Editing Kava (section)

==== Noble and non-noble kava ====
Scholars make a distinction between the so-called noble and non-noble kava. The latter category comprises the so-called tudei (or "two-day") kavas, medicinal kavas, and wild kava (''Piper wichmanii'', the ancestor of domesticated ''Piper methysticum'').<ref name=":1"/><ref name="Teschke 2503–2516">{{Cite journal|last1=Teschke|first1=Rolf|last2=Lebot|first2=Vincent|date=2011-10-01|title=Proposal for a Kava Quality Standardization Code|journal=Food and Chemical Toxicology|volume=49|issue=10|pages=2503–2516|doi=10.1016/j.fct.2011.06.075|pmid=21756963}}</ref> Traditionally, only noble kavas have been used for regular consumption, due to their more favourable composition of kavalactones and other compounds that produce more pleasant effects and have lower potential for causing negative side effects, such as nausea, or "kava hangover".<ref name=":1"/><ref name="Kuchta 1647–1653"/>

The perceived benefits of noble cultivars explain why only these cultivars were spread around the Pacific by Polynesian and Melanesian migrants, with presence of non-noble cultivars limited to the islands of Vanuatu, from which they originated.<ref name=":1" /> More recently, it has been suggested that the widespread use of tudei cultivars in the manufacturing of several kava products might have been the key factor contributing to the rare reports of adverse reactions to kava observed among the consumers of kava-based products in Europe.<ref name="Kuchta 1647–1653"/>

Tudei varieties have traditionally not been grown in Hawaii and Fiji, but in recent years there have been reports of farmers attempting to grow "isa" or "palisi" non-noble cultivars in Hawaii, and of imports of dried tudei kava into Fiji for further re-exporting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=262207|title=Drink the right mix - Fiji Times Online|website=www.fijitimes.com|access-date=2016-05-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630143526/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=262207|archive-date=30 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The tudei cultivars may be easier and cheaper to grow: while it takes up to 5 years for noble kava to mature, non-noble varieties can often be harvested just one year after being planted.

The concerns about the adverse effects of non-noble varieties, produced by their undesirable composition of kavalactones and high concentrations of potentially harmful compounds ([[flavokavain]]s, which are not present in any significant concentration in the noble varieties), have led to legislation prohibiting exports from countries such as Vanuatu.<ref name="Kuchta 1647–1653"/> Likewise, efforts have been made to educate non-traditional customers about the difference between noble and non-noble varieties and that non-noble varieties do not offer the same results as noble cultivars.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/289424/vanuatu-hopes-for-kava-export-growth|title=Vanuatu hopes for kava export growth|date=2015-11-11|website=Radio New Zealand |access-date=2016-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/201778477/vanuatu-kava-cleared-for-european-market|title=Vanuatu kava cleared for European market|date=2015-11-12|website=Radio New Zealand |access-date=2016-05-29}}</ref> In recent years, government regulatory bodies and non-profit NGOs have been set up with the declared aim of monitoring kava quality; producing regular reports; certifying vendors selling proper, noble kava; and warning customers against products that may contain tudei varieties.<ref name="teschke2011">{{Cite journal|last1=Teschke|first1=Rolf|last2=Sarris|first2=Jerome|last3=Lebot|first3=Vincent|date=2011-01-15|title=Kava hepatotoxicity solution: A six-point plan for new kava standardization|journal=Phytomedicine|volume=18|issue=2–3|pages=96–103|doi=10.1016/j.phymed.2010.10.002|pmid=21112196|url=http://agritrop.cirad.fr/568311/}}</ref>