| Kava kava
1. An Australasian shrubby pepper (Piper methysticum) from whose crushed root an intoxicating beverage is made; the beverage itself. 2. A preparation consisting of the ground dried rhizome and roots of the kava plant that is used as a dietary supplement chiefly to relieve stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness and in folk medicine especially as a diuretic and urogenital antiseptic and that has been linked to cases of severe liver injury. | |