by Can Tran

Created on: June 03, 2007

Kava is a very old and very existant plant in the western Pacific. Kava goes by other names such as "awa" in Hawaii, "ava" in Samoa, yaqona in "Fiji", and "sakau" in Pohnpei. This plant be prepared into a drink that's called "kava" just like the former. Through Oceania, this plant is consumed in Polynesia, Vanuatu, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australia.

By tradition, one would chew kava by masticating it in te mouth and despositing back into a bowl and mix it with water, then straight it through the fiber of a coconut tree. You can grind kava by hand on the ground against a cone-shaped block of dead coral combined with water. Last method is pounding the kava in a large stone with a small log. Doesn't matter which of the three ways it's processed, the effects are more potent than kava that hasn't been processed.

Once it's processed, you add it to cold water. Once it's mixed, you just drink it immediately. The potency is up to a half-hour while the efects last up to two hours. You can feel the effects for up to eight hours after ingestion.

Luckily, kava is not addictive.

Kava can be used for numerous purposes such as medicinal, religious, political, cultural, and social throughout the Pacific region. One example, it's used to create amiability and relaxation after work at social gatherings. In religion, kava is consumed to gain inspiration. As a herbal remedy, kava is used to ease stress and anxiety.

In medicine, the methanol extracted from kava inhibits the activation of the nuclear factor leading to cancer cells. In short, kava can be used to treat leukaemia and ovarian cancer. It passes healthy cells and targets only cancer cells.

In Hawaii, kava is used in all social classes. Kava is used to relax and easy achy muscles. It was given to children to calm them and aid in sleeping.

In Vanuatu, it's different from the different islands. It's used to treat fever, asthma, and aches. But the kava is different from the ones used to drink. Kava is used an a pain killer, anxiolytic, and antibiotic. It's also used as an aphrodesiac.

In Tonga, women aren't allowed to drink kava. Only men are. But women are allowed to be present. It seems to be used for courtship.

In Futuna, kava is used to install a new chief.

In Fiji, it's drunk at night by families and used for political and social events of te importance. It's more psychological than it is physical.

Despite the high safety record, some supplements seemed to be possess rare but very dangerous hapatotoxic reactions. They say it's mainly due to adding additives or using the wrong parts. For that reason, the United States CDC is hesitant on allowing the sale and use of kava.

It says that pipermethystine an alkaloid is present in the aerial parts of the kava plant. It said that it displayed toxic effects on liver cells. Also, flavokavain b also present is said to be a contributing factor.

There's currently a Kava Bar in North American located in Boca Raton, Florida. Meaning, if I ever want to drink kava, I just have to drive a few hours down to Boca Raton.

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