the impact
ness of each individual section. Where overlap occurs, it has of such a restriction on the South Pacific Island countries
been written in a different context by a different author. such as Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. At this meeting WHO was
asked if it could help in the re-analysis of the adverse reaction
Background reports.
From the 1990s cases of severe hepatic toxicity in people The issue is complex with a variety of extracts and prod-
using kava-containing products were reported in Europe and ucts used of varying potency, many in combination with other
in the United States of America. By the end of 2002 the Ger- herbal medicines. Many other factors come into play includ-
man Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) ing pre-existing liver disease, alcohol use, use in combination
had collected 40 case reports, six of which involved liver with hepatotoxic drugs, potential kava-drug and kava-herb
transplants and there were three fatalities. This led to various interactions. In addition, the lack of knowledge of any hepa-
worldwide regulatory measures, including a ban on kava- totoxicity associated with thousands of years of traditionally
containing products in Europe. These restrictions became prepared and traditionally used kava water 'extracts' and the
controversial with claims that the evidence for hepatotoxic- use of kava preparations in different ethnic groups with dif-
ity was weak and that the bans put in place unnecessarily ferent genetic characteristics, adds to the difficulty in assess-
harmed the economies of the Pacific Island kava-producing ment. There is also a lack of good epidemiological data.

Introduction I1
Methodology of the report

This report followed a search strategy common to system- Natural Standard Database, IBIDS, International Pharmaceu-
atic reviews. The focus of the report is kava safety and particu- tical Abstracts and Conference Proceedings.
larly hepatotoxicity in humans based on analysis of individual MEDLINE is a bibliographic database offered by the
case reports, observational studies and clinical trials whatever National Center for Biotechonology Information (National
the type of kava preparation, dosing and indication. Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health)
Members of the Committee conducted analyses of relevant PubMed or MedLine provides access to over 12 million jour-
literature independently. However, the ability to interpret nal citations in the biomedical and life science literature. The
non-English language publications was limited. Individuals citations range from 1966 to the present. In 2005, PubMed
whose backgrounds are in general aspects of evaluating sci- contains 15,000,000 biomedical journal citations. More infor-
ence, not necessarily focused specifically on kava, conducted mation is available at http:f/[Link]/
the development and review of this report. However, consult- ToxLine is a bibliographic database offered by the
ants with relevant expertise provided significant additional National Library of Medicine. ToxLine contains more than
assistance. The foreign language literature was included when 3 million bibliographic citations covering the biochemical,
it was deemed important in order to be comprehensive. pharmacological, physiological, and toxicological effects of
While this report aimed to be comprehensive some perti- drugs and other chemicals. It makes extensive use of CAS
nent information that could be of importance in evaluating kava Registry Numbers. ToxLine Core includes the biomedical
risk of illness or injury may have not been included particularly journal literature in toxicology available through MedLine.
if available in languages other than English or German. ToxLine Special complements the Core with citations from an
This report does not represent an authoritative statement assortment of specialized journals and other sources.
regarding the safety of all kava preparations available. EMBASE is a bibliographic database offered by Elsevier
Information included in other available comprehensive Science. EMBASE, the Excerpta Medica database, is a bib-
'official' reports: The complete German Commission Mono- liographic database covering the worldwide literature on bio-
graphs, HerbMed Database, Natural Standard Database, medical and pharmaceutical fields, produced by Elsevier B.V.
German Federal Office for Medicines and Medicinal Prod- EMBASE citations range from 1974 to the present and include
ucts (1990), Report of National Centres' Meeting WHO Drug citations from more than 4,600 journals from about 70 coun-
Monitoring Programme (Stoller 2001), US Centers for Disease tries and more than 10,461,188 records. More information is
Control and Prevention, (USA 2002, 2003), Marketed Health available at [Link]
Products Directorate/Health Canada report (Canada 2002), AGRICOLA is a bibliographic database offered by the
German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices National Agricultural Library. AGRICOLA provides access to
(2002), Kava Report by Phytopharm Consulting (2003), Soci- over 12 million journal citations in the agriculture literature.
ety for Medicinal Plant Research (2003), International Kava The citations cover many aspects of agriculture and allied
Executive Council Report (2004), US Food and Drug Admin- disciplines, including animal and veterinary sciences, ento-
istration (2005), 'Edward's Report' (2005), Traditional Medi- mology, plant sciences, aquaculture and fisheries, food and
cines Evaluation Committee (European Herbal Practitioners human nutrition, and many other topics. The database began
Association 2005) and Therapeutic Goods Administration in 1970 but contains older citations. AGRICOLA contains
Fact Sheet (Australia 2005), has not been presented in detail. citations from 850 agricultural journals. More information is
The report follows the format described in the report, available at http:[Link]/
Dietary Supplements: A Framework for Evaluating Safety (IOM/ NAPRALERT (NAtural PRoducts ALERT) contains
NRC, 2004) and WHO Terms of Reference (p. viii). bibliographic and factual data on natural products, including
information on the pharmacology, biological activity, taxo-
Identification of available published documents nomic distribution, chemistry of plant, microbial, and animal
The search strategy included electronic searches, personal (including marine) extracts as well as ethnomedicine use
communications, bibliographies from secondary references, record, is a bibliographic and relational database offered by
WHO databases and hand searches. The searches were the University of Illinois at Chicago. NAPRALERT contains
updated to March 2005. No restrictions regarding language records from 1650 to the present. Approximately 50% of the
or quality of publications were imposed but only English arti- file is from systematic survey of the literature from 1975 to
cles were evaluated. When necessary translation of relevant the present. NAPRALERT contains more than 165,000 jour-
German articles was requested. nal citations published in over 16,000 journals from around
Electronic searches were conducted using the following the world. More information is available at http:j/[Link]/
databases: MEDLINE (1966-2005), ToxLineS (ToxLine Core ONLINE/DBSS/[Link]
and ToxLine Special) EMBASE (1980-2005), AGRICOLA The Cochrane Library consists of a regularly updated
(1979-2005), NAPRALERT, The Cochrane Library and EBM collection of evidence-based medicine databases, including
(Evidence Based Medicine) AMED (British Library), HerbMed, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, The Database

2 I Assessment o( the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, The Cochrane Controlled Researchers in the field of complementary and alternative
Trials Register, The Cochrane Methodology Register, The medicine (CAM), members of the International Kava Council,
NHS Economic Evaluation Database Health Technology experts in the subject, and journal editors were consulted for
Assessment Database and Cochrane Database of Methodol- access to additional references or ongoing research. A separate
ogy Reviews (CDMR). It is published four times a year. More electronic search on MEDLINE and EMBASE was conducted
information is available at: http:[Link]- for publications describing randomized, double-blind, placebo-
[Link] controlled trials of kava extract for anxiety, and also in U.S.
EBM (Evidence Based Medicine) is a collection of data- Patent and Trademark Office. http:[Link]/. and Special
bases with publications from 1993-present) with an emphasis Nutritional Adverse Event Monitoring System (SN/AEMS).
on those about finding and evaluating clinically relevant
patient management literature. More information is available Search terms
at: [Link] The search terms that were used were kava, kawa, kavain
AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine Data- and Piper methysticum.
base) is a bibliographic database produced by the Health Care
Information Service of the British Library. It covers a selection Selection criteria
of journals in three separate subject areas: several professions Literature was collected if the document provided specific
allied to medicine, complementary medicine and palliative information about adverse events of kava, particularly hepa-
care. All records have basic bibliographic information and totoxicity. Standardized inclusion/exclusion criteria were
many articles published from 1995 onwards have abstracts. utilized for selection.
AMED covers relevant references to articles from around 596
journals. The scope of coverage is mainly European with the Identification of case reports
majority of titles in English. More information is available at:
http:[Link]/[Link] Main sources
HerbMed is an interactive, electronic herbal database and 1. WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Moni-
provides hyperlinked access to the scientific data underlying toring (the Uppsala Monitoring Centre) database.
the use of herbs for health. It is an impartial, evidence-based 2. Gruenwald J, Mueller C, Skrabal J. Kava Report 2003: In-
information resource provided by the non-profit Alternative depth investigation into EU member states market restric-
Medicine Foundation, Inc. More information is available at: tions on kava products. Phytopharm Consulting for Centre
http:[Link]/ for the Development of Entreprise (CDE). 2003.
Natural Standard Database is produced by Natural 3. Medicalliterature.
Standard, an international research collaboration that aggre- 4. FDA= U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
gates and synthesizes data on complementary and alternative 5. The national Brazilian Drug Monitoring Centre.
therapies. The information is created by consensus using a 6. Medicines Control Agency, UK (now Medicines and
comprehensive methodology and reproducible grading scales. Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).
More information is available at: http:[Link]/ 7. German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices
IBIDS (The International Bibliographic Information (BfArM). (This information was sourced from the Phytop-
on Dietary Supplements database) provides access to harm document in English.)
bibliographic citations and abstracts from published, inter- 8. Swiss Agency for therapeutic products (Swissmedic).
national, and scientific literature on dietary supplements. (This information was sourced from the Phytopharm
More information is available at: [Link] document.(2) in English)
nih .govI Health_l nformationj [Link] 9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA.
10. Commissioned reports.

Methodology of the report I 3

Section I Description of kava preparations

General Table 1 Natural products in typical kava root stock (100 g)

Kava is the name used in the South Pacific Island countries (Lebot & Levesque 1989; Singh 2004).
to describe a local traditional drink which has been popular Water Soluble Substances
as a relaxing drink obtained from the root or rhizome of the Glucose polymer similar to starch 43 g
plant botanically described as Piper methysticum G Forst of the Proteins (and peptides such as glutathione} 3.6 g
plant family Piperaceae. This drink has been used for cen- Simple sugars 3.2 g
turies without any reported ill-effects on the liver. The kava Water Insoluble Substances
drink is made from the water extracts of the root or rhizome Fibre 20 g
of Piper methysticum and over the years the plant too has been Trace minerals 3.2 g
referred to as kava, especially in the western world. Why did Kava lactones, pigments and alkaloids 15 g
kava become so important to the western world? This was
because the European travellers of yester years who came to The stem peelings of kava also contain the biologically
the South Pacific, found out that the Pacific Islanders were active kava lactones and became cheap raw materials for
relaxing after a couple of bowls of the kava drink. Subse- the production of kava pills and capsules by pharmaceutical
quently scientific research found out that the water extracts of industries in Europe in the late 1990s. Subsequent research
kava had some pharmacologically active compounds which showed the presence of alkaloids in the root and stem pee-
are now referred to as kava lactones. Kava lactones are also lings. An alkaloid named as pipermethystine was one of the
referred to as kava pyrones. components of kava (see Table 2).
Kava lactones were analysed scientifically and were found
to have interesting pharmacological activities such as cen- Table 2 Natural products soluble in organic solvents such as
tral nervous system relaxing activity, anti-anxiety activity, 95% ethanol-water
and sedative activity. Because of these interesting biologi- Kava lactones
(A typical100 g of root stock would contain about 10-15 g of kava lactones;
cal activities of the kava lactones, European pharmaceutical the percentage yield of kava lactones from roots can vary anything from about
industries extracted the biologically active ingredients and 4-22% depending on the origin of the root stock}. The individual percentages of
manufactured pills and capsules which subsequently became the kava lactones may also vary from sample to sample depending on the origin
of the plant material. The names of the different kava lactones isolated and
described as kava products using concentrated kava lactones identified are given below (Singh 1999}
extracted from the kava plant. Kava lactones
11-Hydroxy-12-methoxydihydrokavain
Composition and identified active substances of the kava root 7, 8-Dihydro-5-hydroxykavain
The root stock of kava contains mainly carbohydrates 11, 12-Dimethoxydihydrokavain
Methysticin
(43%), fibre (20%), water (12%), protein (3.6%), simple sugars Dihydromethysticin
(3.2 %), trace minerals (3.2 %) and kava lactones (anything Kavain7, 8-Dihydrokavain
from about 4-22%, depending on the origin of the kava plant) 5, 6-Dehydromethysticin
5, 6-Dehydrokavain
(Lebot & Levesque 1989). Kava extracts became a commercial Yangonin
success due to these kava lactones. There are more than fifteen 5, 6, 7, 8-Tetrahydroyangonin
kava lactones but the most important biologically active com- 5, 6-Dihydroyangonin
7, 8-Dihydroyangonin
ponents are kawain, yangonin, methysticin, dihydromethys- 10-Methoxyyangonin
ticin, demethoxyyangonin, and dihydrokawain. The root also 11- Methoxyyangonin
contains small amounts of pigments called t1avokavins. 11-Hydroxyyangonin
5-Hydrokavain
Many of the organic compounds mentioned above are not 11-Methoxy-12-hydroxydehydrokavain
water soluble. In fact, about thirty organic compounds present Others
in the root of kava (see Tables 1 & 2) do not dissolve in water Flavokavin A
but are freely soluble in 95% ethanol or acetone. These organ- Flavokavin B
ic solvents were used by European pharmaceutical industries Flavokavin C
Dihydrokavain-5-ol
for extracting compounds from kava in their manufacture of Cuproic acid
the kava pills and capsules. Cinnamalketone
Table 1 gives a list of the water soluble and water insoluble Methylenedioxy-3, 4-cinnamalketone
4-0xononanoic acid
compounds present in the kava root. Table 2 gives the names Benzoic acid
of the natural products present in the organic solvent extracts Phenyl acetic acid
which are used to make kava pills/capsules. Dihydrocinnamic acid
Cinnamic acid
A complete list of organic compounds isolated from kava Pipermethvstine
are found in review papers on the subject (Lebot & Levesque 1-(meta-methoxy cinnamoyl}pyrrolid ine
1989; Singh 2004). 1-Ci nna moyl pyrrol idi ne

4 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Pharmacological properties of kava extracts and of the published animal studies confirming the local anaes-
kava natural products thetic activity of kava lactones, it could be concluded that
The psychoactive potency of kava can vary considerably kava does have anaesthetic activity. This has been further
from weak to quite strong. Kava may induce sociability, fee- confirmed by the preparation of a novel topical anaesthetic
ling of peace, and harmony and, in large doses, induce sleep, from Piper methysticum (kava)-'Kavacaine' (Morse and
or it may fail to produce relaxation but provoke nausea (Sin- Sharma, 2005).
gh 1999). Kava drink initially produces a slight numbing of Studies on kavain have shown bactericidal properties,
the tongue due to the presence of anaesthetic kava lactones especially against gonococcus, the specific pathogenic agent
in the extracts. After some more drinks, it relieves fatigue, of gonorrhea, and against colon bacillus and blenorrhea
reduces anxiety and produces a pleasant, cheerful and socia- (Steinmetz 1960). Dihydromethysticin completely inhibits
ble attitude in the drinker (Singh & Blumenthal 1997). It is the growth of Aspergillus niger (Shulgin 1973). The amoebi-
also claimed that a small amount of the kava drink relaxes cidal activity of yangonin is comparable to that of commer-
the body, clears the mind and sharpens the mental faculties cial drugs such as enterovioform, enteroquinol, clefamide,
(Lebot 1997). Kava resin (the organic solvent extract of kava) and furamidazole (Hansel1968; Sotheeswaran 1987).
has been demonstrated to have a weak sleep inducing action, Dihydrokavain and dihydromcthysticin inhibit muscular
paralyses the sensory nerves and initially stimulates and then contractions and the effect of these kava lactones was shown
paralyses the smooth muscles (Lebot 1997). to be comparable to those of synthetic products such as phe-
The water insoluble active substances become available nobarbital (Kretzchmar & Meyer, 1969). Dihydromethysti-
to the drinker after emulsification, which may be by poun- cin is claimed to have a strong anticonvulsant action with
ding or chewing. Kava extract was shown to have increased the capability of inhibiting convulsions caused by strychni-
potency when activated by human saliva (Schubel1924). This ne in animals. It has been suggested that the anti-epileptic
explains why kava drink prepared by pounding the root stock action of dihydromethysticin may be used to treat schizo-
often has less physiological effect than that produced from phrenia (Kretzchmar et a!. 1970). Dihydromethysticin and
finely chewed and emulsified root stock (Lebot 1998). Very dihydrokavain are muscular relaxants superior to substan-
heavy kava drinking may cause skin lesions and drying of the ces normally used such as benzodiazepines (Kretzchmar et
skin (Fackelmann 1992). The skin lesions disappear as soon a!. 1970). It has also been claimed that kava extracts provide
as the drinker reduces the consumption of kava. It has been protection against ischaemic brain damage (Blackhauss &
suggested that the kava pigments called flavokavin A and B Kreiglstein 1992). Preliminary results suggest that kava may
may be the cause of the skin problems (Reichert 1997). have anti-cancer activity (Fujiki et a!. 1998; Sotheeswaran
A variety of clinical effects of kava preparations has been eta!. 2002).
claimed. Dihydromethysticin and dihydrokavain have been The most widely studied potential therapeutic effect is
shown to be the active compounds which intensify the sle- for the treatment of anxiety. Table 3 summarizes the clinical
ep-inducing effects (Hansel 1968). Dihydromethysticin and trials with an assessment of their quality according to the
dihydrokavain have been found to be comparable to the drug Natural Standard validated grading rationale (Table 4).
dimethylaminophenazone in producing an analgesic effect in
the drinker. In one study the analgesic effect was also shown
to be stronger than aspirin but weaker than morphine (Han- Toxicity/side effects
sel1968). One of the kava lactones named as kavain produces Studies on animals only showed a low acute toxicity. The
local anaesthesia and its effect has been shown to be equal LD 50 of kava resin given by intra peritoneal injection to mice,
to that produced by cocaine. Kavain does not produce any rats and rabbits ranged from 300 to 400 mg/kg. With oral
toxicity in the tissues (Kretzchmar & Meyer 1969). administration, the LD 50 in mice was 920 mg/kg for dihy-
The local anaesthetic activity of the kava lactones was drokavain and 1050 mg/kg for dihydromethysticin. Doses of
originally observed by Lewin (1886). Frater (1958) showed 50 mg/kg of dihydromethysticin, administered three times
that a thin paste of kava powder when applied to the mucous a week for three months to rats, produced no evidence of
membrane of the lip produced a slightly burning sensation chronic toxicity (Meyer, 1966).
and a feeling of numbness. With a pin prick test there was In Fiji, a pilot study was performed in 2004 to evaluate
a slight impairment of feeling as compared with the rest of the possible association of kava use (water extracts) and liv-
the lip. When some kava root was chewed for 15 minutes, er disease. Interestingly, the average number of kava bowls
however, the degree of anaesthesia was greater leading Frater consumed in a lifetime for participants was 100,000. Despite
to conclude that there was a definite local anaesthetic effect. this large number, no association was made between kava
Meyer and May (1964) tested for local analgesic effects and and liver disease. These findings did not provide any evi-
observed that all the kava lactones acted as local analgesics. dence that heavy use of traditionally prepared kava was
Most of the kava lactones inhibited frog heart contraction associated with liver disease. It was concluded that kava
(Meyer and May, 1964). These actions were compared with cannot be linked to liver disease when taken in the tradi-
those of cocaine which showed a similar protection against tional format, i.e. as water extracts in Pacific Island subjects
ventricular fibrillation through its local anaesthetic effect. (Malani 2005).
Kava drinkers in the Pacific have experienced the anaes- A recent report (Nerurkar 2004) stated that kava alkaloids
thetic activity of the drink on their tongues and the linings may have contributed to and/or perpetuated hepatotoxicity in
of the mouth for centuries. Considering this and the results human hepatoma cells.

Section I: Description of kava preparations I 5

Table 3 Evidence table of studies of the use of kava for treatment of anxiety
(From http :ffwww. natura Isla nda rd .comf monographs)
N= number of subjects; ARR=Absolute Risk Reduction; NNT=Number needed to treat; NA= not applicable.

- Anxiety

Anxiety
Study Design

Systematic review &

meta-analysis

Randomized
controlled trial
Pittler, 2000,
2002,2003

Maisch, 2001
11
trials

40
Yes

Yes
NA Large

Large
NA

NA
NA

NA
Comments

Pooled results refiect a

significant reduction in mean
anxiety scores (HAM-A).
Well-conducted trial using WS
1490, up to 300 mg/day while
(RCT), double-blind tapering benzodiazepines.
Anxiety RCT Lehmann, 1996 58 Yes Large NA NA Well-conducted trial using WS
1490, 90 mg three times daily;
validated scales used.
Anxiety RCT Kinzler, 1991 58 Yes Large NA NA Well-conducted trial using WS
1490, 300 mg/day; validated
scales used.
Anxiety RCT Warnecke, 1991 40 Yes 5 Large NA NA Well-conducted trial using WS
1490, 300 mg/day; validated
scales used.
Anxiety RCT Singh, 1997 60 Yes 4 Large NA NA Efficacy demonstrated for non-
clinical anxiety.
Anxiety Equivalence trial Woelk, 1993 172 No 4 NA NA NA WS 1490 300 mg/day
found equivalent to two
benzodiazepines. No placebo.
No power calculation: sample
size may be inadequate.
Anxiety RCT Volz, 1997 108 Yes Medium NA NA WS 1490 300 mg/day; validated
scales used; poor description of
methodology.
Anxiety (pre- RCT Bhate, 1989 60 Yes Large NA NA 60 mg kava extract given prior
operative) to surgery. Unequal gender
ratio in treatment arms. Unclear
measurement scales.
Anxiety (post- RCT De Leo, 2000 & 40 Yes 3 Medium NA NA Benefit for post-menopausal
menopausal) 2001 anxiety when kava 100 mg/day
combined with HRT.
Anxiety (peri- Randomized, Cagnacci, 2003 68 Yes 2 Medium NA NA Calcium vs. calcium plus kava
menopausal) controlled, open 100 mg vs. calcium plus kava
study 200 mg.
Anxiety RCT Lehmann, 1989 52 Yes 3 Medium NA NA Cava in 400 mg/day in 2 divided
doses; poorly described
methodology.
Anxiety Equivalence trial Lindenberg, 38 No None NA NA Comparison with oxazepam, no
1990 placebo. No power calculation:
sample size may be inadequate.
Anxiety Case studies Scherer, 1998 42 NA NA NA NA NA 100 mg kava extract/day over
-so days improved anxiety
(observational study).
Generalized Randomized, Boerner, 2003 129 NA NA NA NA No difference observed between
anxiety controlled, double- kava, buspirone, and opipramol
disorder blind, multi-center after 8 weeks, although sample
comparison trial size may not be adequate to
discern true differences. No
placebo arm.
Generalized Randomized, Connor, 2002 37 No 4 None NA NA No differences in HAMA after
anxiety placebo controlled, 4 weeks, although sample size
disorder double-blind trial may not be adequate to discern
true differences.
Generalized Randomized, Gastpar, 2002 141 No 4 None NA NA No differences in primary
anxiety placebo controlled, outcomes observed, although
disorder double-blind trial post hoc analysis revealed trends
towards benefits of kava.
Anxiety Randomized, Lehrl, 2004 61 Yes 4 Small NA NA Kava extract WS 1490 superior
disorder placebo controlled, to placebo for improvement of
(associated double-blind trial sleep measures and HAMA.
with sleep
disturbances)

Reprinted with Permission: Natural Standard Research Collaboration ([Link]) Copyright© 2005.

6 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 4 Natural Standard evidence-based validated grading rationaleTM
Grades reflect the level of available scientific evidence in support of the efficacy of a given therapy for a specific indication.
Expert opinion and folkloric precedent are not included in this assessment, and are refiected in a separate section of each monograph ('Strength of Expert Opinion and Historic/Folkloric
Precedent').
Evidence of harm is considered separately; the below grades apply only to evidence of benefit.

Level of Evidence Grade Criteria

A (Strong scientific evidence) Statistically significant evidence of benefit from >2 properly randomized trials (RCTs), OR evidence from one properly conducted
RCT AND one properly conducted meta-analysis, OR evidence from multiple RCTs with a clear majority of the properly
conducted trials showing statistically significant evidence of benefit AND with supporting evidence in basic science, animal
studies, or theory.
B (Good scientific evidence) Statistically significant evidence of benefit from 1-2 properly randomized trials, OR evidence of benefit from ~1 properly
conducted meta-analysis OR evidence of benefit from >1 cohort/case-control/non-randomized trials AND with supporting
evidence in basic science, animal studies, or theory.
C (Unclear or conAicting Evidence of benefit from ~1 small RCT(s) without adequate size, power, statistical significance, or quality of design by objective
scientific evidence) criteria,* OR conflicting evidence from multiple RCTs without a clear majority of the properly conducted trials showing
evidence of benefit or ineffectiveness, OR evidence of benefit from ~1 cohort/case-control/non-randomized trials AND without
supporting evidence in basic science, animal studies, or theory, OR evidence of efficacy only from basic science, animal studies,
or theory.
D (Fair negative scientific Statistically significant negative evidence (i.e., lack of evidence of benefit) from cohort/case-control/non-randomized trials, AND
evidence) evidence in basic science, animal studies, or theory suggesting a lack of benefit.
F (Strong negative scientific Statistically significant negative evidence (i.e. lack of evidence of benefit) from ~1 properly randomized adequately powered
evidence) trial(s) of high-quality design by objective criteria.*
Lack of evidence Unable to evaluate efficacy due to lack of adequate available human data.
• Objective criteria are derived from validated instruments for evaluating study quality, including the 5-point scale developed by Jadad et al., in which a score below 4 is considered to
indicate lesser qualrty methodologically (Jadad AR, Moore RA, Carroll D, Jenkinson C, Reynolds DJ, Gavaghan DJ, McQuay HJ. Assessing the quality of reports of randomrzed clinical trials: is
blinding necessary' Controlled Clinical Trials 1996; 17[1]:1-12).
t Listed separately rn monographs in the 'Historical or Theoretical Uses which Lack Sufficient Evidence' section.
Reprinted with Permission: Natural Standard Research Collaboration ([Link]) Copyright© 2005.

Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic considerations (Gruen- cation with kava lactones dihydrokavain or dihydromethysticin

wald 2002) prolonged and deepened sodium hexobarbital anaesthesia. In
Despite the wide spectrum of pharmacological activities a study which looked at interaction with ethanol, kava extract
associated with the kava lactones and the number of com- greatly increased ethanol-induced hypnosis. Caffeine was
pounds they represent, the present knowledge concerning found to shorten the duration of the analgesic effect of the kava
them indicates that there are only slight differences in their lactone dihydromethysticin and dihydrokavain, but without
mechanisms of action. Thus, the major differences distin- affecting the peak effect (Bruggermann & Meyer 1963).
guishing them appear to be in the pharmacokinetic proper- In a study of the metabolism of several kava lactones in
ties of the individual compounds (Singh 2004) and, if the kava male rats it was observed that about one-half of the 400 mg/kg
extract is involved, the relative proportions of the organic dose of dihydrokavain administered was found in the urine in
compounds present in the extract. Organic compounds when 48 hrs. About two-thirds of this was hydroxylated metabolites.
present in the resin or lipid soluble form, are readily absorbed The remaining one-third consisted of metabolites formed by
by the gastrointestinal tract and are made bioavailable to the the catabolism of the kava lactone and also included hippuric
central nervous system. It is important to note that the phar- acid. The metabolites of the other kava lactones have also
macological activities of aqueous extracts, when compared been characterized by analysing the urine samples from rats
with resin obtained by extraction with organic solvents such (Rasmussen et al. 1979).
as acetone or ethanol from the same kava raw material, are
not equivalent. Experiments have shown that bioavailability Preparations and chemical differences of the extracts
increased in the order: pure compound, extract, and extract Some South Pacific Island countries use fresh kava root
formulation. The data confirm that clinical data from one or rhizome to prepare the traditional drink while others use
preparation or formulation cannot simply be transferred to dried and ground roots or rhizomes. For fresh preparations,
other formulations without appropriate biopharmaceutical the root is chewed by young females, who spit the juice into
characterization (Biber et al. 2000). the kava bowl without swallowing it themselves. The juice is
In one of the studies on the neuropharmacological interac- then mixed with water or coconut milk and further processed
tions of kava with CNS receptors, purified kava lactones and (Lebot et al. 1992). Though no chemical analysis of the kava
organic solvent extracts of kava were tested for their activity drinks prepared this way has been performed, it is clear that
on GABA and benzodiazepine binding sites in rat and mouse the chemicals will be different from the normal kava prepara-
brain membranes. The authors concluded that the neuropro- tions in which the drink is obtained as described below. The
tective activity exhibited by kava extract was probably by its drinks prepared as described above are claimed to be more
constituents methysticin and dihydromethysticin (Backhauss potent than the usual water extracts of kava root or rhizome.
& Krieglstein 1992). In the South Pacific, most people drink only the water
A study with mice demonstrated the ability of kava com- extracts of kava. This is obtained by adding water to kava
ponents to potentiate sodium pentobarbital-induced sleeping roots which are finely ground and then filtered using cheese
time. Another study on male mice demonstrated that premedi- cloth. These water extracts have been shown to contain only

Section I: Description of kava preparations I 7

water soluble carbohydrates, proteins (see Table 1, and about maceutical industries preferred to buy civi civi to extract
6-8% organic compounds (Naiker et al. 2002). kava lactones to make kava pills. Civi civi was sold at almost
The pharmaceutical industries were primarily interested in one-tenth of the price of kava roots. It has now been shown
the organic solvent extracts of kava. Different companies used that civi civi contains more alkaloids than the roots and it
different solvents such as 95% ethanol or acetone to remove is suggested that this may be the cause of the liver toxicity
the organic compounds of interest to them. These compounds problems associated with kava pills (Nerurkar, 2004; Ajuyah
were essentially the kava lactones which had the required et a!, 2004).
pharmacological activities required to market kava pills as
anti-anxiety medication. The organic solvent extracts also Standardization 1quality control of preparations
contained small amounts of kava pigments and some alkaloids Prior to the ban imposed in 2001 on kava products, the
(Sotheeswaran 2004). This observation has been confirmed pharmaceutical industries were mainly interested in the
in another published study which showed that the chemical percentages of kava lactones in the plant material exported from
composition of organic solvent extracts (also referred to as sec- the South Pacific. High Performance Liquid Chromatography
ondary metabolites) of kava varies according to the extraction (HPLC) methods were employed by kava exporters in the
method (Nahrstedt eta!. 2004). South Pacific to ascertain the percentages of kava lactones
Some marketed products, referred to as 'synthetic' (see sec- in the materials for export. The pharmaceutical industries
tion liB), consist of a single kava lactone, L-kavain. re-tested the raw materials received and accepted them if the
We should also note that though only one species of kava plant materials contained about 8% or more kava lactones.
exists in the strictest sense, there are closely related species The quality control methods available to the exporters of
that are also called 'kava' by some traders or farmers. These are kava in the South Pacific or the importers of the plant materials
Piper wichmanni, Piper aduncum and Piper auritum. According to for the extraction of kava products did not look for any other
an official statement by the International Kava Executive Coun- organic compounds (toxic or non-toxic) in the products prior
cil, these species have been marketed as 'kava' in some South to marketing. This lack of proper quality control measures
Pacific Islands and may have been used by the pharmaceutical resulted in the wrong parts of the plant or wrong extracts
industries in Europe to manufacture kava pills. Local people being used for the manufacture and sale of kava products
avoid using these Piper species to make their kava drink. such as kava pills and capsules.
In conclusion, it is clear that water extracts as taken in the
South Pacific, with hardly any serious kava-related hepatotox- Potential causes of hepatotoxicity in relation to differences in
icity reported, are chemically different from the 'kava' used to the chemical composition of the extracts.
make kava pills in Europe and this difference could be respon- There are several possible reasons why hepatotoxicity may
sible for the reported hepatotoxicity in some kava pill takers. occur with kava, such as dose, variety of kava, plant parts used,
In addition to the related kava plants mentioned above, or type of extract. It is likely that the main problem is related
there are also many kava cultivars in the South Pacific. About to the chemical composition of the kava product taken. The
150 different cultivars are available and are used in the South great majority of cases of hepatotoxicity reported have been
Pacific Islands (Lebot & Levesque 1996b). The different culti- associated with kava products either in the form of tablets or
vars are likely to have different percentages of kava lactones pills and not the traditionally prepared water extract that is
as evidenced in another study of the kava cultivars of Fiji commonly drunk in the Pacific.
(Sotheeswaran eta!. 1988). The problem therefore seems to lie mainly in the
One kava variety, called 'Tudey' kava is cheap compared differences between the chemical composition of the organic
with the normal kava. It is called 'Tudey' kava because the solvent extracts used to make kava pills and the water extracts
pharmacological effect of drinking the water extract of this drunk in the Pacific. Table 1lists the water soluble and water
kava is claimed to last more than 24 hours (two days). It has insoluble compounds reported in kava roots and Table 2
been flooding the kava market since it is harvested after 1-2 lists the organic compounds that are mainly not soluble in
years compared with the normal kava which is only harvested water but some of which may be found in the water extract
after 4-5 years. Though the 'Tudey' kava drink has hango- as suspensions filtered through the cheese cloth used to filter
ver symptoms not experienced with the normal kava drink, the water extracts.
according to in vitro experiments on liver cells, there has been Now the question is, do we know if any of the water insoluble
no evidence that 'Tudey' kava might involve a risk of liver dis- organic compounds can cause hepatotoxicity even rarely in kava
orders (Gebhardt 2004). pill users? Several research teams are currently working on
There are three parts of the kava plant that are used to this problem and as indicated, a group from Hawaii (Nerurkar
make the kava drink. They are lewena, waka and civi civi. et a!. 2004) has suggested that the alkaloid, pipermethystine,
The Fijian word lewena refers to the rhizome which is the may contribute to the rare but severe hepatotoxic reactions
kava part below the stem and above the root. Waka refers to observed with some kava pill takers in Europe. Another group
the kava root and is the most expensive part of kava that is has reported that the organic solvent extracts used in the pills
sold in the Fijian markets. When the chiefs in Fiji are visited do not contain the water soluble peptide known as glutathione
waka are presented as traditional gifts. Civi civi (or kasa) which is known to detoxify excess kava lactones in the liver and
refers to kava stem peelings which are not commonly used that excess kava lac tones may cause hepatic stress (Denham et
to prepare kava drink in Fiji. But it also contains the kava a!. 2002). Glutathione is present in the water extract drunk in
lactones which the kava pills contain. The German phar- the Pacific.

8 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

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Hansel R, Beiersdorff I-IU. Zur kenntnis der sedativen prinzipien des Russman S, Lauterburg B, Helbling A. Kava hepatotoxicity. Annals of
kawa-rhizoms, Arzneimittel-Forschung. 1959, 9:581-585. Internal Medicine. 2001, 135 (1), 68-69.
Jamieson DO, Duffield PH, Cheng 0, Duffield AM. Comparison of the Ruze P. Kava-induced dermopathy. A niacin deficiency? Lancet. 1990, 335
central nervous system activity of the aqueous and lipid extract of (8703), 1442-1445.
kava (Piper methysticum). Archives Internationales des Pharmacody- Schubel K. Chemistry and pharmacology of kava (Piper methysticum).
namic. 1989, 301:66-80. Journal of the Chemical Society. 1924, 766-767.
Keller F, Klohs M. A review of the chemistry and pharmacology of the Schulgin AT. The narcotic pepper: The chemistry and pharmacology of
constituents of Piper methysticum. Lloydia. 1963, 26:1-15. Piper methysticum and related species. Bulletin of Narcotics. 1973, 25:
Kretzchmar R, Meyer RJ, Teschendorf I-IJ. Strychnine antagonistic 59-74.
potency of pyrone compounds of the kava root (Piper methysticum). Singh S. Variability of kava lactone content of yaqona in Fiji [thesis].
Experentia, 26, 283-284 Chemical Abstracts.1970, 72, 10924 (additional Suva, Fiji: University of the South Pacific. 1999.
references cited therein). Singh YN, Blumenthal M. Kava: An overview, special review. Herbal
Kretzchmar R, Meyer RJ. Comparative studies on the anticonvulsive Gram. 1999, 39.
activity of pyrone compounds from Piper methysticum. Archives inter- Singh YN. Kava: an overview. In: Kava and Pacific Health Anthology Series
nationales de pharmacodynamic et de thcrapie, 177, 261-277. Chemical No: 2. Suva, Fiji: Pacific Health Research Council. 2002, 12-50.
Abstracts, 1969, 72, 30057. Singh YN, Singh NN. Therapeutic potential of kava in the treatment of
Kretzschmar R, Teschendorf HJ, Ladous A., Ettehadieh D. On the seda- anxiety disorders. CNS Drugs. 2002, 16 (11), 731-743.
tive action of the kava rhizome. Acta Pharmacologia Toxicologica. 1971, Singh YN. Kava: From ethnology to pharmacology. Boca Raton, LA,
29 (Suppl4), 26. USA: CRC Press, 2004, 114.
Lebot V. An Overview of kava production in the Pacific Islands: What we Sotheeswaran S. Unpublished. 2004.
do know and what we do not know. Journal of South Pacific Agriculture. Sotheeswaran S. Kava and the Australian aborigine. Australian Journal of
1997, 4(1/2), 55-62. Chemistry. 1987, 377-378. .
Lebot V. Personal Communication. 1998. Sotheeswaran S, Fujiki l-1, Gunatilaka AAL. Anticancer activity studies
Lebot V, Levesque J. The origin and distribution of kava (Piper methysti- on kava (Piper nzethysticum) extracts, In Proceedings of the Pacific Kava
cum Forst. f): a phytochemical approach. Allertonia. 1989., 5:223-280. Research Symposium. 2002. Nov 6-7, Suva, Fiji, 17.

Section I: Description of kava preparations I 9

Sotheeswaran S, Singh RL, Morrison R). Lebot V. Chemotaxonomic VanVeen AG. Over the bedwelmende stof vit de kawakawa of wait-plant
evaluation of kava samples from Fiji. INR Technical report. 1988, 88/8, (Piper methysticum). Genceskundig hidschrit'l voor Nederiandsch-Indie.
Suva, Fiji, USP, 10 pages. 1938, 78, 194-195.
Steiner GG. Hawaii Medical Journal. 2000, 59 (11), 420-2. World Health Organization. Rhizoma Piperis Methystici. In: WHO
Steinmetz EF. Kava kava (Piper methysticum): Famous drug plant of the monographs on selected medicinal plants. Volume 2, 231-45, Geneva,
South Sea Islands. San Francisco: Level Press. 1960. WHO. 2002.
Teschke R. Kava-induzierte leberschaden: Was ist gesichert? Deutsche World Health Organization. WHO guidelines on good agricultural and
Apotheker-Zeitung. 2003, 143: 4011-21. collection practices (GACP) for medicinal plants. Geneva, WHO.
2003.

10 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Section IIA Safety information: A literature review

Contents
1. Historical use
2. Adverse effects
3. Summary of clinical case reports addressing hepatotoxicity
4. Overview of original case reports 1990-2002 and regulatory actions
5. Newcases
6. Summary of hepatotoxicity with kava
6.1. Causality issues
6.2 The type of extract paradigm
7. Safety results in kava clinical trials
8. Safety tables- Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials

Historical use

Kava has been traditionally used in certain South Pacific general anxiety, kava is relatively free of side effects and is not
cultures both ceremonially and recreationally for hundreds addictive. The authors concluded that kava extract appears to
of years. Europeans documented its use when they travelled be an effective symptomatic treatment option for anxiety and
to Polynesia in the eighteenth century (Norton 1998; Singh is relatively safe for short-term treatment (1 to 24 weeks) (Pit-
1992; Spinella 2001). Kava is served to welcome village guests, tier & Ernst 2002; Cochrane Library 2005).
to inaugurate new chiefs, and to bind communities together. A number of recent controlled trials have shown that kava
Although specific kava rituals differ from place to place, the is also effective in stress-induced insomnia, mental stress
basic structure of the kava ceremony is surprisingly similar (Cropley et a!. 2002; Lehrl 2004; Wheatley 2001), and in
from island to island (Tavana a!. 2003). Kava has a very long enhancing cognitive performance (Thompson eta!. 2004).
tradition of use as a tranquillizing ritual beverage and it is
prepared from the root of the plant. Kava adverse events
In addition to sedation or tranquillizing effects, kava has Estimates of the nature and scope of adverse drug reac-
been used for its many claimed therapeutic properties includ- tions can mostly only be guessed, as in general the available
ing: diuretic, aphrodisiac, antidepressant, antidote for muscle data from 'case reports' would not be sufficient for interpreta-
spasms and cramping including menstrual cramps. Kava tion. It is especially difficult to draw quantitative conclusions
has also traditionally been used to treat migraine headache, from the reported data in regard to morbidity, mortality or
venereal disease, gout, rheumatic conditions, colds, respira- the underlying causes of adverse drug events, and attempts
tory tract problems, wounds, chronic cystitis, weight reduc- to extrapolate the available data to the general population
tion, muscle relaxation (Blumenthal 1998; Ernst 2002). In would be invalid and perhaps misleading.
western societies, kava is used as an anxiolytic, muscle relax- An adverse event rate from kava of 1 in 100 000 may
ant, mood enhancer, sedative or treatment for premenstrual possibly be recognized when the exposed population is very
syndrome. Kava lactones, the main ingredients in kava have large, but would not be recognized in the Pacific, where the
been shown to affect a range of neurotransmitter systems total population with heavy kava intake is probably less
and do have dose-dependent effects on the central nervous than 100 000 (it is unlikely to be more than 10% of the total
system, including antiepileptic, neuroprotective and local population, which is little more than one million). More
anaesthetic properties (Ang-Lee eta!. 2001). Kava has had at information on the total exposed population, both in the
least a 1500-year history of relatively safe use, with liver side Pacific islands and in western countries, would be very use-
effects never having arisen in the ethnopharmacological data ful in further exploring this issue.
(Loew & Gaus 2002). Kava, especially water extracts, has been regarded as a safe
Kava has been considered by many to be a safe and effec- remedy (Anke & Ramzam, 2004; Bilia et a!. 2002; Blumenthal
tive alternative to prescription medications for the treatment 2002; Ernst 2004; Stevinson eta!. 2002). Organic kava extracts
of anxiety (Pittler & Ernst 2000). A recent survey of web sites have been safely used under medical supervision for up to six
offering dietary supplements to the general public reported months (Lehmann eta!. 1996; Maisch & Kiesser 2001; Pittler &
that 10% of products freely available to the public contain Ernst 2000; Volz & Kiesser 1997; Wheatley, 2001; Woelk et al.
kava (Dennehy 2005). 1993). There are several reports and detailed reviews attesting
To date at least 16 well-controlled double blind studies to the safety of kava such as those from the European Com-
have shown that kava is effective at relieving anxiety. Moreo- mission, American Herbal Products Association, American
ver, in a meta-analysis of 11 high-quality clinical trials it was Botanical Council, the Society for Medicinal Plant Research,
shown that unlike many conventional drugs used to treat International Kava Committee, Phytopharm Consulting, etc.

Section IIA Safety information: A literature review I 11

Based on the evidence of major trials and meta-analysis of tri- blood lymphocytes, hematuria, macrocytic anaemia, ataxia,
als up to 2002 authors have determined that reported adverse increased patellar reflexes, weight loss and hair loss, (Clough
events related to kava are 'mild, transient and infrequent' et al. 2003; Mathews & Riley 1988). These acute effects emerge
(Pittler & Ernst 2002). at average consumption levels of from 310-440 g/week of kava
Reviews of adverse events observed in clinical trials and powder (Clough 2003). However, the risk of liver damage was
some observational studies have been published in the litera- directly related to the amount of kava consumed that was up
ture (Beaubrun & Gray 2000) and have been summarized in to 700 mg a day in one study (Mathews & Riley 1988) and in
several internet databases such as 'Natural Standard Data- the other, 45% of participants consumed alcohol (Clough et
base', 'Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database' (www. al. 2003).
[Link]), and 'HerbMed Database'. On the other hand hepatic failure has never been observed
When kava has been taken in dosages ranging from 100 to with the traditionally prepared kava extract (however see case
210 mg of kava pyrones daily, it has been associated with few reports section IIA) but the controversy remains as to whether
adverse effects. Long-term use of kava, especially in high doses the population has been systematically evaluated and adverse
(400 mg of kava pyrones daily) has been associated with the effects reported (Currie & Clough 2003; Moulds & Malani
development of flaky, dry, scaly skin and yellow discoloration of 2003). In a recent Survey of Traditional Healers and Biomedi-
the skin, hair and nails (kava dermopathy) (Singh 1992; Wool- cal Practitioners in Native Populations in Savaii, Samoa, it
tartan 2002) through an unknown mechanism (Schmidt & was reported that Samoans were familiar with the effects of
Boehncke 2000) but may relate to interference with cholesterol excessive kava use, especially sleepiness and dry skin, but
metabolism (Norton & Ruze 1994); the effect may be reversible no one reported major clinical signs of liver malfunction in
upon cessation of the drug (Ernst 2002). In rare cases, kava may association with kava drinking, such as yellowing of the eyes,
lead to allergic reactions, pupil dilation, blurred vision, distur- brown urine, and changes in stool, even when asked specifi-
bances of oculomotor equilibrium (Blumenthal2002; Wheatley cally for signs of such symptoms (Tavana et a!, 2003). Data
2001). Other possible adverse effects include ataxia, hair loss, from short-term post-marketing surveillance studies and
hearing loss and anorexia. It may also cause extrapyramidal clinical trials suggest that adverse events in general are rare,
side effects such as involuntary oral and lingual reflexes and mild and reversible (Stevinson et al. 2002).
twisting movements of the head and trunk, possibly due to
dopamine antagonism (Bilia et al. 2002; Schelosky et al. 1995). Summary of clinical case reports addressing hepato-
A recent case report from Spain associates kava ingestion with toxicity
severe parkinsonism in a 45 year-old woman (Meseguer et al. This report will focus on any new information available to the
2002) and a case control study of 83 indigenous Australians reviewers after 2002. A number of comprehensive reviews of the
suggests that kava consumption is associated with ischae- hepatotoxicity cases exist in the literature and will be mentioned
mic heart disease (IHD) and sudden cardiac deaths among, throughout this section.
particularly, young Aboriginal sportsmen in this population Isolated case reports of hepatotoxicity associated with
(Clough et al. 2004). Kava may potentiate the effects of alcohol, ingestion of kava first started becoming known in the 1990s.
benzodiazepines, and other sedative-hypnotic agents through Subsequently, news of possible European regulatory action
additive effects (Spinella 2002). (See Natural Standard tables.) began to surface as increased reports became available late
Kava, unlike benzodiazepines, appears not to adversely in 2001 (Anke & Ramzam 2004; Blumenthal 2002; Clouatre
affect cognitive function, mental acuity, or coordination, 2004).
(Cairney et al. 2003; Heinze et al. 1994; Munte et al. 1993) The majority of severe adverse effects associated particu-
although slight morning tiredness and reduced reactivity larlywith liver toxicity are derived from the files of the BfArM
while driving as well as ataxia have been reported (Perez in Germany (Clouatre 2004). Several authors have already
& Holmes 2005; Singh 1992). Commonly reported in more undertaken an evaluation of these and other reports, with
recent clinical trials are gastrointestinal complaints, abdomi- the most thorough and up-to-date likely being the work of
nal pain and nausea. Mathias Schmidt and Adolf Nahrstedt of the University of
There are two trials where clinically insignificant eleva- Munster. Originally published in the Deutsche Apotheker
tion of transaminases has been observed (Boerner et al. 2003; Zeitung in February 2002 (Schmidt & Nahrstedt 2002), a
Connor & Davidson 2002) (see Safety Tables, Appendix 2). much-expanded version of this article is available on the
Liver function tests can be elevated after three to eight weeks Internet in an updated English translation under the title, 'Is
of use, possibly followed by hepatomegaly (Escher et al. kava really hepatotoxic?' (Schmidt 2003a).
2001). Kava can also exacerbate hepatitis in patients with a In the 2003 review Schmidt analyses 82 hepatotoxic-
history of recurrent hepatitis. Abnormalities seem to resolve ity cases from different sources [German health authorities
spontaneously after discontinuation of kava (Strahl et al. (BfArM): 38 reports (excluding double entries), Swissmedic:
1998). Most patients taking kava have not experienced such 5 reports (excluding those also listed in the German case
severe adverse effects and it is unclear which patients might reports), US FDA: 21 reports, UK-MHRA: 4 reports, Health
be susceptible to adverse effects. Canada: 3 reports, France (AFSSAPS): 2 reports, Australia
Heavy use of water extracts by Australian Aborigines TGA: 1 report, EMEA: 1 report (excluding those already
and Pacific Islanders has been associated with dermopa- mentioned in other categories), medical literature: 5 reports
thy, increased levels of -glutamyl transferase and alkaline (excluding those already mentioned in other categories),
phosphatase, abnormally low body mass index (BMI), low unconfirmed German newspaper stories: 2 reports,]. The

12 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

author states that 20 cases are obviously not related to kava plant product. Any pharmacologically active ingredient in
intake; in 21 case reports a potentially hepatotoxic concomitant a plant can interact with drugs, pre-existing conditions, or
treatment was identified. In seven cases there is considerable individual hypersensitivity (Waller 2002).
doubt concerning the causality of kava, whereas in 31 other The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report issued by the US
cases the available data is too fragmentary for an assessment. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that 11 patients
That leaves only three cases where a likelihood of hepatotoxic using kava products have suffered liver failure and under-
effects by kava can be established, although in two of these gone subsequent liver transplants. This review includes the
three there were higher dosages and longer-term treatment last two reports of liver failure from the United States. First,
than recommended. In only one of these case reports was a 14 year-old girl who consumed for more than four months
kava taken according to the dosage recommendations of the (Humberston, 2001, also published in 2003 in the same journal
German Commission E Monograph of no more than 120 mg and by Campo, 2002). The authors state that the association
kava lactones per day for three months or less. Therefore only is supported by four months of kava use, a negative work-up
one case remains. The authors also did a thorough analysis for alternative causes of liver failure, and histological changes
of the hepatotoxic potential of frequently used concomitant in the liver (Humberston eta!, 2003). Second, a 45 year-old
medications and a comparison of kava with other treatments women who consumed a kava-containing dietary supplement
for anxiety. They conclude, 'hepatotoxic effects of kava intake (CDC, 2002; web page, JAMA 2003).
cannot generally be ruled out. However, in comparison with Denham et al. reviewed thirty adverse events reported
pharmaceutical treatments for stress and anxiety disorders, from Germany and Switzerland and initially submitted to
and in relation to drug intake related hepatotoxicity in gen- the UK Medicines Control Agency (MCA) and Committee
eral, the risk of adverse liver effects seems to be very low.' of Safety of Medicines (CSM) on January 11, 2002. The new
A review of 36 cases of hepatitis in Germany concluded version was completed in April 2002. This report argues that
that kava was the certain or probable cause of the hepatitis in many of the case reports were duplicates and adverse events
24 of the cases, nine patients developed fulminant liver fail- cited by the BfArM should not be attributed to kava. They also
ure and eight of these patients required liver transplantation. say that the BfArM document is deficient in other respects
Three patients died. In all other patients, a complete recovery because it is unclear whether the term 'liver damage' refers to
was noticed after the withdrawal of kava. Hepatic necrosis the results of a liver biopsy, or to the finding of raised alanine
or cholestatic hepatitis were noticed with both alcoholic aminotransferase (ALT) blood levels that are interpreted as
and acetonic kava extract (Stickel et a!. 2003). This review indicating damage to hepatocytes in hepatocellular disease.
has been criticized and considered of little value because of In addition, the report states that the properties of concen-
reporting of wrong data, age of patients, gender, concomitant trated standardized kava extracts-as opposed to prepara-
treatments and lack of liver test. tions that closely approximate those created for traditional
Three other valuable evaluations of case reports are those use-contribute to causing adverse events.
by Donald P. Waller (prepared for the American Herbal Prod- These three expert reviews have concluded that kava
ucts Association, February 15, 2002), one by Alison Denham being anecdotally linked to cases of liver dysfunction lacks
prepared on behalf of the UK Traditional Medicines Evalu- adequate scientific evidence to confirm a causal relationship.
ation Committee (a subcommittee of the European Herbal Nevertheless, the authors conclude that kava products should
Practitioners Association) and one issued by the US Center be taken with caution in patients with liver disease and in
for Disease Control also published in JAMA 2003. There is those taking conventional drugs, and that any severe adverse
also the collection of cases from the pharmacovigilance data- event should be discussed with a physician and reported to
base of the WHO dated January 31, 2000. the authorities.
The analysis by American toxicologist/pharmacologist Another independent analysis of 19 known cases from
Donald Waller, of the College of Pharmacy at the University Germany was recently published in the peer-reviewed litera-
of Illinois at Chicago, of the approximately 30 hepatic adverse ture in 2003 (Teschke et al. 2003). The authors conclude that
event reports (AERs) from Germany and 5 submitted to the only two cases were probable kava-associated hepatotoxici-
FDA between May 1998 and September 2001 concluded that ties. In addition, 80% of these patients took kava overdoses
there is 'no clear evidence that the liver damage reported in and or self medicated kava for longer than three months.
the U.S. and Europe was caused by the consumption of kava'. Most patients were taking concomitant medications with
In his report he presented two cases of excessive kava inges- known hepatotoxicity. The authors also analyse discrepan-
tion of up to 45,000 mg kava per day that did not present any cies in the evaluations of cases made by regulatory agencies
liver toxicity. He also criticized the case reports from Germa- in Germany (BfArM) and UK (MCA). The authors advise
ny and Switzerland as 'lacking in specific clinical and histo- nevertheless, that physicians and patients should be alert to
logical information' and recommended they be revised where possible hepatotoxic side effects in the course of kava treat-
possible to obtain further information. In addition, he stated ment, stop the treatment at first suspicion and begin a careful
that 'kava, when taken in appropriate doses for reasonable diagnostic work up ruling out all other causes.
periods of time has no scientifically established potential for According to the reviewers several confounding factors
causing liver damage'. He also stated that toxicity can occur have played a role in the association of kava and hepatotoxic-
through a variety of mechanisms related to a production of ity. Among these, the most common are: concomitant use of
the product or to altered sensitivity of populations of people prescription medications, some of which are known or sus-
previously unexposed to the phytochemicals in a particular pected to be hepatotoxic, ingestion of higher doses of kava,

Section IIA Safety information: A literature review I 13

sometimes up to 400 times more than the recommended ment of causality (Teschke eta!. 2003).
dose; ethanolic vs acetonic extracts, idiosyncratic individual The German regulatory agency withdrew all kava-con-
differences, erroneous association of kava in cases of pre- taining products from the market in June 14, 2002 just two
existing liver damage, current viral infections, and alcohol weeks after switching kava products from 'OTC' to 'prescrip-
abuse. They also point out that duplicate reports and errone- tion' product. However the agency conceded that there were
ous association of kava in cases of pre-existing liver damage no scientifically based data regarding the mechanism of the
have occurred (Blumenthal2002). kava hepatotoxicity. The histological picture of the explanted
The increase in the number of spontaneous reports up livers of patients was most compatible with a drug associated
to 2002 may be due to increased awareness of the possible hepatotoxicity distinct from other liver disease or damage. An
association of kava with liver disorder. In addition it may organ-specific hypersensitivity reaction was also considered.
have been possible that the hepatotoxity problems were to The causality was judged probable or possible in all cases.
some extent, a consequence of poor quality control caused by In one non-fatal case the causality was proven by a positive
a rapid and extraordinary increase in the size of the market reaction (increase in liver enzyme concentrations) after re-
that by 1998 had a turnover of more than eight million US exposure with a preparation containing kava only.
dollars in the United States of America (Murray 2000). In
the South Pacific region the annual production of kava was Switzerland
estimated to be about 200 million US dollars (Gruenwald et R. Stoller provided the results of a case series study involving
a!. 2002, 2003). 4 Swiss cases in which severe hepatic complications resulted from
In summary, if all sources including unconfirmed news- the use of an acetone extract of kava between 10 August 1999 and
paper reports are added, 96 reports of very different quality 20 February 2000. Of the 4 cases (2 severe hepatitis, 1liver fibro-
exist from 1990 to 2002. A total of nine patients who used sis, 1 severe liver injury), 3 were histologically confirmed, and
kava products had liver failure and underwent subsequent one was a case of fulminant irreversible hepatitis requiring trans-
liver transplantation; there were three deaths. The World plantation. In 3 of the cases, prothrombin time was increased. All
Health Organization identified 28 cases of which there seems 4 cases presented with jaundice (Stoller 2001).
little doubt about causality in four.
On the one hand, this evidence argues strongly for a Australia
reappraisal of kava's safety. On the other, the quality of these On 15 August 2002 the Therapeutic Goods Administra-
reports has been challenged repeatedly because of duplicate tion (TGA) initiated a recall of all kava-containing products
or triplicate entries, missing indications and co-medication, following the death of a woman associated with the use of
wrong statements regarding dechallenge/rechallenge, abnor- kava-containing product. A voluntary recall of kava-contain-
malities in reported laboratory testing, improbable temporal ing medicines regulated by the TGA was initiated in conjunc-
relationships between ingestion of the drug and the adverse tion with the complementary medicine industry. This resulted
event, the presence of pre-existing disease conditions etc. in all kava-containing medicines being removed from the
There appears to be either no consensus as to what standards market place. Consumers were advised to discontinue use of
of evaluation should be employed or, if such standards exist, kava -containing medicines.
they are difficult in practice even for experts to apply. This The TGA had placed a limit on the maximum amount of
type of difficulty is more common than we would normally kava permitted per dosage form i.e., 125 mg kava lac tones per
like to think (Kaplowitz 2001; Lucena et a!. 2001; Juurlink et tablet/capsule, a 3g limit of dried rhizome in tea bags, and
a!. 2003). all kava products must comply with a maximum daily dose
of not more than 250 mg of kava lactones. Kava is now clas-
Overview of original case reports 1990-2002 and sified as a prohibited import under the Customs (Prohibited
regulatory action Imports) Regulations.

Germany Canada
The first cases of hepatotoxicity related to kava were pre- On 26 August 2002 a summary of 11 case reports associ-
sented to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices ated with kava was submitted to Health Product Safety Infor-
(Bundcsinstitut fiir Arzncimittel und Medizinprodukte, or BfArM) mation Division (HPSID) of Health Canada.
in Germany. Out of 105 spontaneous AD1~-reports on kava, Four Canadian cases of liver toxicity associated with the
24 were associated with impaired liver function or symptoms use of kava-containing products were reported in response to
that could be linked to liver toxicity (including cases of cir- a Public Advisory (issued 16 January 2002) in which health
rhosis, cholestatic hepatitis, and other types of hepatoxicity). professionals were asked to report any cases of kava-related
Of the 24 cases, there was one fatality, three cases required hepatotoxicity to HPSID. Two cases were considered serious.
liver transplant, and 18 cases were considered possibly or
probably related to kava ingestion. Twelve patients were not United Kingdom
yet assessable due to insufficient data and in five other cases On 20 December 2001 the Medicines Control Agency
a causal relationship was unlikely or could be excluded. Some (MCA) had one report of abnormal hepatic function associ-
authors recommended that the German regulatory authority ated with the use of kava in the UK. As of April 2002, the
provide additional information for those 12 patients with so MCA received 3 reports of liver toxicity suspected of being
far unsatisfactory data, facilitating a more appropriate assess- related to kava consumption.

