Answer to Question #254130 in General Chemistry for Lole

Question

Natural Product: KAVALACTONES

• any other plant/organisms which have been found to contain this natural product(Kavalactones).
• the names and structures of other Kavalactones isolated from Kava plant, and their relationship to the Kavalactones, if any.
• Any more recent work on the Kavalactone and/or organism.
• a brief review of the isolation procedure, and any suggestions you might have for improving it.
• the key features of the structural data which would tell you if you were dealing with this or a related Kavalactone you isolated from another plant/organism.
• any structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies done on this natural product.
• 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.