How to take Kava (herb)

Factual Questions
1

I ordered 60 capsules of Kava root from Kona Kava Farm. It came today (well, yesterday) and I took two capsules of it at around 11. But I didn’t really feel much effect.

The capsules are the pure powdered Kava root, not the extract or any other preparation of the herb. I was told by someone I know who takes it that “one capsule gets you high/buzzed”. But two of them didn’t do it for me. Of course, she’s a very skinny girl and I am a fairly large guy, so it may have just been an issue of me needing to take more of it.

Do I need to just take more capsules? Or do I need to do something else with the root, like make it into a tea? Smoke it? What else can I do that will make me feel more of the effects?

2

I did a bunch of kava while in Fiji. The amount you are talking about is miniscule. You would buy it in a sack of about a cup, mix the whole thing up with water and drink the whole thing with some wizened local out of a coconut cup. The effect was a very mild euphoric buzz.

3

Really? The whole jar of capsules that I have is about half a cup. The directions say to not take more than four of them in one day! You’re saying I would need to take the equivalent of more than 120 capsules, just to feel even a “mild” euphoric buzz?

Sounds like I was ripped off. I’m only out 10 dollars, though.

4

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that the girl you were talking to probably had a placebo effect, but YMMV and all that. However, the $10 doesn’t sound that bad as I seem to recall that a bag of the stuff was something like $5 and that was in Fiji. The stuff tastes kind of like mud, but I kind of grew to like it, probably because of the whole ritual and camaraderie.

5

Also, maybe there might be different strains of different potency and I’m unsure of any potential deleterious effects. So don’t go dying on my accord. All the locals were doing it and seemed really healthy. It’s de rigueur to give it a go as a tourist. Plus, there is a really awesome ritual where you bring some as a gift to the local chieftain and crawl up to him in a kind of prostrate position.

6

No, I am not going to choke down the whole jar, don’t worry. I may try taking 4 tomorrow and see if it makes any difference.

7

There are different strains and potency’s and its extremely unlikely you would get the good stuff in some pill form, in fact its doubtful they would even export or share it with lower caste people like us.

8

Darryl Lict is correct as far as the traditional preparation goes.

Actually, there’s a step more traditional, and that is to get a whole kava root and a ginormous leaf off some other plant I don’t know the name of. Wrap the kava root with the leaf, find a handy rock and bash the hell out of it for 10-20 minutes. The leaf has this mucilaginous goo the consistency of snot, kind of like okra when it’s cooked, and the mucilage extracts the kavalactones. After your kava is thoroughly beaten, you pick up the leaf and wring out the kava infused goo into a coconut shell. You drink the slime by the cupful. It has roughly the same intoxicating effect as alcohol, with a higher incidence of leg weakness and shakes.

Darryl’s powdered kava mixed in water is essentially “instant” kava, and I’m not surprised they’ve switched to that, given modern technology to dry and powder the root.

Those capsules are good for treating mild anxiety, taken 2 or 3 of them 3 times a day on a daily basis. But yeah, you’d have to chug the whole bottle for an actual “buzz”, and it’d be a light one.

9

The site also sells a pound of powdered root for 27 dollars. Is this a decent deal? How many drinks (that you will be able to feel the effects of) would one pound be able to give you?

10

<Digs way back in the memory banks>

IIRC, a pound of powdered kava is probably about 3-4 cups by volume. About the same as a small bag of cornmeal in the baking aisle.

I found that, using the powdered stuff from Frontier herbs (and this was nearly 10 years ago now; they don’t carry it anymore), you needed about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup for a good buzzy drink.

You should not mix kava with alcohol at a “buzz” quantity. Yes, I know you probably will, anyhow. Poor livers.

You should not take Tylenol/acetaminophen/paracetamol with kava. Again, liver issues.

You should not take kava at these quantities if you’re an alcoholic, have liver damage, or are on drugs that require your doctor to check for liver function.

You should not take kava if you have Parkinson’s disease, as it may screw up your dopamine levels. We’re not entirely certain about that, but it’s probably best to abstain until more studies can be done.

I can’t really tell you if that’s a good price these days, as I haven’t ordered any for years.

ETA: Oh, and I HOPE it goes without saying that you should not take kava at “buzz” quantities and drive, operate heavy machinery or be resonsible for the welfare of anyone else - child, grandmother, roommate, etc. Kava makes you nice and relaxed, and eventually makes your legs numb and jellylike, and your co-ordination is very definitely impaired. Eventually, you’ll want to sit down, and not long after that, you’ll be asleep. Plan accordingly and be safe, okay? :wink:

11

I haven’t taken Kava, but as a general rule of thumb, I would try to slowly increase the dose. So take four and if there’s still nothing, then take six the next day (or whatever). At some point though, you’d have to consider that maybe Kava doesn’t effect you as it does other people (or that you got a bad batch).

12

I bought that same bottle of kava capsules from Kona Kava and had the same (non) result as you. Eh, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let us know if more=better!

13

Enema.
(no, not really)

14

There have been a number of cases of severe liver damage associated with taking kava, even in people without recognized risk factors (like simultaneously using alcohol or other drugs with which kava is known to interact), and occuring in those taking less than the recommended dose.
The overall number of instances of liver failure requiring transplantation is small and risk of significant liver toxicity generally considered low (though this may be underestimated due to underreporting of cases). And while some reports indicate “poor quality” kava may be at fault, it’s hard to be assured of getting “good” kava, since standardization is a continual problem in the industry.

Since many drugs and supplements can cause liver damage, the question to ask is: how important is it to take this drug/supplement? Does the value justify the risk?

I would be wary of taking a bunch more than the recommended amount to up the buzz.

15

I agree.

Personally, I judge the small risk (statistically speaking - that study claims 14 people worldwide; the European reports of a decade ago were of 24 ill, one dead, with all but 4 of those found to have been on hepatotoxic drugs or alcohol) worth the value, or at least I did back in the day when I did it. The value was in intoxication and social enjoyment, just as alcohol (another drug even more likely to cause deadly liver damage) is used.

Other people, of course, need to determine their own level of comfort with risk v. benefits and act accordingly.

16

Everything I’ve read suggests that liver damage can only be caused by the leaves and stems of the kava plant, and not by the root. The pure root, supposedly, does not cause any liver damage.

17

At least one compound in the kava root is considered hepatotoxic.

18

OK, so, about forty five minutes ago, after returning from the gym, and before showering, I took four capsules of the root. This time I just opened the capsules up and mixed the contents into a shot glass of water. I swallowed it all (the many reports from other Kava users that the stuff tastes like shit seem unwarranted - it doesn’t taste good, but it’s not particularly offensive either.) I also ate a little bit of food to help the Kava digest, as was suggested by some things I’ve read.

However, I also inhaled a little bit of secondhand smoke whilst walking past a Native American holy shaman with a federal dispensation to smoke cannabis. I am thinking that this smoke may have affected the final analysis.

Right now I feel pretty good, definitely very relaxed, and I also feel hungry.

20

Reported.