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Planta Med 2022; 88(14): 1348-1359
DOI: 10.1055/a-1708-1994
Natural Product Chemistry and Analytical Studies
Original Papers

Characterization of Different Forms of Kava (Piper methysticum) Products by UPLC-MS/MS

Jessica Mamallapalli‡
1   Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Siva Rama Raju Kanumuri‡
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Pedro Corral
1   Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Edward Johnston
4   The Association for Hawaiian Awa (kava), Pepeʼekeo, HI, USA
,
Chunlin Zhuang
5   School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China
,
Christopher R. McCurdy
1   Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Carol A. Mathews
6   Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Abhisheak Sharma 
2   Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
3   Translational Drug Development Core, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
,
Chengguo Xing
1   Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
› Author AffiliationsSupported by: National Institute of General Medical Sciences T32GM136583
Supported by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health R61AT009988
Supported by: Center for Scientific Review UL1TR001427
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Abstract

There are several forms of kava (Piper methysticum) products available for human consumption, and many factors are known to influence their chemical compositions and therefore their pharmacological properties. Because of the increased popularity of kava intake, a rigorous characterization of their content diversity is prerequisite, particularly due to its known potential to cause hepatotoxicity. To understand the composition diversity of kavalactones and flavokavains in commercial kava products, we developed a UPLC-MS/MS-based analytical method for the quantification of six kavalactones (kavain, dihydrokavain, methysticin, dihydromethysticin, yangonin and desmethoxyyangonin) and two flavokavains (flavokavains A and B) and analyzed their contents in 28 different kava products in the form of capsules, tinctures, traditional aqueous suspensions and dried powders. Our results demonstrated a great variation in terms of the total and relative abundance of the analyzed kavalactones and flavokavains among the analyzed kava preparations. More importantly, the kavalactone abundance in the product label could differ up to 90% from our experimental measurements. Therefore, more rigorous and comprehensive quality control of kava products is required with respect to the content of individual kavalactones and flavokavains. Accurate content information is essential to understand the pharmacological properties and safety of different kava products.

Key words

Kava - kavalactones - flavokavains - UPLC-MS/MS - Piper methysticum - Piperaceae

Supporting Information

    Information about the different forms of analyzed kava products, extraction scheme, accuracy and precision of the assay method, stability and recovery efficiency of analytes from kava products is available as Supporting Information.

  • Supporting Information


Publication History

Received: 27 July 2021

Accepted after revision: 28 November 2021

Accepted Manuscript online:
28 November 2021

Article published online:
22 August 2022

© 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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