Herb-drug interactions: interactions between kava and prescription medications

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Geriatrics. 2005 Sep;60(9):24-5.

Herb-drug interactions: interactions between kava and prescription

medications.

Bressler R.

University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucscon, AZ, USA.

Patients over age 50 typically present with one chronic disease per

decade. Each chronic disease usually requires long-term drug therapy,

meaning most older patients require several drugs to control their

conditions and/or maintain their health. Simultaneously, the use of

complementary and alternative medications (CAM) has increased in the

United States over the last 20 years, reaching 36% in 2002; herbal

medicine use accounts for approximately 22% of all CAM use. Older

adults often add herbal medicines to medications prescribed by their

physicians, yet do not always inform the physician. The drug

metabolizing enzyme systems process all compounds foreign to the body

including prescription drugs and herbal medications. Therefore use of

both medicinals simultaneously has a potential for interactions of an

adverse nature. This review, which will discuss kava, is one in a

series covering the documented interactions between herbal medicines

with proven efficacy and prescription drugs.