14 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

New Zealand related hepatotoxicity have been reported to either agency.
As of 16 January 2002 there were three ADR reports To the best of our knowledge there have not been any new
involving kava, none of which involved liver damage. reports from other countries, probably because kava products
have been withdrawn from the market.
France A recent evaluation of Dietary supplement (DS)-related
In France, two non-serious liver case reports were filed, adverse events (AEs) reported to the California Poison Con-
both with questionable causality for kava. The French author- trol System. This indicated that the majority of these event
ities suspended all registrations for drugs containing kava were related to ephedra and very few to kava. Among 828
extract for the duration of one year, starting on 8 January 2001. callers, 353 patients (74%) reported that the AE was related
However, there was no registered kava product in France, as to products containing ephedra; other exposures frequently
kava is traded as a food supplement, which has officially not involved zinc, kava, creatine, and valerian but no details were
changed. The French authorities gave a recommendation not provided. The majority of AEs were moderate and one was
to sell kava, but it is still legal. fatal (Dennehy eta!. 2005b).

United States of America Summary of hepatotoxicity with kava

Out of their 37 ADR reports involving kava, 10 were asso- The mechanism of kava hepatotoxicity (if any) is not yet
ciated with liver problems. An update of the ADR reports understood (Anke & Ramzan 2004; Ernst 2004; Mathews
received by the FDA (4 March 2002) revealed a total of 47 2005). The significance of the information concerning kava's
ADR reports received in association with kava, 20 of which possible hepatoxicity prior to 1998 is unclear. The forms of
were related to the liver. kava used traditionally by Pacific Islanders and by some Abo-
It is important to note that most cases presented to the riginal communities are not believed to be associated with
FDA were reported after general practitioners were asked to the serious forms of liver damage observed in the case reports
retrospectively screen their patient data for possible cases. The (TGA Fact Sheet 2005).
'Dear Doctor' letter requested physicians to submit reports of In addition, despite all the new information, hypotheses
cases of liver toxicity associated with the herb to the FDA's and theories, the mechanism of toxicity remains unknown
MedWatch system. The FDA letter was not intended as a pub- and there are no clear predictors of toxicity, such as dosage
lic warning, but merely as a fact-finding measure. or type of organic (acetone or ethanol) preparation, drug
interactions etc, making the onset of damage unpredictable.
Other countries No specific risk factors have been identified which may allow
Up to 2002 there were no toxicity case reports pre- the safe use of kava under restricted conditions such as lim-
sented to regulatory agencies in Spain, Japan, Brazil or iting the duration of treatment or its use in specific patient
Ireland. These agencies have suspended registration of groups. Most experts believe that the available data point to
kava products. The majority of countries around the world an idiosyncratic-immunological genesis for the liver toxicity
have released advisories cautioning about the use of kava- (Russmann eta!, 2001; Schmidt 2003; Teschke 2003).
containing products. According to recent analyses kava can potentially produce
liver toxicity but the incidence of those effects appears to be
New cases extremely low (Schmidt 2003; Edwards 2005; Miller 1998).
Several new case reports of liver toxicity have been pub- Experimental hepatotoxicological investigations showed
lished in the literature since 2002. Two cases of hepatitis have no overt hepatotoxic reactions due to kava pyrones. A number
been recently associated with ingesting traditionally prepared of comprehensive reviews have been published in an attempt
kava extracts for 4-5 weeks (Russman et al. 2003). One case of to explain the cause-effect relationship observed in the case
icteric hepatitis in Spain was published in letter form (Bujanda reports but to date a clear mechanism to explain this pur-
et al. 2002). Reports of two cases of hepatitis from Switzer- ported hepatotoxicity has not been found.
land were associated with kava use and a consequent survey A detailed analysis of the toxic liver effects of kava has
of 27 heavy kava drinkers in New Caledonia showed elevated been reviewed elsewhere (Anke & Ramzan 2004; Bauer et al.
gamma glutamyl transferase in 23/27 and minimally elevated 2003; Clouatre 2004; Corrigan 2005; Gruenwald and Freder
transaminases in 8/27. The authors conclude that not only com- 2002; Hagemann, 2003; Health Canada, 2002; Stevinson et
mercially available, but also traditionally prepared kava extracts a!. 2002; Singh 1992; Schmidt and Nahrstedt 2002; Schmidt
may rarely cause liver injury (Russmann et al. 2003). In Australia 2003a,b; Simkins et al. 2005; Ulbricht et a!. 2005). In addi-
a case of acute liver failure and death in a 56 year-old woman tion, a number of experimental studies are available in the
was associated with the use of a preparation containing kava literature elucidating potential mechanisms of action (Frey
and passiont1ower (Passiflora incarnata) (Cow et al. 2003). Two 1991; Garrett eta!. 2003; Gyllenhaal et al. 1999; Jamieson et
cases of hepatitis (one fulminating) were presented to the Brazil a!. 1989, Johnson eta!. 2003; Jussofie eta!. 1994, Boonen et
regulatory agency in 2003. These cases again are not proof of a!. 1998; Ma eta!. 2004; Mathews eta!. 2002, 2005; Nerurkar
kava hepatotoxicity, but raise concern (Edwards 2005). et a!. 2004 a,b; Shinomiya et a!. 2005; Singh, 2002, 2003;
Personal communication with the Food and Drug Admin- Smith 2001; Tarbah eta!. 2003; Unger 1998, Unger eta!. 2002;
istration in the United States of America and the Marketed Weiss 2005, Whitton eta!. 2003; Yuan eta!. 2002; Zou eta!.
and Natural Health Products Directorate (Health Canada) 2004, 2005). Mechanisms of toxicity have been presented and
in Canada confirmed that since 2002 no more cases of kava evaluated in a previous section of this report.

Section IIA Safety information: A literature review I 15

 An immunologically mediated idiosyncratic mechanism the risk of undesirable adverse reactions. However, in the
or the chronic use of high doses of kava intake appear to be the case of a higher dosage recommendation (Kavasporal forte)
most likely cause of kava toxicity. A direct toxic mechanism is there is a tendency to under-dose. The authors suggest that
much less likely (Schulze eta!. 2001, 2003). Kava also has the this fact may explain the unexpected inefficacy of the therapy
potential for causing drug interactions through inhibition of (Dietlein eta!. 2003).
P450 enzymes responsible for the metabolism of numerous These findings raise the possibility that many of the
pharmaceuticals (Mathews 2002, 2005). As several authors reported cases of liver toxicity may have been due to excessive
have noted, the range of hepatotoxic reactions found in the intake levels of kava. Almost 80% of the cases took kava
case reports is not compatible with the usual hepatotoxic pyrones in overdose (max 480 mg/day) and for a prolonged
reactions observed during adverse drug interactions. Many time of three months to two years (Teschke 2003). In few
of these cases are disputed in terms of the causality between reports was the amount of kava used equal to or only slightly
kava intake and liver toxicity; an analysis of the in vitro, in vivo higher than the manufacturer's recommendation (Escher et
and clinical data shows clearly that kava and its kava lactones a!. 2001). Nevertheless, one cannot assume that the standard
are not predictable hepatotoxins (Corrigan 2005). Reports intake level of kava is safe for all individuals.
include necrosis, drug-induced hepatitis, and cholestatic It is surprising that a side effect as serious as liver failure
hepatitis, that is, a pattern more indicative of a range of causes would not have been previously recognized during the
than of a single modality (Denham et a!. 2002; Humberston hundreds, if not thousands, of years that kava has been
eta!. 2001). Such conclusions, if warranted, do not, however, used as a medicinal herb. Regarding the rarity (or possibly,
mean that kava cannot be implicated in these cases. absence) of cases linked with water extracts in its extensive
The possibility that cytochrome CYP 206 deficiency might traditional use authors have argued that this may be related
be a predisposing factor to hepatic complications associated with to three possibilities (Edwards 2005).
kava consumption has also been highlighted as being a potential • Under-reporting for traditional kava preparations in a
risk factor particularly in two of the five Swiss reports This may situation where rare liver toxicity may go unnoticed;
make people especially susceptible to kava-induced liver injury • Toxic/allergenic material extracted in acetonic and eth-
because this abnormality might lead to a build-up of kava or anolic kava extracts but not in water extracts;
one of its breakdown products to toxic levels (Anke eta!. 2004; • Substandard kava (either 'Twoday' (Tudey) or including
Russmann et a!. 2001, 2003; Stoller 2001; Teschke et a!. 2003). stem, leaf or bark material) exported for the manufacture
However, the type of testing needed to identify those for whom of acetonic and ethanolic kava extracts during the 'Kava
kava poses the greatest risk is not generally available. Boom'.
The unclear relationship between kava use and necrotizing It has been pointed out that liver damage is likely to be the
hepatitis has led to speculation that the disorder might result of non-traditional production methods of commercially
represent a rare, idiosyncratic adverse reaction (Rotblatt & available kava supplements. The traditional kava beverage
Ziment 2002). It has been speculated that individuals in poor is essentially a water suspension and until recently large
health or with underlying liver diseases are more susceptible quantities of 10-15 times the recommended daily dose have
to liver damage if they take large amounts of kava. Enough been used without signs of liver damage (Whitton et a!.
crude evidence exists to suggest rather weakly that kava 2003). See 'Type of Extract Paradigm' below.
might interfere with liver function under certain conditions. Transient or fluctuating elevations in hepatic enzymes
Nevertheless, actual adverse events appeared to be limited to are commonly seen during therapy with a variety of drugs. A
the chronic consumption of enormous amounts of the kava number of recent reviews address the issue of drug-induced
beverage that if extrapolated to the same dose in pill form hepatoxicity and it is clear that many different mechanisms play
is far in excess of any dosage that might be considered in a role in the potential toxic effect of drugs and herbal medicines
Western practice (Chanwai 2000). including kava. Factors affecting susceptibility to drug-induced
Whether kava is safe when taken in 'normal' doses injury include age, sex, concomitant use of other drugs, and
is another question. A recent survey of German medical genetic polymorphism in metabolic pathways involved in
practices using the MediPlus database that has access to activation or disposition of therapeutic drugs as well as the
millions of prescriptions in the European Union revealed that products produced during metabolism that may be highly
kava prescriptions are seldom taken appropriately. Only 41% reactive and toxic (Maddrey 2005; Malani 2005; Pishvaian et
of the cases evaluated complied with the recommended daily a!. 2004; Schiano 2003). These elevations in hepatic enzymes,
dose. In 39% the drug was underdosed. In the majority of often in the range of two to three-fold, are typically self-limited,
all cases (78% of the kava prescriptions that were written) often resolve with continuing therapy, and do not usually
the dose significantly exceeded the recommended intake. The require discontinuation of the drug. GGT, in particular, is often
authors conclude that the results may give an explanation elevated in the absence of any significant liver damage and thus
why kava prescriptions are associated with a high incidence is not very useful as a screening test. In addition, most of the
of adverse drug reactions (Schroder-Bernhardi and Dietlein categories of liver injury do not lead to hepatic failure (Foster
2001). A more detailed analysis of these data evaluating B, Health Canada 2004). The measurement of transaminases
three kava products (trade names: Antares, Laitan and in the relatively small number of patients involved in clinical
Kavasporal forte) revealed that in the case of a low-dosage trials may allow the detection of a signal that a drug will cause
recommendation (Antares and Laitan) there is a trend to significant hepatotoxicity and should be encouraged in future
over-dose in prescribing behaviour, which might increase kava clinical trials.

16 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

 The determination of cause of hepatotoxicity is confounded kava used in the South Pacific and in Europe and USA were
by the presence of other drugs, the primary disorder under different. It is conceivable that different methods of prepara-
therapy and other disease states. Determination of the tion (alcohol, water or acetonic extraction) yield different kava
contribution of these confounders to hepatic injury is critical alkaloids (Currie & Clough 2003; Moulds & Malani 2003).
in the evaluation of possible drug-induced hepatic injury. Acetonic and ethanolic extracts were implicated in several of
Alcohol use is a significant confounding factor with respect the most serious cases. Water preparations of kava, on the
to the risk of and severity of drug-induced hepatotoxicity. other hand have been taken for centuries in the South Pacific
Other confounding factors may include concurrent infection, with no recognition of definite liver problems associated with
concurrent therapy with drugs, herbal medications or normal kava intake but this also has been argued (Russmann
biologicals (with the potential for drug interactions, notably et al. 2003). Nevertheless, recent studies in rats found that
if one agent induces or inhibits the activity of key metabolic the aqueous extract of kava does not affect liver function tests
pathways) and compliance (Foster, Health Canada, 2004; (Singh & Devkota 2003).
Schiano 2003). Safety concerns and potential kava interactions The part of the plant used to prepare the extracts as well
with drugs and other herbs have been recently reviewed. The as the wrong cultivar and the wrong kind of raw material
authors suggest that because some kava lactones possess (stem peelings instead of the roots) may contribute to the
pharmacological effects, such as blockade of GABA receptors production of an extract with different constituents. There is
and sodium and calcium ion channels, that these effects may a higher yield of kava lactones in the stem peelings, but also
lead to pharmacodynamic interactions with other substances a number of phytochemical compounds not present in the
which possess similar pharmacological properties. However, roots. Kava preparations made with this kind of raw material
currently there is very little evidence to substantiate actual are not comparable to kava as prepared from the root or rhi-
pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic interaction zome. There are now a number of recent studies showing that
between drugs and kava (Singh 2005). the use of the aerial parts is potentially dangerous. Authors
have stated that this was the type of kava that produced the
Causality issues most severe adverse effects observed in the European cases
The association between kava and liver disease is sur- (Edwards 2005; Nerurkar et al. 2004 (see also Section I).
prising, disturbing and controversial. The 1998 edition of There have been cases where batch variations have been
the German Commission E Monographs, considered to be an identified in particular products. There is also the possibil-
authoritative source on herbal medicines, does not mention ity of unknown adulterants and contaminants (Thomsen et
liver disease or any other serious side effects in its discussion al. 2004). This assertion has not been proven scientifically.
ofkava (Blumenthal1998). Some have suggested that the acetone solvent used to make
It should be noted that individual cases such as those the leading kava product may be the culprit.
available do not prove cause and effect. Even where other Whitton et al. (Whitton et al. 2003) recently presented
known causes of liver damage (such as alcohol abuse and another theory concerning the difference between traditional
viral infections) were ruled out, it is possible that the use kava preparations and commercially used products. They
of kava by these individuals was a coincidence, rather than found that aqueous extracts contain glutathione, which has
the cause of the problem. In addition, in several cases, drugs the potential to react with the kava lactones to provide pro-
with potential hepatotoxicity such as: fluoxetine, paroxetine, tection against hepatotoxicity especially when detoxification
acetylsalicylic acid, oral contraceptives, celecoxib, omeprazole pathways are saturated (Anke & Ramzan 2004; Whitton et
and others may have been potential confounders. al. 2003).
Other authors have been more emphatic about the lack of It is important to emphasize that until more toxicological
association between kava ingestion and severe hepatotoxic- studies are conducted, no one can suggest that differences in
ity. 'Hence we could say that the medical reports are nowhere products have any toxicological significance.
near a conclusive body of evidence that kava capsules might
have caused acute or sub-acute liver toxicity in European kava Kava clinical trials
pill consumers' (Schmidt 2003). In general, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are not
A direct causal relationship with kava use has been dif- designed or powered to pick up adverse reactions. Nor are
ficult to establish in the majority of the cases, and there is they long enough to detect long-term adverse effects. This is
insufficient evidence to implicate kava as the responsible particularly true when adverse reactions are rare or uncom-
agent. Nevertheless, until further research clarifies any cau- mon. Regarding serious liver toxicity the number of patients
sality, kava should be used with caution. usually involved in Phase III clinical trials is typically too small
to detect hepatic necrosis that occurs with an incidence of
The type of extract paradigm 1/10 000 and even too small to provide high assurance against
The preparations of extracts may play a role in the risk with an incidence of 1/1000 or less [ICH-E-1]. How-
development of toxicity. Alcohol (standardized to 30% kava ever, although most of the data have never been published, it
lactones) and acetone (standardized to 70% kava lactones) appears that most, if not all, drugs that cause hepatic necrosis
extracts of kava have been linked to liver toxicity, however, also cause an asymptomatic, but significant (>5 fold), elevation
water extracts (average content of 210 mg of kava lactones) of transaminases in a larger fraction of the population treated,
have not (see exception in IIA). One reason for the cases of which can be detected in typical Phase III trials. Therefore, any
suspected liver toxicity in Europe could be that the extracts of drug that is found to cause a significant incidence of elevated

Section IIA Saf{•ty information: A literature review I 17

transaminases relative to control, must undergo additional ies in this meta-analysis utilized WS 1490 (W. Schwabe) as
investigations into the mechanisms involved (Foster B, Health the active form of kava. This preparation is standardized to
Canada, 2004). It has been stated, however that smaller eleva- contain 70% kava lactones (Stoller 2001) while the majority
tions should not be seen as forerunners of more severe liver of marketed kava products contain 30% kava lactones. As
damage. In addition, many plant products do not seem to lead a result of these chemical and manufacturing differences,
to toxic effects in everyone taking them, and they commonly the generalizability of these trials is limited and may not be
lack a strict dose-dependency curve. applicable to other kava-containing products.
Clinical studies of kava extracts generally have suffered Another review listed nine double-blinded, randomized
from the same shortcomings found in many other trials of controlled trials, involving 808 patients, and stated that kava
natural products. Small sample size, short periods of treat- was significantly superior to placebo for treating symptoms
ment (usually 4-8 weeks and up to 24 weeks), lack of infor- associated with anxiety. No liver toxicity was observed. These
mation about type and dose of extract used, ill-defined patient trials used a range of products standardized on 15-70% kava
population, lack of adverse event reporting, etc. (Abadi et at. lactones, providing a daily dosage of 60-210 mg per day of
2001; Gessner & Cnota 1994; Herberg 1991, 1993, 1997; Leh- kava lactones (Loew & Gaus 2002).
mann et at. 1996; Moller & Heuberger 1989; Saletu et at. 1989; Stevinson and associates conducted a systematic review
Scherer 1998; Siegers et at. 1992). To some extent, these fai- of case reports (from the spontaneous reporting schemes of
lings have been corrected in most recent trials. For this reason the WHO, national drug safety bodies and ten manufactur-
the following section will address mainly trials conducted in ers of kava preparations), short-term post-marketing surveil-
the past five years. lance studies and clinical trials of kava. Two post-marketing
Systematic reviews, reports and general information surveillance studies based on spontaneous reporting did not
about trials previous to 2000 have been published elsewhere identify liver toxicity among a total of 7,978 patients taking
(Brown 2001; Loew & Gaus 2002; Pittler & Ernst, 2000, 2002; 150 to 240 mg kava extract daily for approximately six weeks
Schmidt 2003). (Stevinson et at. 2002). The authors conclude that 'In the
A number of recent reviews evaluating the beneficial controlled clinical studies and post-marketing surveillance
effects of kava in insomnia and anxiety conclude that kava studies, subjective and objective organ-related adverse drug
seems to be effective in these indications but due to the reactions were rarely or very rarely documented'. There is
'reported' (but not confirmed) hepatotoxic effects kava should also a lack of hepatotoxicity reports in four post-marketing
be administered with caution and following physicians surveillance studies of kava or kava lactone involving 11,695
recommendations about dose and duration of the treatment patients (Hoffman 1996; Siegers 1992; Spree & Croy 1992;
(Ulbricht 2005; Brown 2005; Wheatley 2005). Two reviews Unger 1998). (These reports are in German and are reviewed
include information about other commonly used psychotro- in Schmidt 2003).
pic herbal preparations (Wheatley 2005; Simkins 2005). In view of the current scientific knowledge, the condem-
nation of kava extracts appears to be unwarrantable. German
Safety results in clinical trials physicians now recommend kava as an herbal anxiolytic at a
The direct toxicity model as opposed to a model of the dose of 120-210 mg kavapyrone/day. The length of medication
potentiation of the toxicity of other drugs is the model com- should be limited to 1-2 months, and liver enzymes should be
monly reflected in the safety data of clinical trials. It has been checked before and during kava medication (Teschke, 2003).
stated that under the restricted conditions of these trials, kava In recent studies an attempt has been made to evaluate the
extracts appear to be quite safe particularly in trials of 4 to 24 effect of kava preparations in the liver and safety parameters
weeks duration. Similarly, very short-term trials of high kava including determination of liver enzymes, have been reported.
lactone intake have not demonstrated toxicity: 300-600 mg In general, authors have concluded that kava is relatively safe.
per day acetone extract for one week (Johnson et at. 1991), In none of these studies was there evidence of liver toxicity or
600 mg per day acetone extract for one week (Heinze et at. other serious adverse events. Tables below provide a detailed
1994; [Link] et at. 1993), or 240 mg per day alcohol extract for summary of the most commonly observed adverse events
two weeks (Herberg 1996). observed in recent RCTs. In general over 500 patients have
The limitations of these clinical trials with regard to been enrolled in recent clinical studies and over 6,500 in open
establishing safety are much the same as with establishing studies. Kava appears to be well tolerated by most users with
efficacy (Ernst 2002). A further limitation with regard to most adverse events being rare, mild and reversible in about
establishing safety is that these trials can only very poorly 2.3% of patients (Corrigan 2005). Between 2000 and 2005 a
predict the fate of kava extracts in real world settings where total of 15 clinical trials were identified with one trial done via
patients ingest multiple drugs, alcohol and other compounds, Internet (Jacobs et at. 2005) not included in the tables because
often for extremely extended periods of time, and perhaps the trial's major objective was to evaluate the feasibility of
while taking many times the indicated dose for kava and/or conducting Internet-based RCTs and tested a combination of
one or more of these compounds. kava and valerian. Four were done with ace tonic extracts and
The two meta-analyses on clinical trials on the acetone- eight with ethanolic extracts. The majority of adverse events
based kava extract from Germany do not mention liver toxic- observed were unrelated to the kava treatment. Boerner et at.
ity as one of the adverse effects, concluding that kava appears reported a slight increase in transaminases, which was also
to be a safe and effective remedy for anxiety (Pittler & Ernst observed in the reference group (Boerner et at. 2003). Gas-
2002). It should be noted, however, that most clinical stud- tric complaints were observed in two studies (Cagnacci et at.

18 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

2003, Mittmann et al. 2000). Six trials included evaluation of Safety tables-Summary of Adverse Effects in Clinical
liver function parameters. None of the studies, involving more Trials
than 180 patients receiving 55 to 210 mg of kava lac tones for 1. Table 1a Kava Extract LI150 (Ethanolic extract)
four weeks to six months, showed clinically relevant change 2. Table 1b Kava Extract (Extract uncertain)
in liver enzymes (Boerner et al. 2003; Connor & Davidson 3. Table 1c Kava Extract Nature! Bradel (Extract uncertain)
2002; Gastpar & Klimm 2003; Geier & Konstantinowicz 4. Table 2a Kava Extract LI150 (Ethanolic extract)
2004; Lehrl2004; Mittmann 2000). 5. Table 2b Kava Extract LI150 (Ethanolic extract)
Of the 14 trials recent trials in the tables, two were sin- 6. Table 2c Ethanolic extract
gle dose studies, one was a two dose study, two were of two 7. Table 2d Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract)
weeks' duration, and only three exceeded five weeks (eight 8. Table 2e Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract)
weeks, three months and six months). The total number of 9. Table 2f Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract)
patients involved was 395 and only 265 were involved in the 10. Table 2g Extract WS1490 (Acetonic extract)
six trials that assessed liver function. These studies combined 11. Table 2h (Ethanolic extract)
would be inadequate to exclude hepatotoxicity. 12. Table 2i Kavosporal forte (Ethanolic extract)
13. Table 2j (Ethanolic extract)
14. Table 2k (Ethanolic extract)

Section IIA Safety information: A literature review I 19

Table la Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:
kava extract Ll150 (ethanolic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Boerner RJ et al., Condition: Efficacy rating scales Kava Extract: Kava Group:
2003 Outpatients with Adverse events Type: Kava extract Ll150 Adverse effects:
Randomized, Generalized Anxiety Concomitant therapies standardized to a content of 4 subjects withdrew due to adverse effects.
reference-controlled, Disorder Vital signs/Physical 30% kavapyrones 27 treatment emergent adverse events, only
double blind Intention -to-treat; exam Dose:400 mg capsules/day 1 rated to be 'probably' related to medication.
Multicentre Age: 25-65 yrs Clinical laboratory Route: Oral Slight increases of transaminases above
Institution: 107 females, 20 males blood test Duration: 8 weeks + 1 week upper limit in 2 of the 43 subjects (one had
Ludwig-Maximilians- N=129 follow-up already displayed values slightly above
University, Germany Tests were conducted at Number of subjects: 43 normal at baseline)
Objective weeks 0, 2, 4, 8. Follow One subject suffered from panic attack
To assess efficacy and up without treatment at Reference group: requiring stationary treatment.
safety of kava extract week 9. Number of subjects: 86 (84 No significant hepatotoxic reactions were
entered the trial) reported in about 330 treatment weeks in
43 assigned to 10 mg Buspiron this trial
43 assigned to 100 mg
Opipramol Reference group:
Adverse effects:
1 subject withdrew due to adverse effects.
30 treatment emergent adverse events, only
4 rated to be 'probably' related to medication
Slight increases of transaminases above
upper limit in 5 of the 84 subjects (4 had
already displayed values slightly above
normal at baseline). Only one GGT increase
was rated to be of clinical relevance
(opipramol).

This study was published in English.

Table lb Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:

kava extract (extract type uncertain)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
De Leo et al., 2001 Condition: Symptoms defined by Kava Extract; Kava Group:
Randomized Women in physiological the Hamilton Anxiety Type: 55% kava in Adverse effects:
Institution: or surgical menopause Scale (HAMAl Dose: 100 mg capsules/day None reported
University of Siena, with DSM IV for Route: Oral
Italy generalized anxiety. Tests were conducted Duration:6 months Placebo group:
Objective: All subjects received before and after 3 and 6 Number of subjects: 24 Adverse effects:
To evaluate the SOug/day(TTS, 778 months None reported
efficacy of combining estradiol) with or Placebo group:
kava extract without progestogen Number of subjects: 16
with hormone N =40
replacement therapy

This study was published in English.

Table lc Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:

kava extract Naturel Bradel (extract type uncertain)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Cagnacci A et al., Condition: Anxiety Kava Extract: Kava Group:
2003 Peri menopausal women. Depression Type: 55% kavaina Adverse effects:
Randomized All subjects received Climacteric symptoms Dose (group 1): 100 mg Nausea and gastric pain observed in 6
prospective open lg!day of calcium capsules/day subjects, causing 2 out of the 6 to withdraw
Institution: during study Subjective side effects Dose (group 2): 200 mg from study.
University of Ages:47-53 yrs evaluated after 1 and 3 capsules/day Biochemical evaluation did not show any
Modena, Italy N =80 months. Route: Oral alteration, including those parameters
Objective: Biochemical evaluations Duration: 3 months documenting
Investigate were performed in those Treatment group 1: liver toxicity.
the efficacy of presenting side effects Number of subjects: 20
kava on mood Treatment group 2: Reference group:
peri menopausal Number of subjects: 20 Adverse effects:
women Nausea and gastric pain observed in one
Reference control group: subject.
Number of subjects: 40

This study was published in English.

20 I Assessment of the risk a( hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 2a Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:
kava extract LllSO (ethanolic extract)

Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Cairney et al., 2003 Condition: Blood for analysis of Kava Extract: Kava Group:
Controlled Indigenous kava users lymphocytes and liver Type: Kava Ll150 Adverse effects:
experiment (open Ages: 25-57 yrs enzymes Dose: 205 g of kava powder Ataxia, tremors, sedation, disorientation, and
study) 4 females, 24 males Glutamyl transferase (approx. 150 times clinical blepharospasm.
Institution: N=28 (GGT) and alkaline doses). Average of 16.4g/h Elevated GGT and ALP levels were not
Mental Health phosphatase (ALP) Route: Oral (drink) accompanied by elevated aminotransferase
Research Institute of Body mass index (BMI) Duration: 14.4 hrs (ALT) levels
Victoria, Australia Physical examination Number of subjects: 11
Objective: Behavioural Control group:
Investigate cognitive characteristics Control group: Adverse effects:
and saccade function Saccade and cognitive Number of subjects: 17 Tremors, and blepharospasm.
of kava intoxicated tests
subjects.
Tests were conducted 8
hours after trial.

This study was published in English.

