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University of Sydney researchers find new evidence linking kava to liver damage
February 25, 2008In recent years, serious concerns about the dangers of kava and the effects on the liver have resulted in regulatory agencies, such as the US Food and Drug Administration and Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration, banning or restricting the sale of kava and kava products.
Originally from Fiji, where kava drinking is common, Professor Iqbal Ramzan, Dean of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney, Australia, had previously published articles on the adverse effects of kava, and wanted to investigate further the effects kava had on the liver.
His findings are published in the January 28, 2008 edition of the World Journal of Gastroenterology. Leading a team of researchers from the University of Sydney, Professor Ramzan spent one year investigating the cellular effects of kava on the liver. Kava has been used in ceremonies and for recreational and social purposes in the South Pacific since ancient times, much like alcohol, tea or coffee is in other societies today.
In the 1980s other medicinal uses for kava began to emerge and it was marketed in herbal form as a natural way to treat conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, tension and restlessness, particularly in Europe and North America.
More recently, evidence began to emerge about the adverse affect kava could have on the liver.
To test these theories, the University of Sydney study focused on the major kavalactone (the ingredient in kava believed to affect the liver) -- kavain -- and investigated the effects it had on the ultrastructure (or biological structure) of the liver.
This required the use of electron microscopes (which enable the examination of the interior of cells) provided by the Australian Key Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis at the University of Sydney under the direction of its Deputy Director, Professor Filip Braet.
The study found that following kavain treatment the liver tissue displayed an overall change in structure, including the narrowing of blood vessels, the constriction of blood vessel passages and the retraction of the cellular lining.
Interestingly, kavain also adversely affected certain cells which function in the destruction of foreign antigens (such as bacteria and viruses), which make up part of the body's immune system.
In other words, the kavain treatment disturbed the basic structure of the liver, consequently seriously impacting the normal functioning of the liver.
The results of the University of Sydney's study clearly support earlier literature observations on kava's adverse affects on the functioning of the liver in general.
However, additional investigations into the effects of other major kavalactones on the liver, as well as studies on whether the effects of kava are reversible, are urgently needed.
World Journal of Gastroenterology
In the 1980s other medicinal uses for kava began to emerge and it was marketed in herbal form as a natural way to treat conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, tension and restlessness, particularly in Europe and North America.
More recently, evidence began to emerge about the adverse affect kava could have on the liver.
To test these theories, the University of Sydney study focused on the major kavalactone (the ingredient in kava believed to affect the liver) -- kavain -- and investigated the effects it had on the ultrastructure (or biological structure) of the liver.
This required the use of electron microscopes (which enable the examination of the interior of cells) provided by the Australian Key Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis at the University of Sydney under the direction of its Deputy Director, Professor Filip Braet.
The study found that following kavain treatment the liver tissue displayed an overall change in structure, including the narrowing of blood vessels, the constriction of blood vessel passages and the retraction of the cellular lining.
Interestingly, kavain also adversely affected certain cells which function in the destruction of foreign antigens (such as bacteria and viruses), which make up part of the body's immune system.
In other words, the kavain treatment disturbed the basic structure of the liver, consequently seriously impacting the normal functioning of the liver.
The results of the University of Sydney's study clearly support earlier literature observations on kava's adverse affects on the functioning of the liver in general.
However, additional investigations into the effects of other major kavalactones on the liver, as well as studies on whether the effects of kava are reversible, are urgently needed.
World Journal of Gastroenterology
Research finds Kava safe and effective
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have found a traditional extract of Kava, a medicinal plant from the South Pacific, to be safe and effective in reducing anxiety.
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Even Babies Can Have Optical Illusions
At the tender age of five months babies can be fooled by complex information about distances in drawings involving perspective, psychologists from the University of Bonn have shown. They fixed two rubber figures onto a picture on which a chessboard pattern appeared to be receding away from the babies. The babies then tried to grab the toy which seemed nearer to them because of the information on distance implied by the drawing. This effect was even noticed in some cases in five-month-old children. Previously most experts had assumed that babies cannot decipher data on distance which are based on perspective until much later.
Innovation as the basis for regional development in EU candidate countries - a strategic approach
A series of events across central and eastern Europe will show how consensus-based strategic planning is already helping 20 candidate country regions to revitalise their economies through innovation. Substantial EU funding will soon be available to other regions that wish to follow the same path to competitiveness. The purpose of the events: ·overview of European Commission policy to promote regional innovation ·introduction to the Europe-wide IRE network for innovating regions ·regional development in the host country ·case studies of previous Regional Innovation Strategy projects ·advice on how to take maximum advantage of available EU funding for regions ·the spring 2004 call for pr
£500,000 Donation for Complementary Medicine at Peninsula Medical School
A donation of £500,000 has been made by the Maurice Laing Foundation to fund the Peninsula Medical School's Chair in Complementary Medicine, held by Professor Edzard Ernst. This is the second major gift made by the Maurice Laing Foundation to Complimentary Medicine at the Peninsula Medical School. It represents a total donation to the School of £2,000,000. The Complementary Medicine Research Group is the largest of its kind in Europe with a sixteen-strong research team. It conducts a wide-ranging research programme into Complementary and Alternative Medical treatments, such as herbal remedies, homoeopathy, osteopathy and acupuncture. Its recent work included monitoring 30,000 acu
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