Piper methysticum kawain from

This next example involves the well-known plant kawa. A psychoactive beverage made from the roots of this plant is used widely in the islands of the southwestern Pacific Ocean either for ritualistic or routine consumption. Kava is the common name for Piper methysticum Forst. f. from which several compounds responsible for the pharmacological activity have been isolated and identified. Representative structures of the family of styrylpyrones, commonly called kavalactones, are given in Fig. 6.6. The compounds are based upon a carbon skeleton consisting of a styryl function (C C ) attached to a six-membered lactone ring. The fundamental compound, kawain, is shown as structure [547]. Structural variants include... 

Nature Kava is derived from the root of Piper methysticum, which contains kawain, methysticin, and yangonin. 

Both the beverage, kava or yangona, and the dried root of Piper methysticum are used as sources of a series of py-rones with biological activity. Kavalactones in this plant are diuretic, soporific, anticonvulsant, spasmolytic, local anesthetic, and antimycotic (Lebot, 1991). The dried root contains about 5-6% resin from which six related pyrones [yan-gonin (4), desmethoxyyangonin, kawain (5), dihydrokawain, methysticin (6), and dihydromethylsticin] have been isolated. All are more or less potent, centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxants that also possess antipyretic and local anesthetic properties (Tyler et al., 1981). 

---