Anticancer activities of constituents of kava (Piper methysticum)

Abstract

Crude extracts of kava (Piper methysticum G. Forster, Piperaceae) showed good activity against ovarian tumour and leukaemia cancer cell lines. Bioassay-guided isolation resulted in the isolation of six known kava lactones and two flavokavains. The structure of the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques and by comparison with data in the literature.