Table 2b Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:

kava extract Ll150 (ethanolic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Cropley M et al., Condition: Blood pressure Kava Extract: Kava Group:
2002 Healthy volunteer Heart rate Type: Kava Ll150 Adverse effects:
Randomized, students Behavioral performace Dose:120 mg capsules/day None reported
controlled Ages: 18-30 yrs Route: Oral
experiment 30 females, 24 males Tests were conducted Duration: I week Control/Reference group:
Institution: N=54 at beginning and end Number of subjects: 18 Adverse effects:
Unrversity of Surrey, of trial. None reported
UK Valerian group:
Objective: Type: Valerian Ll156 Placebo Group:
Investigate whether Dose:2 x 600 mg capsules/day Adverse effects:
kava or valerian could Route: Oral None reported
moderate the effects Duration: I week
of psychological Number of subjects: 18
stress induced
under laboratory Placebo group:
conditions. Number of subjects: 18

This study was published in English.

Table 2c Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:

(ethanolic extract)

Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Connoretal.,2002 Condition: Efficacy assessments Kava Extract: Kava Group:
Randomized, Outpatients with DSM-IV (HAMA, HADS, and Type: KavaPure standardized to Adverse effects:
double-blinded, GAD SARA) 70 mg kava lactones No evidence of withdrawal or sexual side
placebo-controlled Ages: 31 -75 yrs Vital signs Dose 1: 2x70 mg capsules/day effects
Institution: 31 females, 6 males Laboratory and ECG Dose 2: 2x140 mg capsules/day
Duke University, USA N=38 assessments Route: Oral Placebo Group:
Objective: Medication side effects Duration: 1 week of dose 1 Adverse effects:
To assess the efficacy Withdrawal symptoms followed by 3 weeks of dose 2 No evidence of withdrawal or sexual side
and safety of a Number of subjects: 19 effects
botanical anxiolytic, Tests were conducted
kava, in treating weekly Placebo group:
generalized anxiety Number of subjects: 18
disorder

This study was published in English.

A more detailed safety report is available in Connor et al. 2001

Section IIA Safety information: A literature review I 21

Table 2d Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:
Extract WS 1490 (acetonic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Gastpar et al., 2003 Condition: Clinical laboratory Kava Extract: Kava Group:
Randomized, Outpatients with blood test: blood Type:WS 1490 acetonic Adverse effects:
placebo-controlled, neurotic anxiety cell counts, Hgb, monoextract from dried root 2 subjects withdrew due to adverse effects
double-blind Intention -to-treat; liver function tests, standardized to 70% kava assessed to be unrelated to the treatment.
Multicentre, parallel- 10S females, 36 males bilirubinn, creatinine, lactones Tiredness.
group N=141 glucose, cholesterol, Dose: 3 x SO mg capsules/day
Institution: electrolytes, calcium, PT Route: Oral Placebo Group:
Rheinische Kliniken, Urinalysis Duration: 4 weeks+ 2 weeks Adverse effects:
Germany observation 4 subjects withdrew due to adverse effects
Objective: Tests were conducted at Numberofsubjects:71 (62 assessed to be unrelated to the treatment.
To investigate the the beginning and end of entered the trial)
efficacy of kava the trial
Placebo group:
Number of subjects: 70 (6S
entered the trial)

This study was published in English.

Table 2e Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:

Extract WS1490 (acetonic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Geier FP et al., Condition: Anxiety, tension, Kava Extract: Kava Group:
2004 Outpatients with non- personality, well-being Type: WS 1490 acetonic Adverse effects:
Randomized, psychotic anxiety using HAMA, EAAS, monoextract from dried root None observed due to study medication.
placebo-controlled, Intention to treat; KEPS, EWL 60-S, CGI standardized to 70% kava Two subjects withdrew due to adverse
double-blind Ages: S1-90 yrs Severity of illness, lactones. events unrelated to study medication (Pleura
outpatient 39 females, 11 males recovery, therapeutic Dose: 3 x SO mg capsules/day pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis).
Institution: N=SO efficacy Route: Oral
Geriatric Hospital Laboratory tests (Hgb Duration: 4 weeks+ 2 weeks Placebo Group:
Elbroich, Germany Hcto total blood count observation Adverse effects:
Objective: enzyme values, All Number of subjects: 2S 1 subject withdrew due to adverse events on
Obtain information AST, GGT, alkaline day three (nausea, retching, restlessness and
on dosage range and phosphatase, total Placebo group: sleeplessness).
efficacy of kava billirubin, cholesterol, Number of subjects: 2S
and glucose) daily
blood pressure,
and heart rate
measurements
Documenting all
adverse events
up to two weeks
after termination of
treatment phase

Tests were conducted at

the beginning and end of
the trial
This study was published in English.

22 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 2f Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:
Extract WS 1490 (acetonic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Lehrl S., 2004 Condition: Sleep, anxiety, well- Kava Extract: Kava Group:
Prospective, Outpatients with being using SF-B, Type:WS 1490 acetonic Adverse effects:
randomized, placebo neurotic anxiety HAMA, Bf-S, CGI monoextract from dried root None observed and no drug-related changes
controlled, double- Intention to treat; Erythrocyte, standardized to 70% kava in clinical or laboratory parameters or vital
blind, 2 Parallel Ages: 24-72 yrs. sedimentation lactones. signs.
groups 33 females, 28 males rate, erythrocyte Dose: 2 x 100 mg capsule/day
Institution: N=61 count, hematocrit, Route: Oral Placebo Group:
University hemoglobin, leukocyte Duration: 4 weeks Adverse effects:
of Erlangen- count, thrombocyte Number of subjects: 34 Gastrointestinal complaints and nausea in
Nuremberg, count, ALT. g-GT and one subject
Germany creatinine. Placebo group:
Objective: Urinalysis Number of subjects: 27 (23
To investigate the Adverse events inquiry entered the trial)
efficacy and safety
of kava Tests were conducted at
the beginning and after 2
and 4 weeks of the trial.

This study was published in english.

Table 2g Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:

Extract WS1490 (acetonic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Maisch et al., 2001 Condition: Scores of the Hamilton Kava Extract: Kava Group:
Randomized, Outpatients with Anxiety Scale (HAMAl Type: 70o/o kava lactones Adverse effects:
placebo controlled, non-psychotic anxiety Scores of the Bf-S Dose: 3x2 50 mg capsules/day No subjects withdrew due to adverse effects.
double blind and pre-treatment with (subjective well-being Route: Oral Symptoms due to withdrawal of
2 parallel groups benzodiazepines. scale) Duration: 5 weeks + 3 week benzodiazepine were observed in 5 subjects.
Institution: Intention -to-treat; Erlangen Anxiety follow-up No serious adverse events occurred during
Ochsenzoll General Ages: 21-75 yrs. and Aggression Scale 1 week of gradually increased trial.
Hospital, Germany 15 females, 25 males (EAAS) daily dose from 50 mg to 300
Objective: N=40 Clinical laboratory tests mg, continued by 4 weeks of Placebo Group:
To assess the efficacy Urinalysis 300 mg dose Adverse effects:
of kava Simultaneously, No subjects withdrew due to adverse effects.
Tests were conducted at benzodiazepine was tampered Symptoms due to withdrawal of
the beginning and end of off during the first 2 week. benzodiazepine were observed in 10
the trial. resulting in 3 weeks of pure subjects.
Benzodiazepine kava. No serious adverse events occurred during
withdrawal symptoms Number of subjects: 20 (17 trial.
were assessed during who entered the trial)
treatment.
Placebo group:
Number of subjects: 20 (19
who entered the trial)

This study was published in English.

Section IIA Safety inf(wmation: A literature review I 23

Table 2h Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials
(ethanolic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Mittmann et al., Condition: Extent of anxiety Kava Extract: Kava Group:
2000 Women for whom a Quality of medication- Type: Kavasedon capsules Adverse effects:
Randomized, vaginal hysterectomy induced sedation extract from root stock 5 subjects nausea and vomiting, could not be
unblinded, diazepam was planned. Blood pressure standardized to 50 mg kava attributed to the medication.
controlled N=53 Pulse frequency lactones per capsule
Blood oxygen Dose: 2 x 50mg capsules Reference Group:
saturation values evening before operation Adverse effects:
and 2x50mg capsules 60 min. 5 subjects nausea and vomiting, could not be
Tests were conducted before operation attributed to the medication.
before and after Route: Oral
application as well as Number of subjects: 26
during and after the
operation. Reference group:
Number of subjects: 27

This study was published in German wtrh an English abstract.

Table 2i Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials:

Kavosporal Forte (ethanolic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Neuhaus et al., Condition: State trait anxiety scale Kava Extract: Kava Group:
2000 Women with anxiety (self rating) Type: dry extract from root Adverse effects:
Prospective, concerning suspected 60 item characteristic stock standardized to 47.5 to None observed.
randomized, placebo breast cancer word list (self rating) 52.5 kavapyrones
controlled, double- Intention to treat; State trait anxiety Dose: 3 x 150 mg capsules/day Placebo Group:
blind, parallel group N=20 inventory (observed Route: Oral Adverse effects:
study. rated) Duration: 7 days None observed.
Number of subjects: 10
Tests were conducted
before the tissue samples Placebo group:
were taken, and after 3 Number of subjects: 10
and 7 days

Thrs study was published in German wtih an English abstract.

Table 2j Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials

(ethanolic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Thompson et al., Condition: State-trait- Kava Extract: Kava Group:
2004 Healthy volunteers cheerfu Iness-inventory Type: standardized to 30% Adverse effects:
Double-blinded, Ages: 18-53 yrs. for mood changes kavapyrones None observed.
randomized, 11 females, 9 males Dose: 2 x 150 mg capsules
placebo-controlled. N=20 Administered before and Route: Oral Placebo Group:
Institution: 50 minutes after intake. Duration: 1 dose of Adverse effects:
University of medication None observed.
Hertfordshire, UK. Sperling partial report Number of subjects: 10
Objective: and Sternberg item
To investigate recognition task for Placebo group:
the effects on cognitive performance Number of subjects: 10
emotional reactivity
and cognitive Administered 60 min.
performance. after intake.

Thrs study was published in English.

24 I Assessment o( the risk o( hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 2k Summary of adverse effects in clinical trials
(ethanolic extract)
Study Design Subjects/participants Parameters monitored Extract/placebo/Reference Adverse effects and related findings
Watkins et al., 2004 Condition: Baroreflex control of Kava Extract: Kava Group:
Double-blinded, Outpatients with DSM-IV heart rate (BRC) Type: standardized to 30o/o kava Adverse effects:
randomized, generalized anxiety Blood pressure lactones None observed.
placebo-controlled disorder Respiratory sinus Dose: 280 mg capsule/day
Institution: N=l3 arrhythmia (RSA) Route: Oral Placebo Group:
Duke University, USA Duration: 4 weeks Adverse effects:
Objective: Tests were conducted 1 Number of subjects: 6 None observed.
To examine whether day before, and 4 weeks
kava produces after treatment. Placebo group:
improvement in Number of subjects: 7
vagal control

This study was published rn English, abstract was available.

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Russmann S, Lauterburg BH, Helbling A. Kava hepatotoxicity [Letter]. edin, New Zealand.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 2001, 135(1), 68-69. Strahl S, Ehret V, Dahm HH, Maier KP. Nekrotisierende Hepatitis nach
Russmann S, Barguil Y, Cabalion P, Kritsanida M, Duhet D, Lauterburg Einnahme pflanzlicher Heilmittel. Deutsche medizinische Woclzen-
BH. Kava hepatotoxicity [Letter]. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2003, schriji. 1998, 123, 1410-1414.
135(1), 68-69. Tarbah E Mahler H, Kardel B, Weinmann W, Hafner D, Daldrup T. Jour-
Saletu B, [Link] L Linzmayer L, Anderer P. EEG-brain mapping, nal of chromatography. Analytical technologies in the hiomedical and life
psychometric and psychophysiological studies on central effects of sciences. 2003 789(1), 115-30.
kavain-a kava plant derivative. Human psychopharmacology. 1989, 4, Tavana G, Stewart P, SnyderS, Ragone D, Fredrickson K, Cox PA et al.
169-90. Lack of Evidence of Kava-Related Hepatotoxicity in Native Popula-
Schelosky L, Raffauf C. jendroska K Poewe W. Kava and dopamine tions in Savaii, Samoa. Herbal Gram. 2003, 59, 28-32.
antagonism. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. 1995, Teschke R, Gaus W, Loew D. Kava extracts: safety and risks including
58(5), 639-640. rare hepatotoxicity. Phytomedicine. 2003, 10(5), 440-6.
Scherer). Kava-kava extract in anxiety disorders: an outpatient observa- Thompson R, Ruch W, Hasenohrl RU. Enhanced cognitive performance
tional study. Advances in therapy. 1998, 15(4), 261-269. and cheerful mood by standardized extracts of Piper methysticum
Schiano TD. Hepatotoxicity and complementary and alternative medi- (Kava-kava). Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental.
cines. Clinics in liver disease. 2003, 7, 453-473. 2004, 19(4), 243-50.

Section IIA Safety information: A literature review I 27

Thomsen M, Vitetta L, Schmidt M, Sali A. Fatal fulminant hepatic failure Weiss j, Sauer A, Frank A, Unger M. Extracts and kava lactones of Piper
induced by a natural therapy containing kava. Medical journal of Aus- mcthysticunz G. Forst (kava-kava) inhibit P-glycoprotein in vitro.
tralia. 2004, 180(4), 198-199. Drug metabolism and disposition: the biological fate of chemicals. 2005,
Ulbricht C, Basch E, Boon H, Ernst E, Hammerness P, Sollars D, Tsour- 33(11):1-15
ounis C, Woods J, BentS. Safety review of kava (Piper methysticum) by Wheatley D. Kava and valerian in the treatment of stress-induced insom-
the Natural Standard Research Collaboration. Expert Opinion on Drug nia. Phytotherapy research: PTR. 2001, 15(6), 549-51.
Safety. 2005, 4(4), 779-804. Wheatley D. Medicinal plants for insomnia: a review of their pharma-
Unger M, Holzgrabe U, Jacobsen W, eta!. Inhibition of cytochrome P450 cology, efficacy and tolerability. journal of Psychopharmacology. 2005,
3A4 by extracts and kava lactones of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava). 19(4), 414-21.
Planta Medica. 2002, 68(12), 1055-58. Whitton PA, Lau A, Salisbury A, Whitehouse j, Evans CS. Kava lactones
Volz HP, Kieser M. Kava-kava extract WS 1490 versus placebo in anxi- and the kava-kava controversy. Phytochemistry. 2003, 64(3), 673-9.
ety disorders- a randomized placebo-controlled 25-week outpatient Witte S, Loew D, Gaus W. Meta-analysis of the efficacy of the acetonic
trial. Pharmacopsychiatry. 1997, 30(1), 1-5. kava-kava extract WS1490 in patients with non-psychotic anxiety
Waller DP. Report on kava and liver damage. Silver Spring, Md: Ameri- disorders. Phytotherapy Research. 2005, 19(3), 138-8.
can Herbal Products Association. 2002 Woelk H, Kapoula 0, Lehrl S, Schriiter K, Weinholz P. [Treatment of
Warnecke G. Langzeittherapie psychischer und vegetativier Dysrepula- patients suffering from anxiety- double-blind study: kava special
tionen mit Zubereitungen a us Piper methysticum [German]. Erjahrung- extract versus benzodiazepines.] Zeitschrift j!ir Allgemeinmedizin.
sheilkunde. 1989, 6, 333-8. 1993, 69, 271-277.
Warnecke G, Pfaender H, Gerster G, Gracza E. Wirksamkeit von Kawa- Wolltorton E. Herbal kava: reports of liver toxicity. Canadian Medical
Kawa-Extrakt beim klimakterischen Syndrom. Zeitschrift fiir Phyto- Association journal. 2002, 116(6), 777.
thempie. 1990, 11(3), 81-86. Yuan CS, Dey L, Wang A, Mehendale S, Xie JT, Aung HH, et a!. Kava
Warnecke G. Psychosomatic dysfunctions in the female climacteric. lactones and dihydrokavain modulate GABAergic activity in a rat
Clinical effectiveness and tolerance of Kava Extract WS 1490.] Ger- gastric-brainstem preparation. Planta Medica. 2002, 68(12), 1092-6.
man. Fortschritte der Medizin. 1991, 109(4), 119-22. Zou L, Harkey MR, Henderson GL, Dike LE. Kava does not display meta-
Watkins LL, Connor KM, Davidson JR. Effect of kava extract on vagal bolic toxicity in a homogeneous cellular assay. Planta Medica. 2004,
cardiac control in generalized anxiety disorder: preliminary findings. 70(4), 289-92.
journal of psychopharmacology. 2001, 15(4), 283-6. Zou L, Harkey MR, Henderson GL. Synthesis, in vitro, reactivity, and
identification oi 6-phenyl-3-hexen-2-one in human urine after kava-
kava (Piper methysticum) ingestion. Planta Medica. 2005, 71(2), 142-6.

28 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Section II BCase reports of hepatotoxicity

Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava is likely that some duplications persist in those presented. In
Data on case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava are pre- particular, Stickel et al. stated that they presented 27 cases
sented along with related topics in 16 tables as follows: from BfArM. We have been unable to match four of these
1. Basic pharmacovigilance data cases with the BfArM data obtained from other sources and so
2. Additional data there is potential for duplication here. In addition, two of the
3. Types of hepatic events WHO cases from Germany could not be matched elsewhere.
4. Histological changes
5. Concomitant potentially hepatotoxic medicines Numbers
6. Concomitant therapy not suspect 93 case reports are recorded (Tables I and 2). There are
7. Patient outcome six case reports commonly included in reviews which are
8. Reports with a probable relationship excluded from this report because the event details are too
9. Reports with a possible relationship showing con- non-specific (table 16). Event descriptions used were: 'gall
comitant medicines bladder pain', 'pain right hypochondrium', 'GT increased',
10. Reports with rechallenge information 'faeces discoloured'. In the absence of other features, these
11. Reports with an outcome of liver transplant are not indicative of liver disease. There was also a report
12. Reports with an outcome of death of hepatic enzymes increased, but these had been increased
13. Potential kava-drug interactions: alphabetical listing prior to the consumption of kava and in the absence of any
14. Potential kava-drug interactions: listing by ATC code indication of subsequent change it does not qualify as a new
15. Potential kava-drug interactions: listing in ATC event. These reports seem irrelevant and their inclusion may
groups skew analyses.
16. Reports not included with those of hepatotoxicity.
Gender and age
Sources Gender: Females 73 (79%); Males 20 (21 %).
A detailed key to these tables is included. The key gives Age was given in 84 patients; mean 45.2 years; range 14-81
the sources referred to in the tables of case reports. Additional years; SD 13.38 years.
sources were as follows: The preponderance of women might reflect the distribution
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatic of the population using kava. The mean ages for acetone
toxicity possibly associated with kava-containing (n=13) and ethanol (n=29) extracts and synthetic products
products - United States of America, Germany, and (n=3) was 46.3, 45.8 and 46.1 years respectively. The mean
Switzerland, 1999-2002. Morbidity and Mortality for water extracts was 43.4 years. There were no statistically
Weekly Report (MMWR). 2002;51:(47):1065-1067. significant differences in mean ages and nor were there any
2. Schmidt M (2003) Is kava really hepatotoxic? An statistically significant differences in gender distribution
analysis of the known data on adverse effects of kava between extracts.
preparations on the liver. Universitat Miinster; 2003.
Available from: http:[Link]/[Link]/ Products and extracts
[Link]. Products: Of the kava products specifically named, the fol-
3. Traditional Medicines Evaluation Committee. lowing were recorded most frequently: Laitan 14, Antares 8,
Response to concerns about Piper methysticum Forst. Kava Ratiopharm 8, Kavatino 3.
f., Kava. Traditional Medicines Evaluation Committee Extracts: In 54 (58%) of the cases the type of extract could
(TMEC), a subcommittee of the European Herbal be identified. These were: ethanol32 (59%), acetone 14 (26",{,),
Practitioners Association. 2002 Jan 11. water 5 (9%), synthetic 4 (7%). The count of these is 55, but
4. Waller DP. Report on kava and liver damage. Ameri- one patient was taking both synthetic and ethanol products.
can Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, In an additional case (No. 1) the product is called 'Kava kava
Maryland. 2002 Feb 15. rhizoma' with no indication of the kind of extract available.
Data for many of the case reports was obtained from One possibility is that it was the powdered rhizome used for
more than one source. There were inconsistencies in detail making tea and in that case the product taken would have
(e.g. age) from the different sources. Several authors have been a water based preparation. The dose quoted is very high
undertaken follow-up studies and generally, the latest data for organic extracts and more like that of a water extract.
in the follow-up studies was used where differences existed. The greater proportion of patients using ethanol extracts
Great care has been taken to try to avoid duplications, but is likely to be due to their prevalence of use and not because
with the inconsistencies and incompleteness of data that of any greater toxic effect on the liver (see Comparative risk of
might otherwise help match cases from different sources, it extracts below).

Section liB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 29

Doses Without a comparator group of patients who did not suffer
In a few patients a range of doses was given. In these any hepatic events, no interpretation of these figures can be
cases dose analyses were based on the mid-point of the given to the effect of duration of therapy.
range. Mean doses were calculated separately for acetone and There were 14 reports with durations in those using
ethanol extracts and dose values were only included if they acetone extracts and 23 for ethanol extracts. The means were
were expressed as kava lactones. There were 13 such doses 105 and 119 days respectively. The difference is not statistically
included in the acetone extract group and the mean dose was significant (t-test: t=0.322, DF=35, P=0.749).
142.7 mg/day; range 70-245 mg/day; SD 67.72 mg/day. There
were 25 included in the ethanol extract group with a mean Hepatic events
daily dose of 165.8 mg; range 30-840 mg/day; SD 162.30.
The difference in means is not statistically significant (t-test: Terminology
t=0.489, DF=36, P=0.6277). The doses for water extracts were A variety of event terms was used in the reports, many
very much higher. Kava lactones are not soluble in water and being synonymous and frequently several event terms were
form a microsuspension with lower bioavailability than the used in individual case reports. From these, a single term
acetone and ethanol extracts (see Section I, 'Pharmacokinetic- was selected for each report that provided the most appropri-
pharmacodynamic considerations'), hence the higher doses. ate description and as far as possible terminology has been
Because of this higher dose, and lack of standardization of standardized to that of WHOART.
kava lactone content in water extracts, they are excluded from
comparative dose analyses. Hepatic events
The recommended dose range of kava lactones for Those reported are listed in Table 3. Both cholestatic and
the treatment of anxiety has varied, but the most recent hepatocellular types of liver disorder were described, but
recommendations from German Commission E, taking into with many of the reports it was not possible to determine the
account efficacy and risk of hepatotoxicity, appear to be daily initial type of injury.
doses of 120-240 mg/day for up to eight weeks (Blumenthal,
2000; Gruenwald et al, 2003). In 1990, the German Histological details
commission E had recommended 60-120 mg kava lactones These were available in summary form for 28 of the reports
for not more than 12 weeks. There were 40 reports where the and are shown in Table 2 and more particularly in Table 4.
kava lactone dose was given for acetone or ethanol extracts, Necrosis was described in 16 (57%) of the 28 cases, hepato-
or synthetic products. Of these, 5 (12.5%) exceeded the upper cellular injury in 8 (29%), cholestatic injury in 7 (25%) and
limit of the recommended dose, but one of these was only in a further 8 (28%) cases the abnormalities were described
marginally above the limit (245 mg), leaving four (10%) with as toxic in appearance or typical of drug induced or chemical
a daily dose greater than 245 mg/day. Further, 12 (30%) of the damage. Case 7 showed an autoimmune type hepatitis which
reported cases were using daily doses below the recommended was unchanged more than four months later following with-
lower limit (range 30-70 mg/day). Of the cases coded with drawal of kava and recovery from the illness. This suggests
a probable relationship (table 8), using ethanol or acetone the likelihood of pre-existing autoimmune disease.
extracts and with the dose specified as kava lactones (n=5),
none exceeded the upper recommended limit of 240 mg/day. Concomitant therapy
These results are not consistent with the claim that 80% of Table 1lists the presence or absence of concomitant therapy
patients took kava in overdose (Teschke et al. 2003). or whether this was recorded. There was no reference ('NR')
to other therapy in 21 (22.6%) of the reports. In 57 (61.3%) of
Duration to onset of the event the cases other therapy was in use ('Yes') which might have
Only the WHO database, the Brazil reports and a few of the caused or contributed to hepatic abnormalities. In 8 (8.6%)
FDA reports provided appropriate dates for accurate assessment cases other therapy was in use which is not suspected ('NS')
of this data element: date of first administration, date of onset of causing liver damage and in 7 (7.5%) it was stated that no
of the event and date of withdrawal of the product. Most gave a other therapy or significant alcohol was in use ('No').
period of administration in terms of weeks or months. In some Table 2 shows for each case what other significant therapy
cases withdrawal obviously took place several weeks after or possibly significant alcohol intake was in use. Table 5 lists
the onset of the event. Figures in Table 1 are bracketed when those medications used concurrently with kava, which could
they appear to represent the total administration time and not be suspected of causing or contributing to the hepatic event.
specifically the time to onset of the event. For the purposes of The reference standard used for determining this has been
calculation of statistics, all durations have been converted to the DrugDex evaluations published by Micromedex and the
days. The figures are inaccurate, but nevertheless useful. evaluations published by Natural Standard. Hepatotoxicity
74 (80%) of the reports provided information on duration. with some of the medicines listed must be very rare indeed,
The mean for these cases was 111 days, SD 130, range 6-730 e.g. with penicillin V, one of the most widely used of all
days. 80% fell within 135 days (4.5 months), while 90% fell medicines. Over the period in which reports of hepatotoxicity
within 195 days (6.5months). The median time to onset was with kava were identified there were no reports in the WHO
90 days. Taking cognizance of the current recommended worldwide database of hepatic necrosis, the commonest type
duration of therapy of 8-12 weeks, only 46 (62%) of known of hepatic event diagnosed (histologically) with kava.
durations were 90 days or less. There were 19 of 31 (61.3%) reports in which ethanolic

30 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

extracts were associated with other suspect drugs and eight listed would be highly unlikely to cause a hepatic reaction e.g.
of 14 (57.1 %) of reports with acetonic extracts. Comparing the penicillin V. In addition it is impossible to interpret the sig-
two extract types, the relative risk (ethanolic v acetonic) of nificance of comments such as, 'regular alcohol' or 'moderate
an extract being associated with another suspect drug was alcohol', but some doubt as to their potential effect exists and
1.07 (95% CI 0.63-1.28). This difference is not statistically so the 'possible' classification was used.
significant. It has been argued on a number of occasions that because
Table 6 shows the products not suspected of being involved a potential hepatotoxic product has been in use concomi-
in the hepatic event. tantly with kava, the hepatic event would not be caused by
kava (Schmidt 2003), but this is not true. It simply means
Dechallenge that doubt exists. In addition there is considerable potential
This important information was often missing. Dechal- for the interaction of kava with a wide variety of medicines
lenge was not mentioned in 30 reports (32%) (Table 1). When (Table 13).
dechallenge took place, there was usually the implication that There are 28 cases (30%) listed as unassessable (Rei 6,
all other therapy was withdrawn at the same time. Table 1) because of lack of data.
Although there are uncertainties about many of the cases,
Outcome there is good evidence of hepatotoxicity with kava, including
Outcome information is shown in Table 7. The outcome water-based 'extracts'. There are five reports associated with
was unknown or not stated for 19 (20.4%) of the cases. There water-based preparations, two of which are coded probable
are 14 (15%) liver transplants recorded and seven (7.5%) and three possible. Only two of these were prepared in the
deaths. 53 patients (57%) were known to have recovered or traditional manner.
were improved at the time of the report.
Rechallenge
Relationship and causality A positive rechallenge is a requirement for coding a drug-
Establishing the strength of the relationship between event relationship as 'certain' (or 'definite'). Table 10 lists the
administration of a medicine and a clinical event is the first five case reports with rechallenge information. These cases
step towards assessing causality. In general, most case reports are discussed in some detail because of the importance of this
or case series describe a relationship and the likelihood of a observation. All had recurrence of liver problems with rechal-
causal association is strengthened or established later from lenge and all recovered on further withdrawal. However none
an aggregation of reports taking into consideration pharma- of these five reports were coded as certain because other fac-
cological and epidemiological factors in particular. This report tors clouded the issue.
follows the widely used causality categories I definitions of Four were coded as 'possible' (Nos. 26, 32, 33 & 80)
the WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Moni- and one as 'probable' (No. 19). Case 19 was coded prob-
toring (the Uppsala Monitoring Centre, 2000). able because it was stated that rechallenge was with the
None of the events reported were classified as certain. kava product alone and although it is possible that the other
For this term to be applied there needs to be a plausible rela- drugs (paroxetine and Pramino-a COC) were involved in
tionship time-wise with the administration of the product, the development of the hepatic event, relapse of the event
recovery on withdrawal, the absence of confounding factors occurred with kava alone. In two of the 'possible' cases
(eg concomitant medicines) and a positive rechallenge of the (Nos. 26, 32) it was stated that other potentially hepato-
suspect drug alone. Clearly deaths cannot fit this category. toxic drugs were used concurrently, but in neither case was
It is also suggested that patients who had liver transplants it stated that rechallenge was with kava alone, although it
cannot fit this category because there can be no rechallenge would be reasonable to assume this. Case 26 had missing
of the same organ. data (e.g. duration to onset) that further weakened the abil-
Eight reports (8.6%) were classified as having a probable ity to assess the relationship. Cases 33 and 80 had no refer-
relationship (Table 8). For a 'probable' classification to apply ence to the use of other drugs, but it cannot be assumed that
there must be good information, which would include dura- none were being taken. Also, there was missing informa-
tion to onset of the event, recovery on withdrawal of the tion in these two cases that further weakened the ability to
product (known outcome) and the absence of other potential assess the relationship. It should be understood that all five
causes of hepatotoxicity. If the time to onset of the event is patients recovered on withdrawal of kava. This, of course, is
well outside the usual compared with other cases in the series, a requirement before rechallenge is undertaken. In spite of
or information on withdrawal or the outcome is not known, the difficulties in assessment outlined, it remains significant
then the relationship should not be classified as probable. that five patients relapsed on re-exposure to kava. Despite
Reports with liver transplants have been excluded from this the unknown factors, this is an indication of a causal effect.
category because the organ did not recover on withdrawal of Four of the five were with ethanol extracts. In the fifth
the kava product. case the type of extract was unknown.
Table 9lists 54 cases classified as possible. This grading may
have been applied due to lack of information e.g. outcome, or Differential diagnosis
to the concomitant use of other products, including alcohol, The main principle of this review of case reports is to
which had the potential to cause liver damage. As previously examine them collectively using pharmacovigilance and
stated, it could be argued that some of the concomitant drugs pharmacoepidemiological methods. An intensive clinical

