Answer to Question #250875 in General Chemistry for Lole

Question

The name of Natural Product is Kava (Piper Methysticum)

1. Any more recent work on the natural product and/or organism.
2. A brief review of the isolation procedure, and any suggestions you might have for improving it
3. The key features of the structural data which would tell you if you were dealing with this or a related natural product you isolated from another organism
4. Any structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies done on this natural product.
5. Any synthetic work for which this natural product was the target

Answer 1

Kava or kava-kava (Piper methysticum) is a plant used for the production of a ritual drink with tranquilizing properties. The kavalactones are the main compounds of the kava drinks. There are many clinical trials on the use of kava product for anti-anxiety, and a systematic review supports the use of kava for the treatment of generalized anxiety (Sarris et al., 2009). Adverse effects on the liver have been reported, and kava is regulated in a number of countries (Teschke, 2010). Studies of kava extracts or kavalactones have been focused on elucidating the mechanism underlying its anti-anxiety and sleep-inducing ability, which has been attributed to its modulation of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor. Recent studies on the mechanisms of action for isolated kavalactones have revealed other neuroprotective activities not directly related to their GABAergic effects. These findings suggest that the use of kava might also be beneficial for the treatment of many degenerative diseases or nervous system conditions.