How does kava kava work?
Studies in the 1950s and 1960s showed that the kavalactones exhibit sedative, analgesic, nticonvulsant, and muscle relaxant effects in laboratory animals. More recent studies have confirmed and/or elaborated on these effects. However, exactly how kava kava produces these effects is largely unknown. Kava kava exerts many of its effects by nontraditional mechanisms. For example, most sedative drugs, including the benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium, Halcion, Tranxene, etc.), work by binding to specific receptors (benzodiazepines or GABA receptors) in the brain, which then leads to the neurochemical changes (potentiation of GABA effects), which promote sedation. Studies in animals have shown hat the kavalactones do not bind to benzodiazepine or GABA receptors). Instead, the kavalactones are thought to somehow modify the area near the receptor site in a way that enhances GABA binding. However, there are other explanations. For example, studies have indicated that the kavalactones appear to act p