Section liB Case reports o( hepatotoxicity I 31

examination of each individual report is not intended and ethanol was 2.7 (95% CI 0.359 to 20.442). This is not statisti-
such an approach is often inconclusive because of the usual cally significant. The age spread was 14-60 years. One case
uncertainties and deficiencies of information. It is seldom that (Case No. 18) was an overdose and another suspect drug was
unequivocal conclusions can be reached on individual cases present as well. Alcohol was mentioned in only one ('moder-
and elements of doubt usually remain. Conclusions reached ate alcohol' in case 47). One patient (No. 86) was taking no
are usually on the grounds of probability and stronger con- other therapy, in one there was no other suspect drug (No. 31)
clusions on probability are likely to be made by examining and in another there was no reference to concomitant therapy.
the whole aggregation of reports. Eleven of the 14 patients were taking other therapy that could
This approach does not mean that clinical factors should potentially cause hepatic reactions.
be ignored. Indeed they are very important, but when diag- Of the 14 patients who had liver transplants the relation-
nostic features are not clear-cut an overall perspective of the ship (causality) coded was 'possible' in 10 and 'unassessable'
aggregated reports is likely to be more helpful. The two most in four.
important problems in differential diagnosis are the ques- The mean age for transplant patients was 42.6 years and for
tions of alcohol and acute viral hepatitis. non-transplant patients 45.7. The mean duration to onset was
There are 11 (12%) reports where alcohol is mentioned as 114.5 days for transplant patients and 110.2 for those without
a possible factor, but unfortunately, usually in vague terms transplants. Neither of these differences is statistically sig-
which are difficult to interpret. Only one (No. 92) had a diag- nificant. The range for duration to onset was two weeks to
nosis of chronic alcoholic liver disease. Another patient (No. one year. Six of the 11 patients with durations were exposed
34) had cirrhosis before exposure to kava and died with a his- for three months or less with three of two months or Jess.
tological diagnosis of 'toxic hepatopathy'. A hepatic reaction Dose was assessed in reports which expressed the dose as
to kava is not excluded in these two patients, because exces- kava lac tones and for patients where the extract was identified
sive exposure to alcohol could be a risk factor for a hepatic as acetone (n=1) or ethanol (n=4). The mean for transplant
reaction to kava. One other of these 11 patients (No. 47) patients was 325.0 mg per day and for non-transplant patients
received a liver transplant and had a histological diagnosis 132.6 mg per day. This difference in means is statistically sig-
'toxic-necrotic hepatitis'. nificant (t-test: t = -3.302, DF = 36, 95% CI -310.63 to -74.22,
Many of the clinical and histological features of the kava P = 0.0022). One of these cases (No.8) was an overdose. If
reports cannot be distinguished from acute viral hepatitis. this case is excluded, the mean dose for transplant patients
It is known that 32 (34%) of the patients were admitted to falls to 196.25 mg and the difference in means is no longer
hospital. In 60 (65%) of the reports hospitalization was not statistically significant (P = 0.1201).
referred to and only in one was it stated that the patient was Age, duration to onset, or dose (excluding overdose) were
not admitted. Kava was not known as a potential cause of not identified as risk factors for liver transplant when com-
liver toxicity and in most patients, it would have been impli- pared with non-transplant patients.
cated unexpectedly by a process of elimination of the com-
monly known diagnoses. Hospitalized patients in particular Outcomes of death
should have been thoroughly investigated and acute viral Table 12 shows details of the seven cases with a fatal
hepatitis ruled out as a cause before kava was considered seri- outcome. Three of these appeared to be the result of com-
ously. With this reasoning it seems highly unlikely that kava plications from transplant surgery. All were taking other
would have been considered before the exclusion of acute potentially hepatotoxic therapy as well as kava. There were
viral causes. Consistent with this, in the reports of 34 (37%) four patients using ethanol extracts and the type of extract for
patients in the series, it was stated that acute viral infection the other three was unknown.
was excluded. In 59 (63%), tests for acute viral infection were The mean age of patients who died was 46.3 years (range
not mentioned. In 14 of these the patients had been admitted 22-81), while the mean for survivors was 45.1. The mean dose
to hospital and it is assumed that they would have had tests (n=4) (only ethanol extracts) for patients who died was 135 mg
for viral infection. If this assumption is correct, acute viral kava lactones per day (SO 75.50), while the mean dose of kava
infection could be excluded from 48 (52%) of patients. There lactones (only ethanol extracts) for patients who survived was
is no information about hospitalization or virus infection for 165 mg per day (SD 173.36) (n=22). For the duration to onset, the
the other 45 patients. Not surprisingly, none of the reports mean was 126 days for patients who died and 109 days for sur-
referred to positive tests for acute viral hepatitis. vivors. There is no statistically significant difference between
It is of interest to look at the more serious cases. It was stated patients who died and the survivors for any of these factors.
in the report details for 10 of the 14 transplant patients that tests Duration of exposure to kava for those who died ranged
for acute viral hepatitis were negative. The other four patients from 24 to 300 days. Four of the seven patients had a duration
had, of course, been hospitalized and it seems safe to assume of three months or Jess. This does not seem to indicate that
that they were also negative. Of the seven deaths, four were shorter periods of exposure are safer.
said to be negative and the other three had been hospitalized. Liver injury leading to death was coded as having a 'possible'
relationship in all seven cases, whether as a direct result of the
Liver transplants hepatic event, or following transplant surgery.
Tables 11A and 11 B summarize 14 reports with liver trans- Age, dose or duration of therapy were not identified as risk
plant. Three of these patients died. In only half was the type of factors for death. No comparison was possible with patients
extract available: 6 ethanol and 1 acetone. The relative risk for who did not have hepatic events.

32 I Assessment ofthe risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Interactions data for the denominators and German cases for the numera-
Kava is said to induce or inhibit multiple cytochrome P450 tors. Patient numbers were not available for the calculation
enzymes which are important agents in the metabolism of of rates. IMS figures for kava products sold in Germany for
many drugs (Matthews et a!. 2002; Clouatre 2004; Denham the years 1991-2001 were made available. These sales volume
et a!. 2002). Under experimental conditions, inhibition of figures have been converted to the number of 120 mg dose
the following P450 enzymes has been observed: 1A2, 2C9, equivalents (of kava lactones) sold and as such, have been
2D6, 3A4, and 4A9/11. This provides considerable potential used as the denominators. Unfortunately there was often no
for kava-drug interactions to occur and 200 drugs or com- date of onset of the events available, but it could be deter-
binations have been listed as interacting suspects (DrugDex mined that all of the cases included fell within this period.
2005). These are presented in Tables 13 and 14 along with The earliest case report identified of suspected hepatotoxicity
the ATC codes for the medicines. Table 15 groups the ATC with kava was recorded in October 1990 (Table 1 case report 8)
codes for the drugs involved in the clinically relevant catego- and this case was excluded from the risk calculations because
ries more commonly represented. Anti psychotics, anxiolytics it pre-dated the sales figures. There were no others identified
and antithrombotic drugs are the most significant in number. prior to 1991. Nine cases were recorded in 2002, but except
Four of the cases (Table 2: Nos. 5, 30, 58, 75) received con- for one, it was obvious that the onset of the event occurred
comitantly drugs listed as having the potential for interac- in 2001. The single exception was entered in June 2002, but
tions (phenobarbital, diclofenac, and warfarin). Interaction treatment dates recorded were also in 2001. In respect of tim-
with diclofenac (Nos. 30 and 75) in particular, might have ing therefore, the cases and sales data match. Sales data were
caused hepatic damage. available for products derived from acetonic and ethanolic
extracts and synthetic products only.
Idiosyncratic reactions
Six patients (Nos. 7, 32, 43, 54, 55 and 78) showed evidence Comment on methodology
of an immune mediated idiosyncratic response while two In the absence of data on patient numbers, the use of sales
(Nos.19, 43) had evidence of an idiosyncratic metabolic reac- volume figures are an accepted method of estimating rates.
tion, being deficient in CYP 2D6 enzyme (poor metabolisers). Sales figures in the form of number of Defined Daily Doses
Genetic polymorphisms may well play a part in susceptibility (DDD), which have been developed by The WHO Interna-
to liver damage by kava either directly or by interaction with tional Working Group for Drug Statistics Methodology, are
drugs. Idiosyncratic reactions may be either metabolic and a useful surrogate for patient numbers. There is no DDD for
dose-related in type or immunologic. kava preparations, but a daily dose of 120 mg kava lactones
was selected for our purposes.
Incidence The number of daily doses sold is likely to be a reason-
Incidence cannot be calculated without knowledge of able representation of patient numbers, but with reservations.
the population at risk for the denominator and an accurate They could only provide for reasonably accurate comparisons
estimate for the numerator of the number of cases of hepato- if patients took the different preparations for similar lengths of
toxicity that have occurred in association with kava products. time. On a comparative basis, for equal sales volumes, longer
Neither of these is known. An estimate has been made of periods of administration would result in smaller numbers of
the incidence based on daily doses from sales figures for the patients and conversely, shorter periods of exposure would
denominator and attributable reported events for the numer- result in larger numbers. Although there is no information on
ator. This was calculated as 0.008 cases per one million daily the comparative duration of exposure in relation to the dif-
doses (Schmidt 2001). Clearly the incidence is very low, but ferent products in general, there is no statistically significant
this estimate is not plausible. Estimates of patient use from difference between the extracts for duration of exposure in
sales figures are inaccurate because of wastage, variations the reports on hepatotoxicity.
in dosage and differences in periods of administration. But Variations in doses used for different products could make
more importantly, it is not appropriate to base the numera- comparisons inaccurate. In terms of doses used amongst the
tor on known reported events from spontaneous reporting. cases, there is no statistically significant difference between
With Western type pharmaceuticals the spontaneous report- the two organic extracts, but the doses used for the synthetic
ing rate of adverse events is estimated to be 5°,.{, and is likely products were higher at a significant level. If this was true of
to be less with drug-event associations that are unknown or all users, an equivalent number of 120 mg doses would rep-
events that are not serious. This may be why there are few resent fewer patients for the synthetic products, which would
reports of non-serious hepatic events with kava. It is also well in reality result in a smaller denominator for calculation of
known that the reporting rate for herbal medicines is much rates and the estimated rate would therefore be higher. This
less than for pharmaceuticals. It is likely that considerably less effect would result in a reduction of the difference between
than 1% of adverse events associated with herbal medicines the organic extracts and synthetic products.
are reported. Three comparisons were made between the different
products: (a) acetonic versus ethanolic extracts, (b) acetonic
Comparative risk of extracts versus synthetic extracts and (c) ethanolic versus synthetic
Rates of hepatic events were estimated for acetonic and extracts. Cases were included regardless of the relationship
ethanolic extracts and synthetic products using German sales (causality) assessment. The results are shown in the table:

Section liB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 33

Table: Comparison of risk of extracts of kava decade and were low at the time of the scare and associated
Numerators are the number of German cases of hepatotoxrcity reported associated with increased reporting.
kava products. Denominators are the number of 120 mg dose equivalents of the relevant
kava products sold in Germany from 1991-2001 (IMS data). On the other hand, the mean dose of kava lactone in
cases using the synthetic products was greater than that for
Acetonic extract (Laitan)
products from acetonic or ethanolic extracts at a statistically
Number of cases 13 cases from 69,285,876 doses
significant level: compared with acetonic products t = 8.170,
Ethanolic extracts (Antares 7, Kava Ratiopharm 8, DF = 13, P < 0001; compared with ethanolic products t =
Kavacur 2, Kava in Harras Plus* 1,
Kavasedon 1, Kavasporal Forte 1,
2.703, DF = 27, P = 0.0117. If there is a dose relationship for
Kavatino 3, Limbao 2, Maoni 2) hepatic events, then these differences in mean doses should
Number of cases 27 cases from 128,076,158 doses lead to an increased rate with the synthetic products. In these
terms, the lower rate estimate for the synthetic products has
Relative risk (acetonic v ethanolic extracts)= 0.89
increased significance.
95%(1 =0.46to 1.73
There was no statistically significant difference in mean
Chi-square test x2=0.1192 df=1 P=0.7299 age between the users of the acetonic and ethanolic extracts
or the synthetic products.
Acetonic extract (Laitan) The differences in rates of hepatic events between patients
Number of cases 13 cases from 69,285,876 doses who took the products derived from the organic extracts and
those who took the synthetic products cannot be explained
Synthetic (Neuronika 2, Kavain Harras Plus* 1)
by differences in age, gender, dose or duration of therapy.
Number of cases 3 cases from 100,905,988 doses
Nor can they be explained by the concomitant use of other
Relative risk (acetonic v synthetic extracts)= 6.31 suspect drugs, including alcohol. There were no statistically
95%(1 = 1.80 to 22.15 significant differences in these parameters, (with the excep-
Chi-square test x2= 10.8942 df= 1 P=O 0010 tion of dose). There is also no indication that patients using
the organic extracts had a different pattern of background
morbidity or diseases affecting the liver, or genetic differenc-
Ethanolic extracts (Antares 7, Kava Ratiopharm 8,
Kavacur 2, Kavain Harras Plus* 1, es, that might explain the difference in rate of the synthetic
Kavasedon 1, Kavasporal Forte 1, products, although numbers of the latter are small.
Kavatino 3, Limbao 2, Maoni 2)
The differences in rates of hepatic events therefore reveal that
Number of cases 27 cases from 128,076,158 doses hepatic problems associated with the use of the organic extracts
Synthetic (Neuronika 2, Kava in Harras Plus* 1) are probably non-random and that some of the events at least,
Number of cases 3 cases from 100,905,988 doses are due to the kava products used. Because doses of kava lactones
Relative risk (ethanol v synthetic extracts) = 7.09
used with the synthetic products were greater, it is reasonable to
assume that the toxic effects are likely to be due to, or influenced
95%(1 = 2.15 to 23.37
by, components other than kava lactones in the extracts.
Chi-square test x2=14.1258 df=1 P<O.ooo2
Although these results are subject to potential biases
'Each pill of Kavain Harras Plus contained 50 mg kava lac tones consisting of 30 mg of
synthetic origin and 20 mg derived from an ethanolic extract and so this case was included
concerning dose and reporting rate, the lower rate estimate
in both groups. The sales figures for the denominator were apportioned in a 30:20 ratio for for synthetic products is plausible and is consistent with the
the products that were of synthetic and ethanolic extract origin respectively.
proposition that hepatotoxicity related to the organic extracts is
due to non-kava lactone chemicals extracted by the solvents.
Interpretation of results The results do not allow any firm conclusions concerning
a. There was no statistically significant difference in the the potential hepatotoxicity of the synthetic products, which
relative risk of hepatotoxicity between products prepared are presumably without the additional chemicals that might
from acetonic and ethanolic extracts. be toxic to the liver in the organic extracts. The synthetic
b. Hepatotoxicity with the product prepared from an ace- products appear safer than the organic extracts. There were
tonic extract (Laitan) occurred at approximately six times no reports within the recommended dose range. Two of the
the rate of that for synthetic products. This difference is three reports concerning synthetic products alone were coded
statistically significant. as possible (see table). Synthetic products and water extracts
c. Hepatotoxicity with products prepared from ethanolic might have an adverse effect on the liver through kava-drug
extracts occurred with a relative risk of approximately (or kava-herb) interactions and genetic polymorphism.
seven when compared with synthetic products. This dif-
ference is statistically significant. Risk factors
In respect of the rate estimate for the synthetic prod- Based on the number of daily doses sold as denominators,
ucts there is potential for reporting bias with a resulting there appears to be a higher risk of hepatic events in patients
underestimate compared with the organic extracts. The taking acetonic and ethanolic extracts than with synthetic
international 'scare' concerning kava and hepatotoxicity products.
in 2001 resulted in increased reporting and occurred at a Other possible risk factors for the development of hepa-
peak in the sales of products produced from acetonic and totoxicity with kava (age, gender, dose, duration of therapy)
ethanolic extracts. However, sales of the main synthetic cannot be assessed because of the lack of a comparator group
product (Neuronika) had dropped by almost 90% over the of kava-takers who did not develop hepatotoxicity. Age and

34 I Assessment o( the risk a( hepatotoxicity with kava products

duration of therapy do not appear to increase the risk of liver 16. The events for all seven patients who died were coded as
transplant or death. having a possible relationship.
• Excessive dose of kava may possibly increase the risk of 17. 15 (16%) of the patients had either no other drug, or alco-
liver transplant and presumably, the risk of developing hol, or no other suspect therapy.
hepatotoxicity. 18. A causal relationship between products derived from
• There is no significant difference seen between the chemi- acetonic and ethanolic extracts and liver toxicity seems
cal extracts (acetone or ethanol) in the risk of developing likely.
hepatic failure requiring transplant. As there were no fatal 19. Risk factors appear to be the use of organic extracts,
cases recorded as using acetonic extracts, the comparative concomitant therapy with potentially hepatotoxic drugs
risk with ethanolic extracts cannot be calculated. or other drugs with a potential for interaction with kava,
• Genetic polymorphism causing a deficiency of cyto- pre-existing liver disease, alcohol and genetic polymor-
chrome P450 2D6 and/or other isoenzymes seems likely phism of the cytochrome P450 system causing enzyme
to increase risk. deficiency.
• There is strong theoretical potential for kava-drug interac- 20. The higher rate of toxicity with the organic extracts could
tions to cause hepatic reactions. be due to the use of incorrect plant parts or inappropriate
• Alcohol was mentioned as a possible factor in 11 of the cases, cultivars.
and excessive use must be considered as a risk factor. 21. There is a lack of accepted standards for the growth of
kava, collection practices and supply of the raw material
Summary of findings of review of case reports for medicinal purposes. There is also inadequate quality
1. 93 case reports of hepatotoxicity associated with the use of control in the selection of appropriate cultivars of Piper
kava products have been compiled. There is the possibility methysticum in the collection of the appropriate plant parts
of a small number of duplications. and in the preparation and testing of the raw materials.
2. The mean age was 45 years and 79% of the patients were
women. Key to tables
3. The type of extract used was given in 54 reports: ethanol Order The tables are sorted by type of extract.
59%, acetone 26%, water 9%, synthetic 7%. No = reference number.
4. There appears to be a lesser risk of hepatic events in Age: in years.
patients using synthetic products than in those using eth- Dose: in mg per day. The dose refers to the kava lactone con-
anolic or acetonic extracts. tent where possible, but sometimes to the product.
5. The seemingly higher risk with the organic extracts was Dur = duration on therapy in days. Unbracketed numbers
not related to age, gender, dose, duration of therapy or refer to the time to onset of the event. Bracketed numbers
concomitant therapy and is unlikely to be related to inter- refer to the time on treatment without reference to the
current illness onset of the event.
6. An explanation for the apparent higher risk with the OPS = other possible suspect drugs. This refers to concomi-
organic extracts seems likely to be due to the presence tant therapy. NR = not recorded; NS = Other products
of chemicals other than kava lactones. Presumably such were in use but not suspected as being culpable; No = It
chemical constituents are not present in the synthetic was reported that no other therapy was being given con-
products and are not significantly bioavailable in the comitantly; Yes = Other medications were in use which
water-based preparations. might have caused or contributed to hepatotoxicity.
7. There is evidence that idiosyncratic reactions occur, both Dech = dechallenge. X = no information given; Y = Yes,
metabolic and immunologic. dechallenge occurred or there were strong reasons for
8. The mean duration to onset of liver problems was 111 assuming this; N = No, the product being continued for a
days. 80% fell within 4.5 months. significant period beyond the event.
9. Both cholestatic and hepatocellular liver injury were Rech = rechallenge. X = no information given; N = no; R =
described. Hepatic necrosis was the most common lesion rechallenge occurred with a recurrence of the problem;
seen histologically. Neg= rechallenge occurred with a negative result.
10. There is considerable potential for kava-drug interactions. Rei= relationship (causality). Grades are according to WHO
61% of patients had concomitant therapy which may have definitions: 2 = probable; 3 = possible; 4= unlikely; 6 =
caused or contributed to the hepatic event. unassessable.
11. There were 14 liver transplants and seven deaths. Report Id = identifier used by the main source of informa-
12. Of the 93 reports, eight were coded as having a probable tion.
causality and 53 as possible. 28 were unassessable. Other sources = Other sources from which information was
13. Five of the patients had a positive rechallenge. gleaned.
14. There were five reports involving water extracts. Three
were coded with a causality of possible and two probable. Main sources
Two were from traditionally prepared kava. 1. BfArM = German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical
15. Of the hepatic events leading to the 14 transplants, 11 Devices. (This information was sourced from the Phytop-
were coded as having a possible relationship and three as harm document.)
unassessable.

Section JIB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 35

2. Brazil = The national Brazilian Drug Monitoring Centre 8. Kraft M, Spahn TW, Menzel J, Senninger N, Dietl KH,
3. Denham = Denham A, Mcintyre M, Whitehouse J. Herbst H eta!. Fulminant liver failure after administra-
Kava-the unfolding story: report on a work-in-progress. tion of the herbal antidepressant Kava-Kava. Deutsche
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine medizinische Wochenschrift. 2001;126(36):970-972.
2002; 8 (3) :237-263. 9. Escher E, Desmeules J, Giostra E, Mentha G. Hepatitis
4. FDA = USA Food and Drug Administration. associated with kava, a herbal remedy for anxiety.
5. IKS = Swissmedic = Swiss Agency for therapeutic prod- British Medical Journal. 2001;322:139.
ucts. 10. Bujanda L, Palacios A, Silvarino R, Sanchez A, Munoz
6. Literature C. Kava-induced acute icteric hepatitis. Spanish. Gas-
1. Humbertson CL, Akhtar J, Krenzelok EP. Acute hepati- troentcrologfa y hcpatologfa. 2002;25(6):434-5.
tis induced by kava kava. Journal of Toxicology Clinical 11. Russmann S, Barguil Y, Cabalion P, Kritsanida M,
Toxicology. 2003; 41(2):109-113. Duhet D, Lauterburg BH. Hepatic injury due to tradi-
2. Campo JV, McNabb J, Perel JM, Mazariegos GV, Haseg- tional aqueous extracts of kava root in New Caledo-
awa SL, Reyes J. Kava-induced fulminant hepatic fail- nia. European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology.
ure [letter]. Journal of the American Academy of Child 2003;15 (9) :1033-1036.
and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2002; 41(6):631-632. 7. MCA = Medicines Control Agency UK (now Medicines and
3. Brauer RB, Stangl M, Stewart JR, Pfab R, Becker K. Acute Healthcare products Regulatory Agency). Reference was
liver failure after administration of herbal tranquilizer obtained to a line listing of 68 reports dated 1/7/02 and the
kava-kava (Piper methysticum) [letter].fournal of clinical reference numbers refer to this document.
psychiatry. 2003; 64(2):216-8. 8. Phytopharm = Gruenwald J, Mueller C, Skrabal J. Kava
4. Russmann S, Lauterburg BH, Helbling A. Kava hepa- Report 2003: In-depth investigation into EU member
totoxicity [letter]. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2001; states market restrictions on kava products. Phytopharm
135(1):68-69. Consulting for Centre for the Development of Entreprise
5. Strahl S, Ehret V, Dahm HH, Maier KP. [Necrotis- (CDE). 2003. http:f/[Link].
ing hepatitis after taking herbal remedies. Deutsche 9. Stickel = Stickel F, Baumuller HM, Seitz K, Vasilakis D,
medizinische Wochenschrift. 1998; 123:1410-1414. Seitz G, Seitz HK and Schuppan D. Hepatitis induced by
6. SaB M, Schnabel S, Kroger J, Liebe S, Schareck WD. Kava (Piper methysticum rhizoma). Journal of hepatology.
Acute liver failure from kava-kava -a rare indication 2003;39(1):62-67.
for liver transplantation. Zeitschrift fur Gastroenterolo- 10. WHO= WHO Collaborating Centre (the Uppsala Moni-
gie. 2001;39:491. toring Centre) database.
7. Cow PJ, Connelly NJ, Hill RL, Crowley P, Angus PW. 11. (EMEA) This was not used as a direct source, but refer-
Fatal fulminant hepatic failure induced by a natural ence numbers are quoted from the Phytopharm document
therapy containing kava. Medical Journal of Australia. (Gruenwald eta!. 2003) above.
2003;178 (9):442-443.

