by Angela S. Young

Created on: June 04, 2007

Kava, a pepper also known as kava kava or Piper methysticum, is used in dietary supplements. Health departments from several countries have reported that kava has been connected to severe liver damage in over 25 cases where the liver became toxic. The damages included "hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver failure". This classifies as rare, but you may not want to take the risk, so the FDA thinks you should know about it in order to make an informed decision. Products that might contain Kava include insomnia products and stress and anxiety products, sold to people of all ages.

If you have liver disease or any liver problems, or if you take drugs that have possible liver effects, (or if not) see your doctor before taking anything with kava in it. It may not harm you, but why take the chance? This is especially true for kids, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems or other health issues.

You can see an advisory about this from the FDA on their web site at
www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/addskava.html.
http://nccam.nih.gov/health/alerts/kava/

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