Evidence brief · Supplement
Kava for Anxiety
Evidence grade B — Meta-analytic vs placebo
- Overall grade
- Grade B
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
Assembled by the app from other entries in this library. It adds no evidence of its own — follow the links to the entries it draws on.
1 at grade B — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- AnxietyEvidence grade B
Meta-analytic vs placebo
Moderatemixed
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Studies disagree: Anxiety (mixed agreement).
The evidence in words
The verdict
For anxiety, Kava earns evidence grade B (moderate effect, mixed consistency) — there is real evidence here. Meta-analytic vs placebo
How it might work
Kavalactones modulate GABA and other pathways, producing anxiolysis without the dependence profile of benzodiazepines.
How to use it
Standardized to ~70–250 mg kavalactones/day, short-term, water-based noble-cultivar products.
Safety & cautions
Liver-toxicity risk (rare) — avoid with alcohol, hepatotoxic drugs, or existing liver disease; additive with sedatives.
Bottom line
A genuinely effective short-term anxiety herb with a serious liver caveat. Use water-based noble kava, never with alcohol or sedatives, and not long-term.
How it is used
As the entry records it, from the studies it summarises. Not a recommendation for you — doses that suit a trial population may not suit you.
- Standard
- 70–250 mg kavalactones/day, water-based, short-term.
Goes with
- KavaRead the full Kava monographEvidence grade B
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Kava for Liver injury (rare)Evidence grade C — Extract/cultivar dependentEvidence grade C
- Kava: dosage and how to take it70–250 mg kavalactones/day, water-based, short-term.Evidence grade B
- Kava: side effects, safety & interactionsLiver-toxicity risk (rare) — avoid with alcohol, hepatotoxic drugs, or existing liver disease; additive with sedatives.Evidence grade B
- Lemon Balm for Acute anxiety / stressEvidence grade C — AcuteEvidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own — it is assembled from the entries it links to, whose sources are on their pages.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.