36 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

---
Table 1 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Basic
pharmacovigilance data
Product Hepatfc event
01 M Kava-kava rhizoma Water 900 Hepatic function NR X X Not recovered 6
abnormal
02 37 Kava Gold Water 750 kava lactones (24) Jaundice NR y X Improving
03 27 Kava tea Water 2400 kava lactones (180) Jaundice NS y N Recovered
04 55 Kava traditional Water 2571 kava lactones 35 Hepatocellular liver injury No y N Recovered
drink
05 59 Kava traditional Water 28 Hepatocellular liver injury Yes Y N Recovered
drink
06 39 Natures Way Water 180 Hepatitis Yes Y Neg Recovered
Celestial Kava tea
07 21 Kava in Harras plus Synthetic+ 400-500 kava lactones (210) Hepatitis Yes Y N Recovered 4
Ethanol
08 M 35 Neuronika Synthetic 400 kava lactones 56 Hepatitis cholestatic Yes Y N Recovered
09 Kavain harras Synthetic Hepatitis NR X X Unknown 6
10 69 Neuronika Synthetic 400 kava lactones 56 Hepatitis cholestatic Yes Y X Recovered
11 22 Antares Ethanol 240 kava lactones 120 Hepatic necrosis Yes Y N Transplant, Died
(6 months)
12 M 32 Antares Ethanol 240 kava lactones (75) Hepatic necrosis Yes Y N Transplant 3
13 35 Antares Ethanol 120 kava lactones 57 Hepatitis Yes Y N Recovered 3
14 37 Antares Ethanol 120 kava lactones Hepatitis NR X X Not recovered 6
15 46 Antares Ethanol 240 kava lactones (105) Cirrhosis Yes Y N Recovered
16 46 Antares Ethanol 360 kava lactones (28) Jaundice NR Y N Recovered 3
17 47 Antares Ethanol 120 kava lactones (30) Hepatic function Yes N N Recovered
abnormal
18 60 Antares Ethanol 480- kava lactones (365) Hepatic failure Yes Y N Transplant
1200
19 39 Kava Ethanol 60 kava lactones 194 Hepatic necrosis Yes Y R Recovered
20 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol Hepatitis Yes X X Unknown 6
21 34 Kava ratiopharm Ethanol 120 kava lactones (90) Hepatitis NS Y N Recovered
22 M 39 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol 120 kava lactones 210 Hepatitis Yes Y X Recovered
23 50 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol 60 kava Iact ones (195) Hepatic failure Yes Y N Transplant, Died 3
[Stickel]
24 M 50 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol 120 kava lactones (180) Jaundice NR X X Unknown 6
25 52 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol 60 kava lactones (1 05) Hepatic function NR X X Unknown 6
abnormal
26 56 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol Hepatitis Yes Y R Recovered 3
27 61 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol 120 kava lactones (90) Hepatic failure Yes X X Died 3
28 32 Kavacur Ethanol 240 kava lactones (28) Hepatitis Yes X X Unknown 6
29 M 45 Kava cur Ethanol 120 kava lactones (90) Hepatitis cholestatic NR Y X Unknown
30 26 Kavasedon Ethanol 50 kava lactones 6 Hepatitis Yes Y N Recovered 3
31 47 Kavasporal forte Ethanol Hepatic failure NS X X , Transplant 6
32 33 Kavatino Ethanol 180 kava lactones (120) Hepatitis toxic Yes Y R Recovered 3
33 62 Kavatino Ethanol 60 kava lactones Hepatocellular liver injury NR Y R Recovered
34 81 Kavatino Ethanol 120 kava lactones (300) Hepatic failure Yes Y N Died
35 M 55 Kavosporal Ethanol 30 kava lactones (28) Hepatitis cholestatic Yes Y X Recovered 6
36 41 Limbao Ethanol Hepatic failure Yes X X Transplant 6
37 59 Limbao Ethanol 240 kava lactones 120 Hepatocellular liver injury NS Y X Recovered
38 Maoni Ethanol Hepatitis NR X X Unknown 6
39 45 Maoni Ethanol 45 kava lactones (120) Hepatitis NS Y N Recovered 2
40 24 Maoni forte Ethanol 120 kava lactones (90) Jaundice NR X X Unknown 6
41 72 I Phyto-Geriatrikum Ethanol 25 extract (730)1 Hepatitis cholestatic Yes Y X Recovered 3
75 (180)
42 Laitan Acetone 70 kava lactones 60 Hepatic failure NR Y X Unknown 3
43 33 Laitan Acetone 210 kava lactones (21) Hepatitis cholestatic NS Y N Recovered 2
44 37 Laitan Acetone 140 kava lactones (60) Hepatitis Yes Y Neg Recovered 3
45 39 Laitan Acetone 210 kava lactones 106 Jaundice Yes Y X Recovered 3
46 46 Laitan Acetone 140 kava lactones (135) Hepatocellular liver injury Yes Y N Recovered 3
47 M 50 Laitan Acetone 210-280 kava lactones 30 Hepatitis toxic Yes Y N Transplant 3
48 M 50 Laitan Acetone 140 kava lactones 120 Hepatic function NR Y N Recovered 4
abnormal
49 57 Laitan Acetone 100 30 Hepatitis Yes Y X Recovered 3

Section JIB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 37

Table 1 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Basic pharmacovigilance data (continued)

BIBII!I--•·M-*'·'·hiN·t•._
50 F 59 Laitan Acetone 70 kava lactones (21) Hepatocellular liver injury
Hepatic event
Yes Y N Recovered
51 M 36 Laitan 100 Acetone 70 kava lactones 46 Hepatic necrosis NR Y N Recovered
52 M 38 Laitan 100 Acetone 70 kava lactones 21 Hepatitis Yes Y X Recovered
53 M 39 Laitan 100 Acetone 70 kava lactones 14 Hepatocellular liver injury No Y X Recovered
54 so Laitan 100 Acetone 210 kava lactones 75 Hepatitis Yes Y X Recovered
55 68 Laitan 100 Acetone 210 kava lactones 730 Hepatitis cholestatic NS Y X Recovered
56 F 45 Combination NOS 150 kava lactones 56 Hepatitis cholestatic Yes Y X Transplant
57 M 24 Hard Gainers 6 200 product (6 24 Hepatic failure Yes Y N Died
herbs)
58 70 Herbalife KB 180 kava lactones Hepatic function Yes X X Unknown 6
abnormal
59 M 72 Hi-Health 14 Liver injury Yes X X Unknown 6
60 Kava 120 kava lactones (365) Hepatic function NR X X Unknown 6
abnormal
61 Kava LT Hepatic function NR X X Unknown 6
abnormal
62 24 Kava 120 kava lactones (150) Hepatitis cholestatic No X X Recovered 6
63 28 Kava Hepatic function Yes X X Not recovered 6
abnormal
64 30 Kava 200 60 Hepatitis fulminant Yes Y N Died 3
65 M 33 Kava 100 (14) Hepatic necrosis Yes X X Recovered 6
66 F 33 Kava Jaundice Yes X X Transplant 6
67 34 Kava 120 kava lactones (30) Not described No X X Recovered 6
68 M 38 Kava Hepatitis NS X X Unknown 6
69 39 Kava (60) Hepatic function Yes Y N Recovered 3
abnormal
70 39 Kava (60) Hepatic function Yes Y X Recovered
abnormal
71 M 40 Kava 90 Hepatic function Yes Y X Recovered 3
abnormal
72 41 Kava 120 kava lactones (300) Not described No X X Recovered 6
73 43 Kava 14 Hepatic failure Yes X X Transplant 3
74 44 Kava Hepatic function Yes Y X Unknown 6
abnormal
75 44 Kava 200 119 Hepatitis fulminant Yes Y N Transplant
76 46 Kava 101 Hepatitis NR Y N Unknown 4
77 47 Kava 90 Hepatic function NR X X Unknown 6
abnormal
78 49 Kava 120 kava lactones (30) Hepatic necrosis Yes X X Recovered 6
79 51 Kava (120) Hepatic function Yes Y X Recovered
abnormal
80 51 Kava (60) Hepatic function NR y R Recovered
abnormal
81 53 Kava Jaundice Yes Y X Recovered
82 M 55 Kava 750 90 Hepatitis No Y N Recovered 2
83 57 Kava 120 150 Hepatitis Yes X X Recovered
84 60 Kava (90) Hepatic failure NR X X Transplant 6
85 60 Kava Hepatic function Yes Y X Recovered
abnormal
86 14 Kava (2 products) 105 Hepatitis fulminant No Y N Transplant
87 56 Kava 1800 Plus 180 kava lactones (90) Hepatic failure Yes Y N Transplant, Died
88 Kava extract 450 extract (60) Hepatic function Yes Y X Recovered
abnormal
89 M 63 Kava formula 300 product (42) Hepatocellular liver injury Yes Y X Improved 3
90 M 38 Kava Kava liquid so kava lactones (14) Hepatitis NR Y X Recovered 3
extract
91 NutriZAC 30 kava lactones (730) Hepatic function Yes Y X Recovered
abnormal
92 52 Puritan's Pride Cirrhosis Yes X X Unknown 6
93 TruNature Kava 150-225 kava lactones (90) Hepatic function Yes Y N Improving 3
abnormal

38 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 2 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: additional data

01
02
03
04
2821655
14995
15281
11.2
WHO
FDA
FDA
Literature (11)
Other sources

Phytopharm 2.4.21 (EMEA 60)

Phytopharm 2.5.4 (EMEA 55)
IBD!I Concomitant
M
37
27
55
Not recorded
(Unknown herbals)
None suspect
None
- Histology

05 11.1 Literature (11) 59 Lisinopril, phenobarbital, All drugs

fenofibrate withdrawn. Other
drugs restarted.
06 15466 FDA Phytopharm 2.6.21 (EMEA 58) 39 Tetracycline, alcohol
07 3608 BfArM WHO 8100484, Phytopharm 21 Paracetamol, pantoprazole, Autoimmune
2.6.5 (EMEA 21) MDMA hepatitis un-
changed after> 4
months
08 92901203 BfArM Denham 2, Phytopharm 2.4.1 M 35 'Regular alcohol'
(EMEA 11)
09 33 MCA Not recorded
10 90003882 BfArM Denham 1, Phytopharm 2.6.1 69 Bemetizid, pentoxifyllin
(EMEA 10)
11 8627 Literature (3) WHO 2767171. Phytopharm 2.5.3 22 COC (Pramino) Cholestatic hepatitis.
(EMEA 23), BfArM 8627 Pronounced
necrosis.
12 1006229 BfArM WHO 2852999, Phytopharm M 32 Valerian Necrotising hepatitis
2.4.6 (EMEA 31), Denham 30
13 99006200 BfArM BfArM 1004110, WHO 2851883, 35 Paracetamol
MCA25
14 8032012 WHO 37 Not recorded
15 2000370 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.9 (EMEA 39) 46 COC (Kiimonorm)
16 2001414 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.17 (EMEA 41) 46 Not recorded
17 99005139 BfArM WHO 2464986, Denham 24, 47 Fish oil
Phytopharm 2.7.2 (EMEA 3)
18 8 Literature (8) Phytopharm 2.6.23 (EMEA 60 Piretanide Overdose Necrosis &
5), similar to case 85 (Weekly intrahepatic
Magazine) cholestasis
19 Literature (5) Phytopharm 2.2.1, Denham 10 39 Paroxetine, COC (Pramino) Rechallenge of Acute necrotising
kava only. Poor hepatitis
metaboliser.
20 1003951 BfArM BfArM 1003950, Denham 28 Omeprazole, estradiol,
losarten
21 1003089 BfArM WHO 2851368, MCA 25, 34 None suspect
Phytopharm 2.4.4 (EMEA 24),
Denham 22
22 1008989 BfArM WHO 2854406, Phytopharm M 39 Interferon-beta
2.6.12 (EMEA 34)
23 6 Literature (6) Denham 20, Stickel, Phytopharm 50 COC (Gravistat), Necrosis liver cells
2.6.6 (EMEA 22), BfArM 5994 glimepiride, metformin
24 2003559 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.14 (EMEA 48) M 50 Not recorded
25 2002541 BfArM 52 Not recorded
26 2851799 WHO 56 Esberitox, omeprazole
27 2001135 BfArM BfArM 2002378, Phytopharm 61 Bemetizid, omeprazole Necrotising hepatitis
2.6.14 (EMEA 40)
28 2004364 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.15 (EMEA 49) F 32 COC (Marvel on)
29 1009681 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.7 ( EMEA 35) M 45 Not recorded Cholestatic hepatitis
30 2002090 BfArM BfArM 2002836, Phytopharm 26 Diclofenac, sulfasalazine,
2.6.16 (EMEA 45) MPA
31 2003010 BfArM Phytopharm 2.7.4 (EMEA 46) 47 None suspect Drug-induced cell
necrosis and fibrosis
32 99006005 BfArM WHO 2598102, Phytopharm 2.6.4 33 Cisapride
(EMEA 20), Denham 14
33 99003911 BfArM Denham 13, Phytopharm 2.4.2 62 Not recorded
(EMEA 19)
34 98004297 BfArM Denham 9, Phytopharm 271 81 Alcohol, Cirrhosis preceded Toxic hepatopathy
(EMEA 16) hydrochlorothiazide, kava
nitrendipin
35 1010222 BfArM Phytopharm 2.6.13 (EMEA 36) M 55 Glibenclamide Cholestatic hepatitis
36 15320 FDA 41 COC (Diane)

Section IIB Case reports a( hepatotoxicity I 39

Table 2 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: additional data
(continued)
llliii&.!.!iiftl- 111111 Concomitant Comment Histology
37 2223603 WHO BfArM 99500453, Denham 11, 59 None suspect
Phytopharm 2.4.3 (EMEA 17)
38 38 MCA Not recorded
39 1010536 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.8 (EMEA 37) 45 None suspect
40 2002732 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.11 (EMEA 44), 24 Not recorded
similar to case 64 (Stickel 27)
41 97002825 BfArM BfArM 97003551 Denham 7 721 Vitamin A Combination
75 product
42 8030171 WHO BfArM 2005178 Not recorded
43 4 Literature (4) Denham 16, Phytopharm 2.3.1 33 None suspect Poor metaboliser Drug-induced
(EMEA 7}, WHO 2639336, IKS hepatitis
2000-0014
44 99062501 BfArM Denham 12, Phytopharm 2.6.11 37 Diclofenac, COC
(EMEA 18) (Microdiol)
45 93015209 BfArM WHO 1384768, Denham 4, 39 COC (Gravistat) All meds Cholestatic hepatitis
Phytopharm 2.6.3 (EMEA 12); withdrawn
similar to case 72
46 1999.2596 IKS Denham 15, Phytopharm 2.6.9 46 Hydrochlorothiazide,
(EMEA 6) valsartan
47 9 Literature (9) Denham 18, Phytopharm 2.3.2 M 50 'Moderate alcohol' (BfArM, Paracetamol just Toxic-necrotic
(EMEA 9), WHO 2458938, IKS Denham 18) before transplant. hepatitis
2000-3502
48 2003278 BfArM WHO 8028354, Phytopharm M 50 Not recorded Onset lm after
2.4.13 (EMEA 47) stopping
49 2607228 WHO 57 Silybum Withdrawn 3m
after reaction
began
50 2000.2330 IKS Denham 17, Phytopharm 2.6.10 59 Celecoxib
(EMEA 8)
51 1006939 BfArM WHO 2762468, Phytopharm M 36 Not recorded Necrotising hepatitis
2.4.12 (EMEA 33)
52 1001228 BfArM BfArM 1001924/8, Denh 26, M 38 Penicillin V, 'regular Necrotising hepatitis
WHO 8019808 alcohol' (Stickell2)
53 2850853 WHO Denham 27 M 39 None Cholestatic hepatitis
54 1482277 WHO BfArM 94901308, Denham 6, F 50 Terfenadine, furosemide Abnormal LFTs Drug induced
Phytopharm 2.6.2 (EMEA 14) , ....
before kava. hepatitis
55 1536454 WHO BfArM 94006568, Denham 5 68 None suspect Toxic-cholestatic
liver damage
56 15035 FDA FDA 15274, Phytopharm 2.6.18 45 Rabeprazole Subfulminant
(EMEA 53) hepatic necrosis
57 11444 FDA M 24 Chromium piccolinate,
vanadyl sulphate
58 10257 FDA 70 Lisinopril, warfarin
59 15556 FDA M 72 Valerian Hepatitis C
60 44 MCA Not recorded
61 65.1 Canada Phytopharm 2.4.28 (EMEA 65) Not recorded
(EMEA id)
62 27 Stickel Similar to case 40. (BfArM 24 None
2002732)
63 8206938 WHO 28 Fluoxetine
64 2003422 Brazil 30 PassiAora
65 29 Stickel M 33 'Regular alcohol' Necrotising hepatitis
66 14810 FDA Phytopharm 2.7.7 (EMEA 52) 33 COC (LoEstrin),
chemotherapy
67 15 Stickel 34 None
68 15317 FDA Phytopharm 2.78 (EMEA 56) M 38 None suspect Binge use
69 64 France (EMEA Phytopharm 2.4.29 (EMEA 64), F 39 Yes (drug not stated)
id) MCA65
70 65 MCA Similar to case 45 (BfArM 39 Unspecified possibly
93015209) hepatotoxic drugs
71 MCA Phytopharm 2.7.12 (EMEA 1) M 40 Alcohol
72 25 Stickel 41 None
73 275 Press report Phytopharm 2.7.5 43 Beta blocker, anaesthetic

40 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 2 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: additional data
(continued)
DIU·[Link]€1- 1111!1 Concomitant Comment Histology
74 14723 FDA Phytopharm 2.6.17 (EMEA 51) 44 Celecoxib, citalopram
75 1939507 Brazil 44 Diclofenac, famotidine Toxic hepatitis
76 2380373 WHO 46 Not recorded Onset > 1 yr after
stopping
77 47 MCA 47 Not recorded
78 28 Stickel 49 'Regular alcohol' Necrotising hepatitis
79 14951 FDA Phytopharm 2.420 (EMEA 59) 51 Omega-3
80 15267 FDA Phytopharm 2.4.25 (EMEA 62) 51 Not recorded
81 8119572 WHO Canada, Phytopharm 2.5.5 53 Alcohol
(EMEA 66)
82 10 Literature (10) M 55 None Haemorrhagic
necrosis
83 14 Stickel 57 Candesartan, oestrogen Lobular hepatitis
84 2001 Weekly Phytopharm 2.4.18; similar 60 Not recorded
Magazine to case 18 (literature (8)/
Phytopharm 2.6.23)
85 14538 FDA Phytopharm 1.6.19 (EMEA 50) 60 Capecitabine, chaparral Secondaries in
liver? Chemo
restarted & OK
86 Literature Phytopharm 2.4.31 14 None Hepatocellular
(1, 2) necrosis I chemical
hepatitis
87 7 Literature (7), 56 Passiflora incarnata Severe acute
TGA hepatitis, massive
necrosis.
88 2 MCA Alcohol, fluoxetine
89 15319 FDA Phytopharm 2.7.9 (EMEA 57) M 63 Enalapril, History of
hydrochlorothiazide hepatitis C
90 67 Canada Phytopharm 2.4.27 (EMEA 67) M 38 Not recorded
(EMEA id)
91 15250 FDA Phytopharm 2.4.23 (EMEA 54) Multivitamins, 'moderate Phytopharm
alcohol' records as male
92 13198 FDA 52 >60 herbs, alcohol Chronic alcoholic
liver disease
93 15252 FDA Phytopharm 2.4.24 (EMEA 61) Dexatrim Green Tea

Hepatitis
Hepatitis cholestatic
Hepatitis fulminant
Hepatitis toxic
--
Table 3 Hepatic events reported in association with kava
Hepatic event
22
9
3
2
23.7
9.7
3.2
2.2
Hepatic failure 11 11.8
Hepatic necrosis 6 6.5
Jaundice 9 9.7
Hepatocellular liver injury 8 8.6
Liver injury 1 1.1
Hepatic function abnormal 18 19.4
Cirrhosis 2 2.2
Not described 2 2.2
Total 93 100.3

Section JIB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 41

Table 4 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: histological data

Dl Histology Hepatic event Outcome

19 Acute necrotising hepatitis Hepatic necrosis Recovered
07 Autoimmune hepatitis un-changed after> 4 months Hepatitis Recovered
45 Cholestatic hepatitis Jaundice Recovered
35 Cholestatic hepatitis Hepatitis cholestatic Recovered
53 Cholestatic hepatitis Hepatocellular liver injury Recovered
29 Cholestatic hepatitis Hepatitis cholestatic Unknown
11 Cholestatic hepatitis. Pronounced necrosis. Hepatic necrosis Liver transplant, Died (6 months)
92 Chronic alcoholic liver disease Cirrhosis Unknown
54 Drug induced hepatitis Hepatitis Recovered
31 Drug-induced cell necrosis and fibrosis Hepatic failure Liver transplant
43 Drug-induced hepatitis Hepatitis cholestatic Recovered
82 Haemorrhagic necrosis Hepatitis Recovered
86 Hepatocellular necrosis I chemical hepatitis Hepatitis fulminant Liver transplant
83 Lobular hepatitis Hepatitis Recovered
18 Necrosis & intrahepatic cholestasis Hepatic failure Liver transplant
23 Necrosis liver cells Hepatic failure Liver transplant, Died [Stickel]
12 Necrotising hepatitis Hepatic necrosis Liver transplant
27 Necrotising hepatitis Hepatic failure Died
51 Necrotising hepatitis Hepatic necrosis Recovered
52 Necrotising hepatitis Hepatitis Recovered
65 Necrotising hepatitis Hepatic necrosis Recovered
78 Necrotising hepatitis Hepatic necrosis Recovered
87 Severe acute hepatitis, massive necrosis. Hepatic failure Liver transplant, Died
56 Subfulminant hepatic necrosis Hepatitis cholestatic Liver transplant
75 Toxic hepatitis Hepatitis fulminant Liver transplant
34 Toxic hepatopathy Hepatic failure Died
55 Toxic-cholestatic liver damage Hepatitis cholestatic Recovered
47 Toxic-necrotic hepatitis Hepatitis toxic Liver transplant

42 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

---
Table 5 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: significant concomitant medicines

OS
06
07
08 M
59
39
21
35
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lisinopril, phenobarbital, fenofibrate
Tetracycline, alcohol
Paracetamol, pantoprazole, MDMA
'Regular alcohol'
..
49
50
52
54
Sex

M
Age
57
59
38
50
Rei Ell Concomitant
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Silybum
Celecoxib
Penicillin V, 'regular alcohol' (Stickel 12)
Terfenadine, furosemide
10 69 3 Yes Bemetizid, pentoxifyllin 56 F 45 Yes Rabeprazole
11 22 Yes COC (Pramino) 57 M 24 Yes Chromium piccolinate, vanadyl
12 M 32 Yes Valerian sulphate

13 35 Yes Paracetamol 58 70 6 Yes Lisinopril, warfarin

15 46 Yes COC (Kiimonorm) 59 M 72 6 Yes Valerian

17 47 Yes Fish oii 63 F 28 6 Yes Fluoxetine

18 60 Yes Piretanide 64 30 Yes Passiflora

19 39 2 Yes Paroxetine, COC (Pramino) 65 M 33 6 Yes 'Regular alcohol'

20 6 Yes Omeprazole, estradiol, losarten 66 33 6 Yes COC (LoEstrin), chemotherapy

22 M 39 Yes Interferon-beta 69 39 Yes Yes (drug not stated)

23 F 50 Yes COC (Gravistat), glimepiride, metformin 70 39 Yes Unspecified possibly hepatotoxic drugs

26 56 Yes Esberitox, omeprazole 71 M 40 Yes Alcohol

27 61 Yes Bemetizid, omeprazole 73 43 Yes Beta blocker, anaesthetic

28 32 6 Yes COC (Marvel on) 74 44 6 Yes Celecoxib, citalopram

30 26 Yes Diclofenac, sulfasalazine, MPA 75 44 Yes Diclofenac, famotidine

32 33 Yes Cisapride 78 49 6 Yes 'Regular alcohol'

34 81 Yes Alcohol, hydrochlorothiazide, 79 51 Yes Omega-3

nitrendipin 81 53 Yes Alcohol
35 M 55 6 Yes Glibenclamide 83 57 Yes Candesartan, oestrogen
36 F 41 6 Yes COC (Diane) 85 60 Yes Capecitabine, chaparral
41 72/ 3 Yes Vitamin A 87 56 Yes Passiflora incarnata
75 88 F Yes Fluoxetine
44 37 4 Yes Diclofenac, COC (Microdiol) 89 M 63 Yes Enalapril, hydrochlorothiazide
45 39 3 Yes COC (Gravistat) 91 Yes Multivitamins, 'moderate alcohol'
46 46 3 Yes Hydrochlorothiazide, valsartan 92 52 6 Yes >60 herbs, alcohol
47 M 50 3 Yes 'Moderate alcohol' (BfArM, Denham 18) 93 3 Yes Dexatrim Green Tea

Table 6 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: Table 7 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with
concomitant therapy not suspect kava: summary of outcomes
Products not suspect -ij.!i!.!M. .
Died 7.5
03 27 Jaundice Recovered NS Psyllium, vitamins 86 & E, St
Transplant 14 15.1
John's Wort, phytoestrogen
mix (Mex yam, black cohosh, Recovered 50 53.8
dong quai) Improved 3.2
21 34 Hepatitis Recovered 2 NS Jodthyrox (Levothyroxine, Not recovered 4 4.3
potassium iodide)
Unknown 19 20.4
31 47 Hepatic failure Transplant 6 NS Sylmarin, Polilevo (arginine,
ornithine, citrullin), Gelum
(mineral supplement),
Rheumeda (antirheumatic
homeopathic preparation).
37 59 Hepatocellular Recovered NS Buscopan
damage
39 45 Hepatitis Recovered NS Artichoke extract (taken
occasionally)
43 33 Cholestatic Recovered NS Exepta (homeopathic
hepatitis combination product)
55 68 Hepatitis Recovered NS StJohn's Wort, Maaloxan
cholestatic (magnesium and aluminium
hydroxide)
68 M 38 Hepatitis Unknown 6 NS StJohn's Wort

Section JIB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 43

Table 8 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: cases with
'probable' relationships
No Sex Age Product Extract Dose DoseType Our Hepatic event OPS Oech Rech Outcome Rei
03 27 Kava tea Water 2400 kava lactones (180) Jaundice NS y N Recovered 2
04 55 Kava traditional Water 2571 kava lactones 35 Hepatocellular liver No y N Recovered 2
drink injury
19 39 Kava Ethanol 60 kava lactones 194 Hepatic necrosis Yes y R Recovered 2
21 34 Kava ratiopharm Ethanol 120 kava lactones (90) Hepatitis NS y N Recovered 2
37 59 Limbao Ethanol 240 kava lactones 120 Hepatocellular liver NS y X Recovered 2
injury
39 45 Maoni Ethanol 45 kava lactones (120) Hepatitis NS y N Recovered
43 33 Laitan Acetone 210 kava lactones (21) Hepatitis cholestatic NS y N Recovered
82 M 55 Kava 750 90 Hepatitis No y N Recovered

Other sources
03 15281 FDA Phytopharm 2.5.4 (EMEA 55) 27 None suspect
04 11.2 Literature (11) 55 None
19 5 Literature (5) Phytopharm 2.2.1, Denham 10 39 Paroxetine, Rechallenge of Acute necrotising
COC (Pramino) kava only. Poor hepatitis
metaboliser.
21 1003089 BfArM WHO 2851368, MCA 25, Phytopharm 2.4.4 34 None suspect
(EMEA 24), Denham 22
37 2223603 WHO BfArM 99500453, Denham 11, Phytopharm 59 None suspect
2.4.3 (EMEA 17)
39 1010536 BfArM Phytopharm 2.4.8 (EMEA 37) 45 None suspect
43 4 Literature (4) Denham 16, Phytopharm 2.3.1 (EMEA 7), 33 None suspect Poor metaboliser Drug-induced
WHO 2639336, IKS 2000-0014 hepatitis
82 10 Literature (10) M 55 None Haemorrhagic
necrosis

44 I Assessment a( the risk a( hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 9 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: 'possible'
relationships showing concomitant therapy
No Sex Age Our Dech Rech Concomitant Outcome
02 37 (24) y X (Unknown herbals) Improving
OS 59 28 y N Lisinopril, phenobarbital, fenofibrate Recovered
06 39 180 y X Tetracycline, alcohol Recovered
08 M 35 56 y N 'Regular alcohol' Recovered
10 69 56 y X Bemetizid, pentoxifyllin Recovered
11 22 120 y N COC (Pramino) Transplant, Died (6
months)
12 M 32 (75) y N Valerian Transplant
13 35 57 y N Paracetamol Recovered
15 46 (105) y N COC (Kiimonorm) Recovered
16 46 (28) y N Not recorded Recovered
17 47 (30) N N Fish oil Recovered
18 60 (365) y N Piretanide Transplant
22 M 39 210 y X lnterferon~beta Recovered
23 F 50 (195) y N COC (Gravistat), glimepiride, metformin Transplant, Died
26 56 y R Esberitox, omeprazole Recovered
27 61 (90) X X Bemetizid, omeprazole Died
29 M 45 (90) y X Not recorded Unknown
30 F 26 6 y N Diclofenac, sulfasalazine, MPA Recovered
32 33 (120) y R Cisapride Recovered
33 62 y R Not recorded Recovered
34 81 (300) y N Alcohol, hydrochlorothiazide, nitrendipin Died
41 72/75 (730)/ y X Vitamin A Recovered
(180)
42 60 y X Not recorded Unknown
44 37 (60) y Neg Diclofenac, COC (Microdiol) Recovered
45 39 106 y X COC (Gravistat) Recovered
46 46 (135) y N Hydrochlorothiazide, valsartan Recovered
47 M 50 30 y N 'Moderate alcohol' (BfArM, Denham 18) Transplant
49 57 30 y X Silybum Recovered
50 59 (21) y N Celecoxib Recovered
51 M 36 46 y N Not recorded Recovered
52 M 38 21 y X PenicillinV, 'regular alcohol' (Stickel12) Recovered
53 M 39 14 y X None Recovered
54 50 75 y X Terfenadine, furosemide Recovered
55 68 730 y X None suspect Recovered
56 F 45 56 y X Rabeprazole Transplant
57 M 24 24 y N Chromium piccolinate, vanadyl sulphate Died
64 30 60 y N Passiflora Died
69 39 (60) y N Yes (drug not stated) Recovered
70 39 (60) y X Unspecified possibly hepatotoxic drugs Recovered
71 M 40 90 y X Alcohol Recovered
73 43 14 X X Beta blocker, anaesthetic Transplant
75 44 119 y N Diclofenac, famotidine Transplant
79 51 (120) y X Omega~3 Recovered
80 51 (60) y R Not recorded Recovered
81 53 y X Alcohol Recovered
83 57 150 X X Candesartan, oestrogen Recovered
85 60 y X Capecitabine, chaparral Recovered
86 14 105 y N None Transplant
87 56 (90) y N Passiflora incarnata Transplant, Died
88 (60) X X Fluoxetine Not recovered
89 M 63 (42) y X Enalapril, hydrochlorothiazide Improved
90 M 38 (14) y X Not recorded Recovered
91 (730) y X Multivitamins, 'moderate alcohol' Recovered
93 (90) y N Dexatrim Green Tea Improving

Section liB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 45

Table 10 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: reports
with positive rechallenge

•••-•:am•m!I-IB
19 F 39 Kava Ethanol 60 kava lactones 194
Hepatic event
Hepatic necrosis
EDEDIBI·M&.![Link]
Yes Y R Recovered 2

26 56 Kava Ethanol Hepatitis Yes y R Recovered

Ratiopharm

...
32 33 Kavatino Ethanol 180 kava lactones (120) Hepatitis toxic Yes y R Recovered
33 62 Kavatino Ethanol 60 kava lactones Hepatocellular liver injury NR y R Recovered
80 51 Kava (60) Hepatic function abnormal NR y R Recovered

. .Q.!.!iidl- Other sources Concomitant Comment Histology

19 5 Literature (5) Phytopharm 2.2.1, Denham 10 39 Paroxetine, COC Rechallenge of kava Acute necrotising
(Pramino) only. Poor metaboliser. hepatitis
26 2851799 WHO 56 Esberitox, omeprazole
32 99006005 BfArM WHO 2598102, Phytopharm 2.6.4 33 Cisapride
(EMEA 20), Denham 14
33 99003911 BfArM Denham 13, Phytopharm 2.4.2 62 Not recorded
(EMEA 19)
80 15267 FDA Phytopharm 2.4.25 (EMEA 62) 51 Not recorded

-
Table 11A Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: patients
with liver transplant (basic data)
8111111!1 iib@Mmiii·MNS. .M!IIM§[Link] Outcome
11 22 Antares Ethanol 240 kava 120 Hepatic necrosis Yes Y N Died 6 months
lactones after transplant
12 M 32 Antares Ethanol 240 kava (75) Hepatic necrosis Yes y N Transplant
lactones
18 60 Antares Ethanol 480- kava (365) Hepatic failure Yes y N Transplant
1200 lactones
23 50 Kava Ratiopharm Ethanol 60 kava (195) Hepatic failure Yes y N Transplant, Died
lactones
31 47 Kavasporal forte Ethanol Hepatic failure NS X X Transplant 6
36 41 Limbao Ethanol Hepatic failure Yes X X Transplant
47 M 50 Laitan Acetone 210- kava 30 Hepatitis toxic Yes y N Transplant
280 lactones
56 45 Combination NOS 150 kava 56 Hepatitis Yes y X Transplant
lactones cholestatic
66 33 Kava Jaundice Yes X X Transplant 6
73 43 Kava 14 Hepatic failure Yes X X Transplant 3
75 44 Kava 200 119 Hepatitis fulminant Yes y N Transplant 3
84 60 Kava (90) Hepatic failure NR X X Transplant 6
86 14 Kava (2 products) 105 Hepatitis fulminant No y N Transplant 3
87 56 Kava 1800 Plus 180 kava (90) Hepatic failure Yes y N Transplant, Died 3
lactones

46 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 11 B Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: patients

••
with liver transplant (additional data)
Other sources Concomitant Histology
11 8627 Literature (3) WHO 2767171. Phytopharm 2.5.3 (EMEA 22 COC (Pramino) Cholestatic hepatitis.
23), BfArM 8627 Pronounced necrosis.

