The WHO recently recommended research into “”aqueous”" extracts of Kava.
Objective The objective of this study was to conduct the first documented human clinical trial assessing the anxiolytic and antidepressant efficacy of an aqueous extract of Kava.
Design and participants The Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study was a 3-week placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover trial that recruited
60 adult participants with 1 month or more of elevated generalized anxiety. Five Kava tablets per day were prescribed containing 250 mg of kavalactones/day.
Results The aqueous extract of Kava reduced participants’ Hamilton Anxiety Scale score in the first controlled phase by -9.9 (CI = 7.1, 12.7) vs. – 0.8 (CI = – 2.7, 4.3) for placebo and in the ATM inhibitor second controlled phase by – 10.3 (CI = 5.8, 14.7) vs. + 3.3 (CI = – 6.8, 0.2). The pooled effect of Kava vs. placebo across phases was highly significant (p < 0.0001), selleck inhibitor with a substantial effect size (d = 2.24, eta(2)(p) = 428). Pooled analyses also revealed highly significant relative reductions in Beck Anxiety Inventory and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating
Scale scores. The aqueous extract was found to be safe, with no serious adverse effects and no clinical hepatotoxicity.
Conclusions The aqueous Kava preparation produced significant anxiolytic and antidepressant activity and raised no safety concerns at the dose and duration studied. Kava appears equally effective in cases where anxiety is accompanied by depression. This should encourage further study and consideration of globally reintroducing aqueous rootstock extracts of Kava for the management of anxiety.”
“Multiple nuclear receptors, including hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha (HNF4 alpha), retinoid X receptor alpha (RXR alpha) plus peroxisome proliferator-activated Fazadinium bromide receptor alpha (PPAR alpha), RXR alpha plus farnesoid X receptor alpha (FXR alpha), liver receptor homolog 1 (LRH1), and estrogen-related receptors (ERRs), have been shown to support efficient
viral biosynthesis in nonhepatoma cells in the absence of additional liver-enriched transcription factors. Although HNF4 alpha has been shown to be critical for the developmental expression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) biosynthesis in the liver, the relative importance of the various nuclear receptors capable of supporting viral transcription and replication in the adult in vivo has not been clearly established. To investigate the role of the nuclear receptor FXR and the corepressor small heterodimer partner (SHP) in viral biosynthesis in vivo, SHP-expressing and SHP-null HBV transgenic mice were fed a bile acid-supplemented diet. The increased FXR activity and SHP expression levels resulting from bile acid treatment did not greatly modulate HBV RNA and DNA synthesis.