Flavokavain A
Flavokavain A is a flavokavain found in the kava plant.
A systematic review of studies on kava found evidence that its bioactive compounds, particularly flavokavain A and B, exert antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects across multiple cancer models, highlighting its potential chemotherapeutic use especially for epithelial cancers, though research on oral squamous cell carcinoma remains scarce. It shows strong anticancer effects—particularly against bladder cancer—by inducing apoptosis through Bax-dependent pathways and inhibiting key anti-apoptotic proteins, with promising results in both cell cultures and animal models.
Kava alone is not hepatotoxic in mice, but its chalcone compounds flavokavains A and B significantly increase acetaminophen-induced liver toxicity, suggesting that herb-drug interactions may explain rare severe liver damage seen with kava use in humans.