12 1006229 BfArM WHO 2852999, Phytopharm 2.4.6 (EMEA M 32 Valerian Necrotising hepatitis
31), Denham 30
18 8 Literature (8) Phytopharm 2.6.23 (EMEA 5), similar to 60 Piretanide Overdose Necrosis & intrahepatic
case 85 (Weekly Magazine) cholestasis
23 6 Literature (6) Denham 20, Stickel, Phytopharm 2.6.6 50 COC (Gravistat), Necrosis liver cells
(EMEA 22), BfArM 5994 glimepiride,
metformin

31 2003010 BfArM Phytopharm 2.7.4 (EMEA 46) 47 None suspect Drug-induced cell necrosis
and fibrosis

36 15320 FDA Phytopharm 24.26 41 COC (Diane)

47 9 Literature (9) Denham 18, Phytopharm 2.3.2 (EMEA 9), M 50 'Moderate alcohol' Paracetamol Toxic-necrotic hepatitis
WHO 2458938, IKS 2000-3502 (BfArM, Denham just before
18) transplant.
56 15035 FDA FDA 15274, Phytopharm 2.6.18 (EMEA 45 Rabeprazole Subfulminant hepatic
53) necrosis

66 14810 FDA Phytopharm 2.7.7 (EMEA 52) 33 COC (LoEstrin),

chemotherapy
73 275 Press report Phytopharm 2.7.5 43 Beta blocker,
anaesthetic
75 1939507 Brazil 44 Diclofenac, Toxic hepatitis
famotidine
84 2001 Weekly Phytopharm 2.4.18; similar to case 18 60 Not recorded
Magazine (literature (8)/Phytopharm 2.6 23)
86 3 Literature (1, 2) Phytopharm 2.4.31 14 None Hepatocellular necrosis I
chemical hepatitis
87 Literature (7), 56 PassiAora Severe acute hepatitis,
TGA incarnata massive necrosis

Section liB Case reports of hepatotoxicity! 47

Table 12 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: patients who died
ll!IIBI.!I-I§MjMm!l_. . Hepatic event
11 22 Antares Ethanol 240 kava lactones 120 Hepatic necrosis Yes y N Transplant,
Died (6 months)
23 50 Kava Ethanol 60 kava lactones (195) Hepatic failure Yes y N Transplant,
Ratiopharm Died
27 61 Kava Ethanol 120 kava lactones (90) Hepatic failure Yes X X Died
Ratiopharm
34 81 Kavatino Ethanol 120 kava lactones (300) Hepatic failure Yes y N Died 3
57 M 24 Hard Gainers 6 200 product (6 24 HepJtic failure Yes y N Died
herbs)
64 30 Kava 200 60 Hepatitis Yes y N Died 3

...
fulminant
87 56 Kava 1800 Plus 180 kava lactones (90) Hepatic failure Yes y N Transplant, 3
Died

BG·[Link]- Other sources Concomitant G.@ ..!§ .IN Histology

n 8627 Literature (3) WHO 2767171. Phytopharm 2.5.3 22 COC (Pramino) Cholestatic hepatitis.
(EMEA 23), BfArM 8627 Pronounced necrosis.
23 6 Literature (6) Denham 20, Stickel, Phytopharm 50 COC (Gravistat), Necrosis liver cells
2.6.6 (EMEA 22), BfArM 5994 glimepiride, metformin
27 2001135 BfArM BfArM 2002378, Phytopharm 2.6.14 61 Bemetizid, omeprazole Necrotising hepatitis
(EMEA40)
34 98004297 BfArM Denham 9, Phytopharm 2.7.1 81 Alcohol, nitrendipin, Cirrhosis Toxic hepatopathy
(EMEA 16) hydrochlorothiazide preceded
kava
57 11444 FDA M 24 Chromium piccolinate,
vanadyl sulphate
64 2003422 Brazil 30 Passiflora
87 Literature (7), 56 Passiflora incarnata Severe acute hepatitis,
TGA massive necrosis

48 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Table 13 Potential drug interactions with kava: alphabetical listing by drug
Drug f;)ii#M •1'-'!i"§•.•.~'~~M•
abciximab BOlAC dermatan
acenocoumarol BOlAA desirudin BOlAE
acetaminophen N02BE dextromethorphan/morphine
acetophenazine NOSAB diazepam NOSBA
adinazolam diclofenac SOlBC
alfentanil NOlAH diclofenac/misoprostol
alprazolam NOSBA dicumarol BOlAA
alteplase BOlAD dihydroergotamine/heparin
amantadine N04BB dipyridamole BOlAC
amiodarone COlBD dixyrazine NOSAB
amisulpride NOSAL enoxaparin BOlAB
amlodipine/atorvastatin epoprostenol BOlAC
amobarbital NOSCA eptifibatide BOlAC
anagrelide NOSCA estazolam NOS CD
ancrod BOlAD eterobarb
anisindione BOlAA ethanol V03AZ
anistreplase BOlAD ethopropazine N04AA
anithrombin iii BOlAB ezetimibe/simvastatin
aprobarbital NOSCA fentanyl NOlAH
ardeparin BOlAB fiuconazole DO lAC
argatroban BOlAE fiunitrazepam NOS CD
aspirin N02BA fiuoxymesterone G03BA
aspirin/dipyridamole fiuphenazine NOSAB
atorvastatin ClOAA fiurazepam NOS CD
azathioprine L04AX fiutamide L02BB
becaplermin D03AX fiuvastatin ClOAA
benperidol NO SAD fondaparinux BOlAX
bentazepam NOSBA halazepam NOSBA
bivalirudin B02BD haloperidol NO SAD
bromazepam NOSBA heparin BOlAB
bromocriptine N04BC hydrocodone ROSDA
brotizolam NOS CD hydromorphone N02AA
butobarbital NOSCA ibuprofen MOlAE
butalbital N02BE iloprost BOlAC
calusterone L02AX isocarboxazid N06AF
carisoprodol M03BA isoniazid J04AC
carmustine LOlAD itraconazole J02AC
cerivastatin ClOAA ketazolam NOSBA
certoparin BOlAB ketoconazole DO lAC
chlordiazepoxide NOSBA lamifiban BOlAX
chlordiazepoxide/amitriptyline lazabemide N04BD
chlorpromazine NO SAA lepirudin BOlAE
chlorprothixene NOSAF levodopa N04BA
chlorzoxazone M03BB levodopa/benserazide
cilostazol BOlAC levodopa/carbidopa
clobazam NOSBA levodopa/carbidopa/entacapone N02AF
clonazepam N03AE levorphanol NOS CD
clopidogrel BOlAC loprazolam NOSBA
clorazepate NOSBA lorazepam NOS CD
clorgyline lormetazepam ClOAA
codeine ROSDA lovastatin NOSBA
dalteparin BOlAB medazepam N02AB
danaparoid BOlAB meperidine N03AA
danazol G03XA mephobarbital NOSBC
dantrolene M03CA meprobamate LOlBB
defibrotide BOlAX mercaptopurine NO SAC
delorazepam NOSBA mesoridazine NOSBA
metadazepam M03BB

Section liB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 49

Table 13 Potential drug interactions with kava: alphabetical listing by drug (continued)
Drug
metaxalone
methdilazine
•••
R06AD
Drug
stanozolol
streptokinase
ii(iiffiM
BOlAD

methenolone M03BA sufentanil NOlAH

methocarbamol L04AX sulfinpyrazone M04AB
methotrexate A03FA sulodexide BOlAB
metoclopramide NOS CD tacrine N06DA
midazolam N06AG temazepam NOS CD
moclobemide NOSAE tenecteplase BOlAD
molindone N02AA terbinafine DOlBA
morphine NOSAC testosterone G03BA
nadroparin BOlAB tetrazepam NOSBA
nandrolone A14AB thiopental NOlAF
niacin C04AC thioridazine NOSAC
niacin/lovastatin ticlopidine BOlAC
nitrazepam NOS CD tinzaparin BOlAB
oxandrolone A14AA tirofiban BOlAC
oxazepam NOSBA tramadol/acetaminophen
oxycodone N02AA tranylcypromine N06AF
oxymetholone A14AA treprostinil BOlAC
oxymorphone N02AA triazolam NOS CD
parnaparin BOlAB triAuoperazine NOSAB
pentobarbital NOSCA triAupromazine NOSAA
pentosan polysulfate sodium COSBA troglitazone AlOBG
perazine NOSAB urokinase BOlAD
pergolide N04BC valproic acid N03AG
periciazine NO SAC warfarin BOlAA
perphenazine NOSAB xemilofiban
perphenazine/amitriptyline (From DrugDex 2005)
phenelzine N06AF
phenindione BOlAA
phenobarbital N03AA
. phenprocoumon BOlAA
pimozide NO SAG
pinazepam NOSBA
pioglitazone AlOBG
pipotiazine SOlBC
piroxicam LOlDC
plicamycin N04BC
pramipexole ClOAA
pravastatin NOSBA
prazepam N03AA
primidone NOSAB
prochlorperazine NOSAA
promazine R06AD
promethazine NOSCM
propiomazine N02AC
propoxyphene NOS CD
quazepam NOlAH
remifentamil BOlAD
reteplase BOlAB
reviparin N04BC
ropinirole AlOBG
rosiglitazone
rosiglitazone/metformin NOSCA
secobarbital N04BD
selegiline BlOAC
sibrafiban ClOAA
simvastatin A14AA

50 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

 Drug
metoclopramide
pioglitazone
rosiglitazone
-
Table 14 Potential kava-drug interactions by ATC code

A03FA
AlOBG
AlOBG
anistreplase
reteplase
streptokinase
-
BOlAD
BOlAD
BOlAD
Drug
butalbital
mephobarbital
phenobarbital
primidone
-N02BE
N03AA
N03AA
N03AA
Drug
clobazam
clorazepate
delorazepam
diazepam
- NOSBA
NOSBA
NOSBA
NOSBA
troglitazone AlOBG tenecteplase BOlAD clonazepam N03AE halazepam NOSBA
oxandrolone A14AA urokinase BOlAD valproic acid N03AG ketazolam NOSBA
oxymetholone A14AA argatroban BOlAE ethopropazine N04AA lorazepam NOSBA
stanozolol A14AA desirudin BOlAE levodopa N04BA medazepam NOSBA
nandrolone A14AB lepirudin BOlAE amantadine N04BB metaclazepam NOSBA
acenocoumarol BOlAA defibrotide BOlAX bromocriptine N04BC oxazepam NOSBA
anisindione BOlAA , fondaparinux BOlAX pergolide N04BC pinazepam NOSBA
dicumarol BOlAA lamifiban BOlAX pramipexole N04BC prazepam NOSBA
phenindione BOlAA bivalirudin B02BD ropinirole N04BC tetrazepam NOSBA
phenprocoumon BOlAA amiodarone COlBD lazabemide N04BD meprobamate NOSBC
warfarin BOlAA niacin C04AC selegiline N04BD amobarbital NOSCA
antithrombin iii BOlAB pentosan polysulfate COSBA chlorpromazine NOSAA anagrelide NOSCA
sodium promazine NOSAA aprobarbital NOSCA
ardeparin BOlAB atorvastatin ClOAA triflupromazine NOSAA butobarbital NOSCA
certoparin BOlAB cerivastatin ClOAA acetophenazine NOSAB pentobarbital NOSCA
dalteparin BOlAB fluvastatin ClOAA secobarbital NOSCA quazepam NOS CD
danaparoid BOlAB lovastatin ClOAA brotizolam NOS CD temazepam NOS CD
enoxaparin BOlAB pravastatin ClOAA estazolam NOS CD triazolam NOS CD
heparin BOlAB simvastatin ClOAA flunitrazepam NOS CD propiomazine NOSCM
nadroparin BOlAB fluconazole DO lAC flurazepam NOS CD isocarboxazid N06AF
parnaparin BOlAB ketoconazole DO lAC loprazolam NOS CD phenelzine N06AF
reviparin BOlAB terbinafine DOlBA lormetazepam NOS CD tranylcypromine N06AF
sulodexide BOlAB becaplermin D03AX midazolam NOS CD moclobemide N06AG
tinzaparin BOlAB fluoxymesterone G03BA nitrazepam NOS CD tacrine N06DA
abciximab BOlAC testosterone G03BA codeine ROSDA
cilostazol BOlAC danazol G03XA hydrocodone ROSDA
clopidogrel BOlAC itraconazole J02AC methdilazine R06AD
dipyridamole BOlAC isoniazid J04AC promethazine R06AD
epoprostenol BOlAC carmustine LOlAD diclofenac SOlBC
eptifibatide BOlAC mercaptopurine LOlBB piroxicam SOlBC
iloprost BOlAC plicamycin LOlDC ethanol NOSBA
sibrafiban BOlAC calusterone L02AX adinazolam
ticlopidine BOlAC flutamide L02BB amlodipine/atorvastati n
tirofiban BOlAC azathioprine L04AX aspirin/dipyridamole
alteplase BOlAD methotrexate L04AX chlordiazepoxide/
ancrod BOlAD ibuprofen MOlAE amitriptyline
carisoprodol M03BA dixyrazine NOSAB clorgyline
methocarbamol M03BA fluphenazine NOSAB dermatan
chlorzoxazone M03BB perazine NOSAB dextromethorphan/
metaxalone M03BB perphenazine NOSAB morphine

dantrolene M03CA prochlorperazine NOSAB diclofenac/misoprostol

sulfinpyrazone M04AB trifluoperazine NOSAB dihydroergotamine/

heparin
thiopental NOlAF mesoridazine NOSAC
eterobarb
alfentanil NOlAH periciazine NOSAC
ezetimibe/simvastatin
fentanyl NOlAH pipotiazine NO SAC
levodopa/benserazide
remifentanil NOlAH thioridazine NO SAC
levodopa/carbidopa
sufentanil NOlAH benperidol NO SAD
levodopa/carbidopa/
hydromorphone N02AA haloperidol NO SAD entacapone
morphine N02AA molindone NOSAE methenolone
oxycodone N02AA chlorprothixene NOSAF niacin/lovastatin
oxymorphone N02AA pimozide NO SAG perphenazine/
meperidine N02AB amisulpride NOSAL amitriptyline
propoxyphene N02AC alprazolam NOSBA rosiglitazone/metformin
levorphanol N02AF bentazepam NOSBA tramadol/acetaminophen BOlAC
aspirin N02BA bromazepam NOSBA treprostinil
acetaminophen N02BE chlordiazepoxide NOSBA xemilofiban

Section JIB Case reports of hepatotoxicity I 51

Table 15 Potential kava-drug interactions by ATC groups
-19.!1!.11 Drug Type -[Link]!,\1 Drug Type
NOSA Anti psychotics N02AF 1 orphinan opioids
NOSAA 3 phenothiazine (aliphatic) anti psychotics N02B Other analgesics and antipyretics
NOSAB 7 phenothiazine (piperazine) antipsychotics N02BE 2 anilide analgesics
NO SAC 4 phenothiazine (piperidine) antipsychotics N02BA alicylic acid & derivatives
NO SAD butyrophenone derivatives antipsychotics N03A Antiepileptics
NOSAE indole anti psychotics N03AA 3 barbiturate antiepileptics
NOSAF thioxanthine antipsychotics N03AE benzodiazepine antiepileptic
NO SAG diphenylbutylpiperidine anti psychotics N03AG fatty acid antiepileptic
NOSAL benzamide anti psychotics N04A Anticholinergic agents
NOSB Anxiolytics N04AA 1 tertiary amine anticholinergic
NOSBA 17 benzodiazepine anxiolytics N04B Dopaminergic agents
NOSBC carbamate anxiolytics N04BA 1 dopa & dopa derivatives
NOSC Hypnotics and sedatives N04BB adamantane dopaminergic agents
NOSCA 6 barbiturates N04BC 4 dopamine agonists
NOSCD 11 benzodiazepine hypnotics & sedatives N04BD 2 MAO Binhibitors
NO SCM other hypnotics and sedatives N06A Antidepressants
BOlA Antithrombotic agents N06AF 3 MAO inhibitors
BOlAB 12 heparin group N06AG MAO A inhibitor
BOlAC 10 platelet aggregation inhibitors (excl heparin) N06D Antidementia drugs
BOlAD 7 enzymes N06DA 1 anticholinesterase anti-dementia
BOlAA 6 vitamin K antagonists AlOB Oral blood glucose lowering agents
BOlA X other antithrombotic agents AlOBG 3 thiozolidinediones (glitazones)
BOlAE direct thrombin inhibitors A14A Anabolic steroids
ClOA Cholesterol and triglyceride reducers A14AA 3 androstan anabolic steroids
ClOAA 6 HMG CoA reductase inhibitors A14AB estren anabolic steroid
NOlA Anaesthetics, general M03B Muscle relaxants, centrally acting agents
NOlAF 1 barbiturate anaesthetics M03BA 2 carbamic acid esters centrally acting muscle
NOlAH 4 opioid anaesthetics relaxants
N02A Opioids M03BB oxazol, thiazine & triazine centrally acting
muscle realaxants
N02AA 4 natural opium alkaloids
M03C Muscle relaxants, directly acting agents
N02AB phenyl piperidine opioids
M03CA 1 dantrolene directly acting muscle relaxant
N02AC diphenylpropylamine opioids

Table 16 Case reports of hepatotoxicity with kava: excluded cases

Hepatic
EMEA 54 Kava 120 Gall bladder pain Yes X X Unknown 6
France 60 Kava (365) GGT increased NR y X Recovered 6
BfArM 68 Laitan 100 Acetone 210 (60) Hepatic enzymes increased NR X X Unchanged 4
BfArM M 27 Kavacur Ethanol 120 2 Faeces discoloured Yes X X Unknown 6
WHO M 48 Kava GGT increased Yes y N Improving
FDA M 53 Nature Pharma Pain right hypochondrium NR X X Unknown 6
Kava

Source [Link] Other sources Comment Concom

54 Phytopharm (EMEA id) 38 Phytopharm 2.7.13 (EMEA 38) Not hepatic Enalapril, Triamterene
60 France (EMEA id) 63 Phytopharm 2.5.6 (EMEA 63) Non-specific NR
68 BfArM 93.0351 Denham 3 Abnormal LFTs before kava. NR
M 27 BfArM 2001776 Phytopharm 2.6.15 (EMEA 42) Non-specific HIV treatment
M 48 WHO 8098467 On kava 8 years & GGT elevated Bendrofiumethiazide
over that time.
M 53 FDA 15249 Not specifically hepatic NR

52 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Discussion tionship of the hepatic events to the kava products taken
There are differences between the case review findings of are generally at variance with this WHO report. The com-
this report for WHO and that of others. The valuable, detailed, parisons are summarized in Table 17. Apart from four cases
comprehensive and most recent review is that of Schmidt excluded because they are clinically irrelevant, none of these
(2003). This contains follow-up information not available to 20 cases were regarded as 'unrelated' to the outcome in our
earlier reviewers such as Waller (2002) and Denham (2002). review. They were either 'possible' or 'unassessable' because
Some of the differences between this WHO review and that of insufficient information. If unassessable, they cannot be
of Schmidt are discussed below, but similar comments are classified as 'unrelated' (or related).
applicable to some of the findings of Waller and Denham. Table 18 compares the cases coded as probable in this
The Schmidt review records 20 cases that are said to be report with the assessments of Schmidt.
'unrelated to kava intake'. The conclusions about the rela-

Table 17 Cases considered 'unrelated to kava intake' by Schmidt (2003)

Key: "Schmidt ref refers to the case reference used by Schmidt (2003), ·case No.' refers to the case number of this (WHO) report and 'Rei' refers to the relationship assigned in this report
(3=possible, 6=unassessable) (>ee table 1).

Comment
3.1 34 The patient had pre-existing liver disease, but it is possible that kava made the condition worse and induced liver failure.
3.2 17 Considered by Schmidt as unrelated because there was recovery with stopping co-medication and continuing kava, but an
interaction was possible with the co-medication which was stopped. Therefore coded as 'possible'.
3.3 Excluded from this review (table 16}
3.4 54 3 Had liver abnormalities before kava, but whatever the cause of the abnormality, if kava is hepatotoxic, then it may have made
the abnormality worse. Kava-drug interaction is also 'possible'.
3.5 31 6 Unassessable because of insufficient data. This means the causality of the event cannot be assessed and so it should not be
included in the 'unrelated' group.
3.6 73 3 There is a question over pre-existing liver disease. If present, it could have been aggravated by the kava product Therefore
. 'possible'.
3.7 92 6 As for 3.5.
3.8 66 6 As for 3.5
3.9 Excluded from this review (table 16}
3.10 91 Took kava for 2 years. LFTs returned to normal on withdrawal. Schmidt attributes the problem to obesity, but there is no
record of weight reduction associated with the LFT recovery. Therefore 'possible'.
3.11 68 6 As for 3.5.
3.12 89 3 History of hepatitis C, but this does not exclude kava as contributory or causal. LFTs improved to near normal (ALT 997 til461U}
5 weeks after withdrawal of kava.
3.13 Excluded from this report
3.14 59 6 Unassessable. Pre-existing hepatitis C does not exclude hepatic damage by kava as claimed by Schmidt
3.15 57 Other medications may have affected the liver, but this does not exclude kava as a cause. Hepatitis C could not be completely
excluded.
3.16 74 6 As in 3.5.
3.17 36 6 As in 3.5.
3.18 6 Considered by Schmidt to be 'hepatitis caused by tetracycline' (even though 'the data is insufficient'}, but this does not
exclude kava as an interacting agent Apparently there was a negative rechallenge to kava alone, not indicated in earlier
report details.
3.19 88 Probably alcoholic (Schmidt}. Alcohol &/or Auoxetine could have caused liver problems, but this does not exclude kava either
as an interacting agent or as contributory to the event
3.20 Excluded from this report (table 16}.

Section JIB Case reports of' hepatotoxicity I 53

Table 18 Cases coded 'probable' in this report compared with the evaluation of Schmidt (2003)
lfllfflil!i#IQtiMNIB Comment
5.4 3 2 'Doubtful' causality by Schmidt because of other possible components of 'Sleepy tea', one of two kava
containing products taken. However, this case fulfils the key criteria for 'probable': recovery on withdrawal and no
other identifiable suspect cause.
4 2 Not included in Schmidt's review.
7.1 19 'Probable' relationship agreed.
6.4 21 Regarded by Schmidt as unassessable because, 'There is no information on the differential diagnostics, virus
serology and ethanol consumption.' However, the basic pharmacovigilance data for a 'probable' relationship are
present. Recovery on withdrawal of kava suggests the absence of virus and alcohol problems.
6.3 37 Same comment. Schmidt states that the outcome was unknown. If this is correct then the relationship should be
'possible', but the WHO database report states that the 'reaction abated' on withdrawal.
6.8 39 2 Schmidt suggests that the taking of an artichoke extract might mean that the patient was suffering from pre-
existing 'hepatic insufficiency' and that the case was 'unassessable'. This is a vague assumption and the basic
pharmacovigilance data for a 'probable' relationship are present. She was investigated in hospital for causes other
than kava and none found.
8.1 43 'Probable' relationship agreed.
82 Not included in Schmidt's review.

The reviewers of the case reports of hepatotoxicity linked References for Section liB
with kava have to date taken a purely clinical approach with Blumenthal M, Goldberg A, Brinckmann J, eds. Herbal Medicine:
Expanded Commission E Monographs. Newton. MA: Integrative
the examination of each report individually and have largely
Medicine Communications, 2000, 221-225.
neglected the epidemiological type of assessment used in Brauer RB, Stangl M, Stewart JR, Pfab R, Becker K. Acute liver fail-
pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology. While clini- ure after administration of herbal tranquilizer kava-kava (Piper
cal assessment is essential, it must be supported by epidemio- methysticum) [letter]. Journal of clinical psychiatry. 2003, 64(2),
logical assessment. In pharmacovigilance, the clinical data is 216-8.
Clouatre DL. Kava kava: examining new reports of toxicity. Toxicology
usually incomplete and imperfect, as has been found with the
Letters. 2004, 150, 85-96.
kava case reports, but there are other means, as demonstrated Denham A, Mcintyre M, Whitehouse J. Kava- the unfolding story:
in this review, of evaluating the strength of a signal or validat- Report on a work-in-progress. Journal of Alternative and Comple-
ing a causal association when looking at the aggregation of mentary Medicine. 2002, 8(3), 237-263.
reports as a whole. In pharmacovigilance there are frequent DrugDex published by Micromedex. http:[Link]
libra rian/PFPU 1/al4CzAI NzrnAM.
intra- and inter-individual inconsistencies in the relation-
Gruenwald J, Mueller C, Skrabal J. Kava Report 2003: In-depth inves-
ship (causality) assessment of individual case reports. These tigation into EU member states market restrictions on kava prod-
assessments, though important, are seldom anything more ucts prepared for Centre for the Development of Entreprise CDE).
than provisional and their main value is in establishing a Phytopharm Consulting, [report]. 2003. [Link] [Link].
plausibility for a suspected causal association which may lead Matthews JM, Etheridge AS, Black SR. Inhibition of cytochrome P450
to further investigation. activities by kava extract and kava lactones. Drug metabolism and
disposition: the biological fate of chemicals, 2002. 30, 1153-1157.
Whatever the individual assessments of the case reports, Natural Standard. http:[Link]/monographs/monoframe·
probably the most important finding of this review is that set. asp? monograph= In at ura lsta ndar d/ monograph sjh erbss upp le me nts.
amongst an aggregation of 93 worldwide case reports of hepa- Schmidt M. Is kava really hepatotoxic? An analysis of the known data
totoxicity associated with the use of kava, there are differences on adverse effects of kava preparations on the liver. Universitiit
Munster, 2003. http:[Link]/[Link]/Kavajkavaframe.
between the extracts which provides scientific evidence that
html.
this association is not a random phenomenon. This evidence Stickel F, Baumuller HM, Seitz K, Vasilakis D, Seitz G, Seitz HK,
suggests that the organic extracts of kava are associated with a Schuppan D. Hepatitis induced by Kava (Piper methysticum rhi-
higher rate of hepatic events than synthetic products. It might zoma). Journal of Hepatology. 2003, 39(1), 62-67.
be thought that the possibility of a small number of unidenti- Teschke R, Gaus W, Loew D. Kava extracts: safety and risks including
rare hepatotoxicity. Phytomedici11e. 2003, 10(5), 440-6.
fied duplications in the case reports arising from Stickel's case
Safety monitoring of medicinal products: Guidelines for setting up and
series (up to four) could affect these statistical comparisons running a pharmacovigilance centre. Uppsala Monitoring Centre,
of the extracts, but this is not so. None of the unmatched case Sweden. 2000.
reports from Stickel et a!. (2003) provided the name of the Waller DP. Report on kava and liver damage. Silver Spring. American
product used or type of extract and so they were not included Herbal Products Association. 2002.
in the statistical comparisons.

54 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Section Ill Regulatory issues

Regulation I registration of kava products

-
Table 1 Country status of kava usage before the ban in Europe

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Food Supplements (yes/no)
yes
no
no
no
Medicine (yes/no}
no
yes
yes
yes
Approved use
Traditional form and food supplements
Treatment for anxiety
As drugs (treatment for anxiety)
As drugs (treatment for anxiety)
Canada yes yes Food supplement and as treatment for anxiety
Denmark yes no Food supplement
Finland yes no Food supplement
France yes no Food supplement
Germany no yes As drugs to treat anxiety disorders
Greece yes no Food supplement
Ireland yes yes As food supplements and as treatment for anxiety
Italy yes no As food supplements
Liechtenstein yes no As food supplements
Netherlands yes no As food supplements
New Zealand yes no As food supplements and traditional form
Norway yes no As food supplements
Portugal no yes Licensed drug for anxiety treatment
Singapore yes no As food supplements
Spain yes no As food supplements
Sweden yes no As food supplements
Switzerland no yes Treatment for anxiety
UK yes yes As food supplements and as treatment for anxiety
USA yes no As food supplements+ traditional form

In the Pacific Islands, people have used kava as a tradi- after concerns about hepatotoxicity were first raised in
tional drink before and after the ban. Only water extracts Germany.
have been used in the Pacific Islands whereas the countries The total number of worldwide reports of suspected
mentioned in the table above have principally used organic liver toxicity associated with kava-containing products
solvent extracts such as either ethanol or acetone extracts. was 68 in June 2002. Of the 68 reports, there were three
deaths and six liver transplants.
Regulatory actions on kava containing products While the United States of America has issued numer-
Table 2 outlines the regulatory actions taken by ous warnings to both consumers and physicians, the herb
various countries around the world from the year 2000 is still available for sale throughout the country.

