Description
100 µg each of 13 kava compounds/ mL acetonitrile.
Kavalactones are found in Piper methysticum and exert a wide variety of activities in vitro and in vivo, including antinociceptive, anxiolytic, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Kavalactones shorten sleep latency and decrease awake time in sleep-disturbed rats and effectively treat short-term anxiety in humans. In animals, these compounds also activate Nrf2, a transcription factor protective against aβ-induced neurotoxicity in Alzheimer’s disease and inhibit MPTP-induced loss of DA, tyrosine hydroxylase, and nigral neurons in models of Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, kavalactones modulate Na+, K+, and Ca2+ ion channel signaling as well as chemical and thermal pain nociception.