Drug points: Hepatitis associated with Kava, a herbal remedy for anxiety

doi:10.1136/bmj.322.7279.139

BMJ 2001;322:139 ( 20 January )

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Drug points

Hepatitis associated with Kava, a herbal remedy for anxiety

Monica Escher, Jules Desmeules.

Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Emile Giostra.

Division of Gastroenterology

Gilles Mentha.

Division of Visceral Surgery, Geneva University Hospital, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Kava, the rhizome of the pepper plant Piper methysticum, has been widely used in the South Pacific as a narcotic drink. Lactones,the major constituents of kava, are considered to be pharmacologicallyactive and are sold in Europe and the United States as standardisedextracts for anxiety andtension.

A 50 year old man presented to his doctor because of jaundice. He had noticed fatigue for a month, a "tanned" skin, and darkurine. The medical history was unremarkable apart from slightanxiety, for which he had been taking three to four capsules ofkava extracts daily for two months (maximum recommended dose threecapsules) corresponding to a dose of 210-280 mg lactones (Laitain,Schwabe, Switzerland). He took no other drugs and did not consumealcohol. Liver function tests showed a 60-fold and 70-fold increasein aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase concentrations,respectively. Alkaline phosphatase concentration was 430 IU/l(normal range 30-125), $gamma$ . . . [Full text of this article]

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