Section III Regulatory issues I 55

Table 2 Regulatory actions on kava containing products
Germany i;§Md France
2000 Small number of cases of
liver damage reported to the
German regulatory authority
(BfArM) 1, 2
2001 In a letter issued by In November, Germany's Two non-serious liver case The Committee on Safety of
the Food and Drug Federal Institute for Drugs and reports were filed with Medicines (CSM) first considers
Administration (FDA) on Medical Development (BfArM) regulatory authorities.1 safety of kava. The Medicines
December 18, the agency reported 24 recent kava- However, no kava product was Control Agency (MCA) and CSM
stated it is investigating related cases of liver damage, registered for sale in France call for a voluntary suspension of
whether kava-containing including one death. BfArM because it is traded as a food kava-containing products.1
products are a health asked kava manufacturers supplement. On January 8, the MCA said it knows of 68 cases
concern. The FDA noted to respond to the reports French Agency for the Safety of of liver problems worldwide
26 cases of liver toxicity in and stated that licenses to Health Products halts kava sales suspected to be associated with
Germany and Switzerland, market the herb could be for one year based on German kava kava, including liver failure
including one fatality and withdrawn.l and Swiss reports.4 resulting in six transplants and
one liver transplant that three deaths.12
were reportedly associated
with kava products.3

Canada Germany Australia France

2002 US Centers for Disease On January 16, Health Forty cases of severe On August 15, kava- There is no Three reports
Control and Prevention Canada begins safety liver damage were containing products were evidence that kava of liver toxicity
issued a report on assessment of kava and reported to BfArM from recalled by the Therapeutic was allowed back (none fatal) were
hepatotoxicity associated advises consumers not 1999-2002. Of the forty Goods Administration (TGA) on the shelves, all reported to the
with kava-containing to use kava-containing cases, three were fatal The recall was sparked reports say it is still MCA up to June.
products. On March 25, products. The and six patients required after a reported death of a banned. On July 18, the
the FDA warned that investigation found that transplants.S woman from complications MCA considers
kava is linked to serious as of August 21, three of fulminant hepatic proposal that
liver damage, including cases of liver toxicity failure associated with the prohibits the
hepatitis, cirrhosis, and associated with kava use of a kava-containing supply of kava
at least four urgent liver were reported. A stop- medicine.1,6 in unlicensed
transplants in other sale order was issued medicinal
countries. A letter was also for all kava-containing products.?
issued urging healthcare products.1
professionals to review
cases of liver toxicity to
determine if they were
associated with kava.

..
2003
USA
As of March, the FDA advised
that 21 adverse event reports
had been received in the U.S.A
Uii£!.N Germany Australia
In January, the
TGA established a
committee, called
The Committee on Safety of Medicines and
the Medicines Commission found evidence
linking kava to cases of liver toxicity. The
Five stated some type of liver the Kava Evaluation MCA noted 70 worldwide reports of adverse
disorder.3 Group (KEG) to review liver reactions, In January, the Medicines
the safety of kava and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
products.6 (MHRA), bans kava-containing products.?

2004
2005 Kava products remain available Germany is giving MHRA is reviewing the ban on kava. (If the
for purchase. consideration to making regulatory agency can find evidence that
kava a prescription drug. kava is safe, the herb may enter the United
Kingdom market once again.) 8

56 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

..
Table 2 Regulatory actions on kava containing products
(continued)

2000
Portugal Switzerland
In September 2000,
the government
warned marketers
Singapore Austria Ireland New Zealand

of safety concerns
related to kava. based
on four case reports.1
2001 Health authorities,
(Swissmedic) issued a
safety protocol.1,4
2002 Portugal followed In January, the country's Following the On February 4, the On January 16, the New
France and Health Sciences German ban of kava, Irish Medicines Board Zealand Ministry of Health
suspended all kava- Authority (HSA) Austria banned while acknowledging announced that it was
containing products warned consumers of kava. The recall of that there were no investigating overseas
for one year. 1,4 There the potential adverse all kava products reports of liver ADRs concerns about kava and
were no local reports effects of kava. On July followed a single associated with kava liver damage. The ministry
of hepatotoxicity. 25, kava was banned. case of liver failure in Ireland, issued a noted that available
While no adverse associated with kava voluntary recall of evidence is poor because
effects associated consumption. kava products in of additional liver-affecting
with kava were conjunction with factors, such as alcohol
reported in Singapore, the industry, based consumption. On August
HAS prohibited the on the reports 16, the NZ Food Safety
importation and sale in Germany and Authority issued a warning
of kava products in Switzerland.11 to consumers about the
the country based on safety of kava-containing
German and Swiss case productsA
reports.1 No case reports of
hepatotoxicity.1,4

2003 In February, the

Swissmedic banned
the sale of kava-
containing products.1
2004
2005

IIIII New Caledonia South Africa Wales South America Asia

2000
2001
2002 On January 11, In November 2002, the South The National Assembly
the Health and African Medicines Control for Wales bans all kava- April-May-Japan: begins action
Social Department Council (MCC) issued a containing products under on kava.
announced a ban on drug alert, stating that kava The Kavakava in Food
the sale of kava- may cause irreversible liver (Wales) Regulations 2002 in
containing products damage. No cases of liver December 2002.
sold in pharmacies. damage were reported to the
Traditional kava MCC.1
preparations and
kava products sold in
supermarkets were
exempt from the
ban.1
Two cases of hepatic
injury with recovery
associated with
traditionally prepared
kava drink.13

2003 The National Assembly for Brazil- Two cases

Wales reversed a two-year of hepatotoxicity
ban on the sale of kava- reported.
containing products. The
decision went into effect in
[Link]
2004
2005 Fresh regulations to ban
kava were proposed but an
appeal is currently under
consideration by the court 14

Section III Regulatory issues I 57

References for Section Ill 8. Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS). Britain Voluntar-
1. Gruenwald J, Mueller C, Skrabal J. Kava report 2003: In-depth inves- ily Suspends Kava-kava Sales. 2005. http:[Link].orgjs_rapsjsec_
tigation on EU member states market restrictions on kava products. RANews_Detail.asp ?TRACKID=&CID= 116&DID= 17199.
Phytopharm Consulting- a unit of analyze & realyze 2003. http:(jwww. 9. The National Assembly for Wales, 2002. The Kava-kava in Food
[Link]/KavaReport. (Wales) (Revocation) Regulations. 2002. http:[Link]-legislation.
2. Analyze & Realize. "Kava, Too Good to be Disregarded." 2003. http:// [Link]. uk/legislationjwalesjwsi2002/2002315 7e. htm.
[Link]/Publications/[Link]. 10. The National Assembly for Wales. The Kava-kava in Food (Wales)
3. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug (Revocation) Regulations. 2003. http:([Link].
Administration. Consumer Advisory. 25 March 2002. http:([Link]. ukjlegislationjwalesjwsi2003/[Link].
[Link]/- [Link]. 11. Irish Medicines Board Report, Molloy S, Walsh C. Voluntary with-
4. Schmidt, M. "Is Kava really hepatotoxic? An analysis of the known drawal of Kava kava due to safety concerns, 2002. http:(/[Link].
data on adverse effects of kava preparations on the liver". Institute of ie/ uploads/documents/ 454 5555 _kava .pdf.
Pharmaceutical Biology and Phytochemistry. 2003. 12. European Drug Report, January 2002, Vol. 12, No. 15. http:(jwww.
5. Nutra Ingredients USA. "Germany bans kava kava after liver dam- [Link].
age fears." 18 June 2002. [Link] 13. Russmann, Stefan a; Barguil, Yann b; Cabalion, Pierre c; Kritsanida,
[Link] 7id =23246-germa ny-bans- kava. Marina d; Duhet, Daniel c; Lauterburg, Bernhard H a Hepatic injury
6. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing Therapeu- due to traditional aqueous extracts of kava root in New Caledonia.
tic Goods Administration. http:[Link]. European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 2003, 15(9):1033-
7. Food Standards Agency. "Kava-kava in food (England) Regulations" 2002. http:// 1036.
www. [Link]. ukjfoodi ndustryj regulation/ ria/ 106032. 14. Draft Regulatory Appraisal, The Kava-kava in Food (Wales) Regula-
tions 2005. http:([Link].

58 I Assessment o(the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Section IV Conclusions and recommendations

Background Possible mechanisms

Kava is a perennial shrub native to some islands of the Toxicological and clinical studies vary in their results
South Pacific that has been cultivated for centuries. Water- addressing kava hepatotoxicity, but experimental studies and
based extracts of its rhizoma are used traditionally to prepare clinical trials suggest that water extracts are devoid of toxic
a psychoactive beverage and acetonic and ethanolic extracts effects on the liver. Several factors analysed in this report
of kava have been used in considerable quantity as a herbal have been implicated in the apparent cause-effect relation-
anxiolytic in many countries. Until the ban of kava products ship between ingestion of acetonic or ethanolic (organic) kava
in 2002, kava was available in Europe as an herbal medicine. extracts and the liver toxicity observed in the case reports, but
Kava is still available for use in the United States of America the exact mechanism of toxicity (if any) remains unknown. In
and some other countries as a dietary supplement. a few reports there is a suggestion of an idiosyncratic immune
Warnings about the safety of the plant were initiated in mediated process and in two cases, a metabolic abnormality
the late 1990s when several cases of hepatotoxicity including with CYP 2D6 enzyme deficiency. Further research is nec-
liver failure and death were reported to regulatory agencies essary to determine all the chemical constituents of kava in
mainly in the European Union (EU) in 1998 after almost a the different types of preparation and their exact metabolic
decade of widespread use of kava extracts in Europe (Strahl pathways. In terms of drug-drug interactions, kava appears
eta!. 1998; Russmann eta!. 2001a). The first reported cases to inhibit or induce multiple CYP 450 enzymes.
were presented to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical
Devices (BfArM) in Germany, where out of 76 spontaneous Differing opinions
adverse drug reaction (ADR)- reports on kava, 24 were asso- As described in Section IIA, some experts consider kava
ciated with impaired liver function or symptoms that could be to be a medicinal plant with a very favourable risk profile and
linked to impaired liver function. One out of four reports of to have at the same time, excellent efficacy in the treatment of
liver dysfunction from Switzerland was of fulminant liver fail- anxiety and as a muscle relaxant, mood enhancer and seda-
ure and required liver transplantation. Other hepatic events tive. As a reaction to the ban of kava products in Germany,
were hepatitis, jaundice, cirrhosis of the liver, and elevated the scientists in the official German expert group for phy-
liver enzyme and bilirubin concentrations. There was also a totherapy (Commission E) publicly stated that according to
highly publicized death (Brauer eta!. 2001). their point of view the ban of kava was an overreaction. They
Suddenly other agencies in different countries started disagreed with the ban and reiterated their view in July 2002
documenting cases of hepatotoxicity possibly induced by kava that they were 'convinced of the presented scientific data on the
preparations available in the market at the time. By late 2001 efficacy of Kava and consider the benefit-risk ratio and the thera-
and early 2002 both the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) in peutic benefit for the patient positive'. According to some experts
the UK and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the (Hagemann 2003; Corrigan 2005) this is an extremely impor-
USA received 3 and 17 reports of liver toxicity in association with tant fact because it has been stated that the German ban was
kava. Four published cases of hepatic injury associated with kava as a consequence of an assumed lack of kava efficacy.
were reported in Canada in February 2002. A total of 82 docu-
mented adverse event reports involving liver toxicity existed as Incidence
of December 2002. As a result kava products were banned by It has also been claimed that the majority of case reports
individual countries in the EU such as Germany, Switzerland, were probably not related to kava and that the benefit-risk
France and Spain, and the controversy began. ratio for kava is positive when compared with other avail-
More recently two cases of fulminant hepatitis (one death) able treatments for anxiety disorders. According to Mathias
suspected to be related to kava consumption were reported to Schmidt (2003) from the cases where a causal relationship
the Brazil regulatory agency late in 2003. Other cases of liver seemed probable, an incidence rate of less thmz 0.02 cases per one
toxicity particularly hepatitis have been reported in Spain, million daily doses is calculated, corresponding to less than mze
Australia and Switzerland (Bujanda 2002; Gow 2003; Russ- case in 50 million days of application. This incidence calculation is
man 2003). far below the liver risk for diazepam with one case 011 472,000 days
I. Ralph Edwards, Director of the WHO Collaborating of application'. In addition, some experts have pointed to an
Centre for International Drug Monitoring (the Uppsala Moni- imbalance in the benefit-risk analysis resultioilg in an under-
toring Centre) has stated, 'There are valid arguments on both estimation of efficacy and an overestimation of risk.
sides about the level of attribution that can be ascribed to kava However, estimates of the incidence of adverse events
products as causing liver damage. This is common in drug safety based on spontaneous reporting are usually much lower than
according to where one applies the benefit of any doubt. When the true incidence, because, with modern pharmaceuticals,
there are more than a few suspected cases, and when the outcome only 5% or less of all adverse reactions are reported. Adding
is serious (liver transplantation and death), I believe there is a 'case to the uncertainty of Schmidt's estimate is the fact that the
to answer". reporting rate for herbal medicines is very much lower than

Section IV Conclusions and recommendations I 59

for modern pharmaceuticals. Therefore the true incidence of occurring only after the administration of kava. It is of note
adverse events related to kava is not known, but it appears to that the reports stated that there was no other therapy in
be quite low. A true incidence figure can only be ascertained seven and in eight others the concomitant therapy mentioned
by a proper epidemiological study. is assessed as not causing hepatotoxicity.

Clinical trials Benefit-risk

In the reviewed clinical trials serious adverse events relat- A comprehensive assessment of the safety of kava prepara-
ed to kava are listed as non-existent or negligible. There have tions would have to weigh the claimed relative benefits of kava
not been any case control studies for relative risk determina- against its perceived (or, ideally measured) comparative risk.
tion. 'Based 011 empirical data from other benefit-risk evaluations, In future, new studies evaluating the mechanism of toxicity,
it can be stated that severe liver damage caused by Kava-Kava or data on product characteristics, manufacturing and quality
occurs only very rarely' (Corrigan 2005) control, as well as post-marketing surveillance studies, will
Would even more thorough clinical trials before kava contribute to this assessment. Appropriate study outcomes
extracts were widely marketed have solved the issue of kava's and biological assays may have to be developed. The issue
safety with regard to the liver? Probably not. It is widely of the synergistic effect of multiple plant constituents, part of
accepted that most hepatic drug reactions involve only a small the plant used in the preparation of the extracts and type of
proportion of individuals. This fact makes it difficult to detect extraction method should also be considered when evaluating
even direct hepatotoxicity at the time of drug development both safety and efficacy of kava preparations (Spinella 2002).
(Gruenwald 2003), but it may be worth evaluating this prob- Hagemann (2003), states that a complete evaluation also has
lem in future clinical trials and in prospective observational to take into consideration the possible effects of regulatory
cohort studies (cohort event monitoring). decisions such as cancelling a license or banning a product a
priori without an evidence-based justification. Such decisions
Causality must not result in a shift to therapeutic alternatives that may
When case reports of hepatic side effects are discussed, a be even less researched, or whose application entails greater
range of potential causes has to be taken into consideration. or more severe risks, or that may be more costly.
Drug-induced hepatic diseases are only one of the possibilities Several initiatives have been established to address these
in differential diagnosis, and would account for less than 5% of and other important issues. The most recent is that of the
all hepatic illness. It is well established that alcohol abuse and MHRA agency in the UK that has called stakeholders to par-
viral infections are still the leading causes of hepatic diseases. ticipate in a review process of available kava evidence. The
In general, drug-induced disease mimics non-iatrogenic final report 'Report of the Committee of Safety of Medicines
disease and examination of the clinical characteristics recorded Expert Working Group on the Safety of kava' is available from
in case reports will often not assist in differential diagnosis. the website: [Link].
Many of the clinical and histological features in the kava case
series would be consistent with viral hepatitis, but the evidence Post-marketing surveillance
as outlined in the section on differential diagnosis, largely Current cases of adverse events associated with kava raise
points to their exclusion. many new (and controversial) issues. However, according to
As with many different types of ADR, reliance must be our literature review, alcohol and acetone extracts appear
placed on the closeness of the association between drug and acceptable and safe for the treatment of anxiety and related
disease and the collective characteristics of the reports. Eight disorders. But a lot of uncertainties remain. Good post-mar-
reports met the requirements of having a probable relation- keting surveillance studies are essential and should not rely
ship. A probable relationship means that there was a new (or exclusively on spontaneous reporting. Case-control studies
worsening) hepatic event within a plausible time period after and prospective observational cohort studies are essential, but
the administration of kava, that there was no other plausible because the putative hepatotoxicity appears rare, the cohort
reason identified for the event and that the patient recovered studies would need to be large. The accumulation of large
soon after withdrawal of kava. In addition to the probable cohorts of kava users, taking a variety of kava products, should
reports, there were five reports with a positive rechallenge. provide many opportunities for scientific study, including real
Although these contained confounding elements that incidence, differences between extracts, ethnic or regional
prevented their classification as 'certain', a positive rechal- differences, identification of risk factors, case-control studies,
lenge with the suspect agent is a strong indication of cause identification of interactions and pharmacogenetic studies.
and effect. Further evidence for a causal relationship comes
from the reports classified as possible. These were classified Toxicological research
according to strict criteria and the absence of information on Further comparative toxicity studies among kava users,
dose, duration, dechallenge or outcome, or the presence of both in indigenous populations and Western populations
a potentially hepatotoxic drug, prevented their classification are required. Further evidence-based research should focus
as probable even though the association of drug and event on the safety of all the different types of kava preparations
was otherwise strong. Some of the concomitant drugs had (organic extracts, synthetic and water based) used in clinical
a very low likelihood of causing a hepatic reaction e.g. phe- practice. Controlled clinical and non-clinical studies are nec-
noxymethylpenicillin and some had been used continuously essary to determine the possible mechanisms of liver toxicity
for several years without problems, but with the hepatic event of the various kava lactones and other chemicals identified.

6o I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

Such studies may then lead to the development of less toxic interaction has been checked. Use with other potentially
kava products, to the identification of a subpopulation of indi- hepatotoxic drugs should be avoided.
viduals that should not use kava or to additional mandatory
cautionary requirements, including label claims and warn- Pharmacoepidemiology
ings, if needed (Anke and Ramsan 2004). In the meantime Using denominator data in the form of daily doses of vari-
physicians and patients should continue to be alert to possible ous kava products sold, it has been possible to compare rates
hepatotoxic side effects in the course of kava treatment, to of hepatic events by extract type. The results suggest that there
stop the treatment at first suspicion and to undertake a care- is a higher rate of hepatotoxicity with acetonic and ethanolic
ful diagnostic work-up ruling out all other causes (Teschke extracts than with synthetic products. This is a key finding,
2003). Further research into kava products is necessary to although the rates are based on sales figures only and num-
gain information about the pharmacokinetics, particularly bers are small. The results also show that the differences are
distribution, metabolism, and hepatic elimination mecha- independent of age, gender, dose, duration of use, concomitant
nisms as well as the mechanism of liver toxicity itself. therapy and alcohol use and are unlikely to be confounded by
other disease states. This suggests, at least in part, that the liver
Quality control toxicity is not due to the kava lactone content, but other chemi-
Of primary importance on the producer side, is the devel- cals extracted that are not present in the synthetic product and
opment of adequate quality control and regulated produc- not bioavailable in water suspensions of kava. It is impossible
tion. Standards for the cultivation and processing of kava to make a comparison of rates with water-based products.
before its pharmaceutical processing need to be established
and enforced. It would appear that the 'correct' cultivar(s) Risk factors
and plant parts for medicinal use are known. The use of In the absence of epidemiological studies it is difficult to
other cultivars or similar species, or aerial parts of the plant, identify risk factors for hepatic reactions with certainty. How-
could increase the risk of toxic effects. Raw kava produced for ever there is evidence for the following:
manufacture should be certified according to the standards • Acetonic and ethanolic extracts
set and pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility for • Alcohol
using only those sources that meet these standards. • Co-medication with potentially hepatotoxic medicines
• Co-medication with potentially interacting medicines:
Clinical review of case reports kava has been shown to inhibit a variety of cytochrome
Preceding comments derive from the literature review. P450 enzymes.
With a pharmacovigilance and pharmaco-epidemiologi- • Pre-existing liver disease
cal approach, there is evidence that there is a greater risk of • Significant overdose (see section on liver transplants), but
hepatotoxicity with the organic extracts than with synthetic within the usual range, there is no evidence that higher
or water products. The case report analysis suggests a likeli- dose carries increased risk
hood that kava products of any type can be harmful to the • Genetic polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 enzymes.
liver and that this can be serious. This problem appears to 2D6 deficiency has been associated with cases, but there
occur rarely, but there is no good information on incidence. may be others that are significant.
While there is evidence that some of the cases are due to
direct toxicity, there is evidence that other factors may, per- Pharmacovigilance versus clinical trials
haps more often, be responsible. These include pre-existing It might be considered that the findings of the review of
liver disease e.g. hepatitis C, or alcohol related liver problems, case reports are inconsistent with the findings of the review
kava-drug or kava-herb interactions, idiosyncratic responses of clinical trials and experimental studies. However, this
either immune mediated or metabolic, and overdose. The use apparent incompatibility is a common situation. Clinical tri-
of kava with known hepatotoxic drugs should be avoided. In als usually involve insufficient numbers of patients and do
terms of potential interactions, kava should not be used with not continue for a sufficient length of time to reliably detect
antipsychotics, other anxiolytics and anticoagulants. Where rare reactions. In addition, they are generally designed to
pharmacogenetic testing is available, it would be desirable to assess efficacy and while they collect safety information, the
determine the presence or absence of enzyme abnormalities methodology is not primarily aimed at detecting potential
in the cytochrome P450 system. Some pharmacogenetic labo- toxic effects. Many common or serious reactions have been
ratories have developed straightforward and cheap methods missed in good quality clinical trials and have been revealed
of doing this without reliance on blood samples. only through effective pharmacovigilance, prospective obser-
vational cohort studies such as cohort (prescription) event
Interactions monitoring, published case reports in the literature or case
Kava products have a high propensity to cause kava-drug, control studies following signal identification. The absence of
and probably kava-herb interactions. Over 200 possible or reports of hepatotoxicity in clinical trials does not mean that
potential kava-drug interactions have been listed (Section liB these reactions do not occur.
tables 13-15). Some of these will affect the liver. Co-medi-
cation with anxiolytics, antipsychotics and antithrombotics Recommendations
should be avoided and a decision on the use of other drugs Should kava products be used as medicines, then the fol-
with kava should only be undertaken after the potential for lowing are recommended in terms of safety:

Section IV Conclusions and recommendations I 61

• Ethanolic and acetonic extracts should be avoided. collected and analysed there were seven fatalities and 14
• Synthetic products should be available. liver transplants.
• Products should be developed from water-based suspen- 2. Eight cases were classified as having a probable relation-
sions of kava. ship between the use of kava and liver disorder. This
• A pharmacopoeial standard for kava products should be means that there was no factor present other than kava
created. that was likely to cause liver injury.
• Further research should be undertaken on the identifica- 3. There were 53 cases classified as having a possible rela-
tion and toxicology of the chemical constituents of acetonic tionship. Some of these cases will have a causal relation-
and ethanolic extracts. ship with kava and some will not.
• Cohort event monitoring studies should be undertaken 4. Five patients had a positive rechallenge, presumably to
on all products, including those that are synthetic and kava alone.
water-based. 5. All seven deaths were classified as having a possible rela-
tionship with the use of kava, as were 10 of the 14 liver
Overall summary transplants. By definition of the term 'probable' in phar-
macovigilance practice, deaths and transplants cannot be
Conclusions coded as such. It is likely that some of these cases were
1. The case reports of liver injury associated with the use of related to kava use.
kava products provide a significant concern of a causal 6. Five of the case reports were from the use of water 'extracts'
relationship in the absence of other identifiable risks of (but only two were prepared in the traditional manner);
liver disease. two were coded as probable and three possible.
2. The chemical component(s) of kava products responsible
for hepatotoxicity have not been identified. Summary of recommendations
3. The strong potential for kava-drug interactions, genetic 1. Further research into kava products is necessary, in par-
differences in the cytochrome P enzyme system, heavy ticular to identify and gain information about the toxicol-
alcohol use and previous liver disease are potential risk ogy of the non-kava lactone constituents. This needs to
factors for hepatotoxicity with kava. In addition, the include any differences between root and rhizome.
cultivar of Piper methysticum used and the plant part are 2. Should any kava product be considered for approval by
relevant to safety. regulatory authorities, the following should be important
4. Other mechanisms proposed for hepatotoxic effects are considerations:
immune mediated idiosyncrasy, the presence of the alka- 2.1. Post-marketing surveillance and research
loid pipermethystine in organic solvent extracts and loss 2.1.1. A risk management plan should be drawn up
of the protective effect on the liver of glutathione with the early in the approval process. This plan would
organic solvent extracts. include suggestions for pharmacoepidemiologi-
5. The incidence of hepatotoxicity with kava is unknown. cal studies, in particular cohort event monitoring,
Published estimates are unrealistically low. Nevertheless, preferably with international collaboration. These
the incidence is likely to be uncommon or rare. studies should be undertaken on all products,
6. There is some evidence of a higher risk of hepatotoxicity including synthetic and water-based. Reliance
with acetonic and ethanolic extracts. This suggests that should not be placed on spontaneous reporting
hepatic events occurring with products prepared from alone for post-marketing surveillance.
these extracts are non-random. 2.1.2. Pharmacogenetic studies should be undertaken
7. Alcoholic and acetonic extracts of kava may include toxic to determine differences in cytochrome P450
substances e.g. alkaloids, not present in synthetic prod- metabolic enzyme activity and any relationship
ucts, or not bioavailable in water extracts. to hepatotoxicity. This could be undertaken
8. On present knowledge, synthetic products and water using case control studies, ideally nested case
extracts should have a lower risk of hepatotoxicity. control studies of cohorts of users of kava from
9. A variety of cultivars of Piper nzethysticum, and some other cohort event monitoring studies.
similar species have been used by pharmaceutical com- 2.1.3. Products from water-based suspensions and
panies for the preparation of medicinal kava. A variety of further synthetic preparations should be
plant parts has also been used. developed and tested in clinical trials and
10. The chemical composition of raw material from different consideration given to using these in preference
species, cultivars and plant parts is not equivalent and in to acetonic and ethanolic extracts.
some instances has not been investigated. 2.2. Conditions of use
11. Clinical trials of kava have not revealed hepatotoxicity as 2.2.1. It would seem advisable that all kava products
a problem. prepared as pharmaceuticals be available on
12. Most experimental studies have failed to demonstrate a prescription only in order to better monitor
toxic effect on liver cells by kava. their use and apply necessary controls.
2.2.2. Kava should not be used in patients with liver
Summary of findings disease or a history of such, nor in patients who
1. Of the 93 case reports of hepatotoxicity that have been take excessive alcohol.

62 I Assessment of the risk of hepatotoxicity with kava products

 2.2.3. Warnings should be made available about the 2. In addition to this background incidence, products made
extensive risk of interactions with other drugs or from acetonic and ethanolic extracts appear to be hepato-
herbal preparations. In particular, kava should toxic on rare occasions, seemingly from non-kava lactone
not be used with antipsychotics, other anxiolytics constituents. The incidence is unknown, but is more sig-
or antithrombotics because of the risk of interac- nificant than the background effect in T.
tions which could include effects on the liver.
2.3. Standards Acknowledgements
2.3.1. A pharmacopoeial standard for kava should The Committee is most grateful for the advice and help of
be created. This should address the issues of the following, without whom the assigned task would have
quality, plant parts, dosage and methods of been much more difficult and the report poorer.
preparation. The findings of this review indi- Mary Couper, MBChB, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
cate that: I. Ralph Edwards, MBChB, FRCP (Lond), FRACP, Professor
2.3.2. Only the root or rhizome of Piper methysticum G in Medicine, Director the Uppsala Monitoring Centre,
Forst should be used for preparation of medici- Sweden
nal kava. No other species and no aerial parts Joerg Gruenwald, PhD, Phytopharm Consulting, Germany
should be used. Agreement should be reached Shanthi Pal, PhD, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland
on the appropriate cultivar(s). Mathias Schmidt, MD, Universitat Munster, Germany
2.3.3. Adequate quality control measures standard- WHO Advisory Committee on Safety of Medicinal Products
ized across the producing countries with agreed Jen Woods, BS, Northeastern University, USA.
standard operating procedures, should be insti-
tuted for growth, harvesting and processing of Information sources
the raw kava root or rhizome. A listing of information sources is attached. The referenc-
es have been sorted by type e.g. case reports; general reviews.
Opinion on key question The list is by no means complete, but we have attempted to
1. Evidence from our review of case reports suggests that include significant sources of information used as background
kava lactones in any type of product may rarely cause in preparation of the report, as well as those referenced in the
hepatic adverse reactions because of kava-drug inter- text. There are no doubt errors, but we have made strenuous
actions, excessive alcohol intake, metabolic or immune efforts to avoid such and hope that these are minimal.
mediated idiosyncrasy, excessive dose or pre-existing
liver disease.

Section IV Conclusi011s and recommendations I 63

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