Pipermethystine
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Pipermethystine
Pipermethystine is an alkaloid present in the aerial (aboveground) portions of the kava plant.
Toxicity
Pipermethystine is known to induce hepatoxicity in humans, and was first believed to be the cause of liver failure in individuals consuming kava supplements, but not in proper root powder or fresh root, which is consumed in Polynesia traditionally.[1] Later analyses of the implicated drug materials and products revealed that medical Kava extracts contain less than 45 ppm of this alkaloid, while the leaves contain about 0.2%. Based on this retrospective study, pipermethystine is an unlikely cause for the observed hepatotoxicity of commercial Kava preparations.[2]
References
- ^ Nerurkar, PV et al. (2004). "In vitro toxicity of kava alkaloid, pipermethystine, in HepG2 cells compared to kavalactones". Toxicological Sciences 79 (1): 106–111. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfh067. PMID 14737001.
- ^ Lechtenberg M, Quandt B, Schmidt M, Nahrstedt A (2008). “Is the alkaloid pipermethystine connected with the claimed liver toxicity of Kava products?” Pharmazie 63 (1) : 71–74. PMID: 18271308
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