Glossary
Kavalactone
Updated:
The class of compounds measured in kava root and stated on kava labels as a percentage of the root (5 to 7 percent for Vanuatu root at one seller) or as milligrams per serving (50 mg per gummy at another). Not an alkaloid. The figure this store will print from a lab report once a kava product is sourced.
Kavalactones are the constituents of kava root that laboratories quantify and labels report. Sellers state them two ways: as a percentage of the root, for example Vanuatu root at 5 to 7 percent (Happy Hippo product data), or as milligrams per piece, for example gummies at 50 mg kavalactones each and a kava-and-kratom shot at 25 mg per serving (Super Speciosa product data). The milligram figure is the one that can be compared across products.
Kavalactones also turn up where they are not declared. FDA's testing of one brand's "mushroom" chocolate bars found kavalactones in 18 of 22 bars alongside undisclosed tryptamines and a prescription drug (FDA investigation), which is one reason this store refuses products without a disclosed, quantified active ingredient. Once a kava-only product is sourced, its page will print the kavalactone figure from a lab report.
Sources
- Super Speciosa storefront product data (kavalactone figures as published) Super Speciosa (vendor page, documents what sellers publish) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Happy Hippo storefront product data (kava percentages as published) Happy Hippo (vendor page, documents what sellers publish) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Investigation of illnesses: Diamond Shruumz-brand products (kavalactones found in undisclosed-ingredient edibles) U.S. Food and Drug Administration (accessed 2026-10-20)