Calm Teas

Herb record · Piperaceae

Kava in tea: cautions and interactions

Reviewed

Kava has anxiety-trial evidence as an extract, but also rare, sometimes serious liver injury, including from water-based kava drinks. We list it for awareness; the product index excludes it.

Kava plants with heart-shaped leaves in dense green growth
Photo: Scot Nelson, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Cropped to 3:2, resized and converted to WebP.

At a glance

Latin name
Piper methysticum
Evidence
Caution ingredient Listed for its safety profile rather than calming evidence.
EU tea amount
The EU monographs we use list no tea preparation for this herb.
Cautions
Liver-injury reportsSedating: avoid with alcohol or sedatives
In our index
No teas yet

What did the studies actually test?

Each row says what form was given. Results from extracts or capsules don't automatically apply to a cup of tea, which usually contains a smaller and less standardized amount.

QuestionForm testedWhat was found
Anxiety extract A network meta-analysis found kava reduced anxiety scores overall, but it was possibly ineffective in generalized anxiety disorder. (Zhang et al., 2022)

Who should be careful with kava?

  • Liver-injury reports. Linked to rare cases of liver injury, some serious or fatal, including some kava beverages prepared with water. (NCCIH fact sheet)
  • Sedating: avoid with alcohol or sedatives. Should not be combined with sedatives such as benzodiazepines, or with alcohol. (NCCIH fact sheet)

This list repeats what the cited sources say; it isn't a complete interaction check. A pharmacist can check your specific medicines.

Which calming teas contain kava?

None of the Calm Teas index teas list it. Browse the tea decoder.

Sources

  1. Zhang et al. (2022). Medicinal herbs for the treatment of anxiety: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Pharmacol Res.
    Systematic review + network meta-analysis · form: extract
    29 trials comparing 12 herbs for anxiety. A lavender-oil capsule (Silexan) and kava showed significant effects on anxiety scores; kava was possibly ineffective in generalized anxiety disorder.
    Limits: Capsules and extracts, not teas; several herbs had few, small trials.
    checked against the abstract, 2026-10-21 · PMID 35378276
  2. NCCIH (NIH). Kava, updated April 2025.
    Government fact sheet
    Kava products have been linked to rare cases of liver injury, some serious or fatal, including some kava beverages prepared with water. Should not be combined with sedatives such as benzodiazepines or alcohol.
    checked against the official page, 2026-10-21