SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON KAVA

An open letter to the herbal supplement industry.

It has come to our attention that one of our competitors has been questioning the quality and testing of kava extracts and we couldn't agree more.

There's a lot of junk kava out there, there's some decent product, and then there's our superior KAVIAR® brand kava extracts.

Let's look at the facts, some of which are pretty basic, but need to be stated anyway:

GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT

It all starts with raw materials and if they aren't right, there's no way that you can make a quality product from them.

There are about 120 distinct cultivars [i.e. varieties] of kava growing out in the South Pacific, but only a handful of them produce the desired effects that quality herbal manufacturers (and consumers) are looking for and only the root portion of those plants has the proper profile of constituents. But, unfortunately, many processors simply 'spot buy' whatever kavas are available from wherever, regardless of variety and/or plant parts, basing their purchases primarily on price.

In several areas of the Pacific, unconscionable brokers have pressured growers into using chemical fertilizers, herbicide and pesticides, along with forcing clear-cut, plantation-style operations to increase crop yields - all of which are damaging to the local environment. Many growers have also resorted to harvesting immature plants to meet increased demand and various artificial drying methods have been employed in efforts to rush kava to the market.

Long before kava's current popularity, we were supplying the highest quality Vanuatu kava root - the preferred choice of traditional kava consuming nations - to the herbal supplement industry. When we decided to make our own kava extracts, we found ourselves in the desirable position of being on top of the world's finest, most consistent raw kava supply and we continue to use only the choicest (and most expensive) 100% Vanuatu kava root, purchased by our own brokers directly from an indigenous growers association (that we were instrumental in establishing for them). You can always be assured that our kava is grown, harvested and sun-dried in the traditional manner - without harm to the local environment, its people and their culture.

THERE'S MORE TO KAVA THAN KAVALACTONES

Kava is a highly complex botanical with a number of active constituents. Although 'kavalactones' are generally recognized as being the primary actives of kava, there is much more to the plant. This becomes readily apparent when evaluating the effects of various varieties of kava. Interestingly enough, some varieties containing relatively low levels of kavalactones are more potent than some other varieties containing higher levels of kavalactones; while some kava varieties produce desired effects, other varieties - some of the very same chemotypes - produce undesirable effects [such as nausea, headaches and gastro-intestinal upset]; and, although the 'major' kavalactones have all been synthesized, they are relatively ineffective - individually and in combination - compared to the whole plant. So what does all this tell you?

Unfortunately, in attempting to quantify kava, the herbal industry has gotten itself into a kavalactones numbers game that does not properly reflect quality. Although kavalactones are fairly reliable markers in evaluating the relative strengths of like kava products, they are useless in comparing dissimilar kavas. The proof of a kava product is in its effect and we invite you to experience the difference with our KAVIAR® brand extracts. That's when you'll come to understand why our kava extracts are the choice of top herbalists and supplement formulators.

THE PASTE GAME

When it comes to herbal extraction, what should be relatively straight forward has become rather complex. Basically, the objective of herbal extraction should be to produce a stable (and healthy) 'concentrate' that contains the entire spectrum of active constituents in the given botanical. Simple - that is, until the matter of net profits enters the equation. In the case of kava soft extract [i.e. 'paste'], production costs often become an overt consideration - particularly because the raw material price of kava is relatively high to begin with. This has compelled many processors to use toxic solvents - methanol and acetone, most commonly - that produce greater yields and are cheaper than than non-toxic solvents or the solvent-free process that we now use [see below]. Although these toxic solvents are removed to FDA standards, small residual amounts do remain in the finished extract. Furthermore, many extraction and reduction processes remove other of kava's active constituents in pursuit of those all-important kavalactones levels.

Our revolutionary new KAVIAR® 80+ brand paste extract is produced by our exclusive SpectraMax™ solvent-free process and our sophisticated reduction and filtering processes insure a full-spectrum end product that is the most homogenous in the industry, with solid particle and moisture levels well below most of our competitors' products. We too could have gone much higher up the kavalactone scale, but our process is halted at a point that retains kava's other active constituents. This product is guaranteed to contain absolutely no residual solvents and to fully meet 'California Proposition 65' toxicity standards (which are the most stringent in the U.S.).

THEN, THE POWDER GAME

Once kava paste has been manufactured, much of it goes into powders for capsules and tablets. Here again, many processors attempt to maximize profits by simply cold-blending [i.e. mixing] the kava paste with 'carriers' [such as dicalcium phosphate]. As kava pastes is so resinous, this results in a sticky product that further requires the addition of of inert (and usually indigestible) 'flow agents' [such as silcone dioxide] - in many cases consisting of up to 25% of the final product - in order to make it usable for high-speed encapsulating and tableting equipment.

On the other hand, our water-dispersible KAVIAR® brand 30% and 40% kavalactone powders are made using a more expensive spray-drying process, with GMO-Free carriers and totally free of additional flow agents. These powders metabolize so quickly and thoroughly that they are widely considered to be the finest available.

AND EVEN THE ANALYTICAL TESTING GAME

As stated previously, kava products have come to be judged - and, in some cases misjudged - based solely on kavalactone levels. Given that there is currently no other analytical standard for kava, it is what we are forced to live with (for the time-being) - although we would reiterate that the ultimate proof is in the efficacy of the product. Various kavalactone testing methods - including the most popular 'reverse-phase HPLC' methods - will produce different and varying results, based on a number of factors. These include the type of equipment used, the testing protocol and the competence of the operator(s). Critical to all of these methods is sample selection, whereby the sample being tested should be truly representative of what is being offered for sale. Particularly tricky in the case of kava is the matter of sample preparation, for which various methods are also employed. Whichever testing methods are chosen should be made by way of a well-informed decision.

In any case, do remember that 'figures can lie and liars can figure', so our advice for manufacturers of herbal products is to not trust any numbers provided by anybody trying to sell kava extracts. Test competitive kava products yourself or have them assayed for you by an independent laboratory that is well experienced in kava testing. We can confidently make this recommendation because we know what the results will be when our products are fairly tested - both analytically and subjectively - against our competitors' products.

For your information, the HPLC kavalactones testing protocol that we have chosen for our in-house use (and which is also used by the outside laboratory that independently validates each of our product lots) was recently developed by the Institute for Nutraceutical Advancement's 'Methods Validation Program' in conjunction with the American Herbal Products Association's Kava Committee. It is the latest technology, highly accurate and it may be the most extensively validated herbal testing protocol yet accomplished - plus it's affordable!. If you would would like to get on the same kavalactone testing page as the industry's leaders, just let us know and we'll be happy to send you the complete testing method and its validation report.

SO, ARE YOU LOSING KAVA RESALES?

Kava is one of those herbs that has clearly identifiable effects - provided, of course, that it's an effective product that's been consumed. The biggest problem that the industry is is facing with kava sales is that there's a lot of ineffective product moving off of the store shelves - most of it being purchased by unwary customers who buy into the kavalactones numbers game and many of them thinking that they're getting a good deal when they pay less for what appears to be qualitatively equal to a more expensive product. So, what happens when consumers take herbal products that don't work for them? If they're wise to herbals, they'll realize that it's the particular product that doesn't work for them. But, more often than not, they'll think it's the herb - in this case, kava itself - that doesn't work and they won't re-buy any brand. The bottom line is that bad products lose sales for all of us.

Sure, we'd like you to buy our KAVIAR® brand kava extracts. We'd also like to encourage you to take the high road, go for quality with everything you do and provide your customers with the very best products you can. That's what we do.