Flavokavain B is a flavokavain found in the kava plant.
A systematic review of studies on kava found evidence that its bioactive compounds, particularly flavokavain 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 is a potent liver toxin that causes cell death by inducing oxidative stress and disrupting key cellular signaling pathways, but its harmful effects can be reversed by glutathione supplementation.Zhou P., Gross S., Liu J.-H., Yu B.-Y., Feng L.-L., Nolta J., Sharma V., Piwnica-Worms D., Qiu S.X 'Flavokawain B, the hepatotoxic constituent from kava root, induces GSH-sensitive oxidative stress through modulation of IKK/NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways . FASEB Journal 2010 24:12 (4722-4732) Studies show that flavokavain B is present at much higher levels in “Two-Day” kava cultivars like Palisi compared to noble varieties, but current evidence does not conclusively prove it is responsible for kava-related liver toxicity in humans.Teschke, R., Qiu, S. X., & Lebot, V. (2011). Herbal hepatotoxicity by kava: Update on pipermethystine, flavokavain B, and mould hepatotoxins as primarily assumed culprits. Digestive and Liver Disease, 43(9), 676–681. https://www.dldjournalonline.com/article/S1590-8658(11)00048-X/fulltext
See also Kavalactone
References
External links Flavokawain B at the United States National Library of Medicine