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Nutrients
Volume 15
Issue 21
10.3390/nu15214586
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Article

Neuroimaging Insights: Kava’s (Piper methysticum) Effect on Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex GABA in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

by
Karen Savage
1,2,*,
Jerome Sarris
2,3,
Matthew Hughes
4,
Chad A. Bousman
5,
Susan Rossell
4,6,
Andrew Scholey
1,7,
Con Stough
1 and
Chao Suo
8
1
Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology, 427-451 Burwood Road, Melbourne 3122, Australia
2
Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne University, Melbourne 3121, Australia
3
NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Sydney 2751, Australia
4
Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne 3122, Australia
5
Departments of Medical Genetics, Psychiatry, Physiology & Pharmacology, and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
6
Mental Health, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne 3065, Australia
7
Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Melbourne 3168, Australia
8
Brain Park, Turner Institute of Brain and Mind, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nutrients 2023, 15(21), 4586; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214586
Submission received: 26 September 2023 / Revised: 7 October 2023 / Accepted: 25 October 2023 / Published: 28 October 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Positive Effects of Phytonutrients on Human Health)
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Abstract

Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a prevalent, chronic mental health disorder. The measurement of regional brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) offers insight into its role in anxiety and is a potential biomarker for treatment response. Research literature suggests Piper methysticum (Kava) is efficacious as an anxiety treatment, but no study has assessed its effects on central GABA levels. This study investigated dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) GABA levels in 37 adult participants with GAD. GABA was measured using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) at baseline and following an eight-week administration of Kava (standardised to 120 mg kavalactones twice daily) (n = 20) or placebo (n = 17). This study was part of the Kava for the Treatment of GAD (KGAD; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02219880), a 16-week intervention study. Compared with the placebo group, the Kava group had a significant reduction in dACC GABA (p = 0.049) at eight weeks. Baseline anxiety scores on the HAM-A were positively correlated with GABA levels but were not significantly related to treatment. Central GABA reductions following Kava treatment may signal an inhibitory effect, which, if considered efficacious, suggests that GABA levels are modulated by Kava, independent of reported anxiety symptoms. dACC GABA patterns suggest a functional role of higher levels in clinical anxiety but warrants further research for symptom benefit. Findings suggest that dACC GABA levels previously un-examined in GAD could serve as a biomarker for diagnosis and treatment response.
Keywords: anterior cingulate; GABA; generalised anxiety disorder; kava; magnetic resonance spectroscopy anterior cingulate; GABA; generalised anxiety disorder; kava; magnetic resonance spectroscopy
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MDPI and ACS Style

Savage, K.; Sarris, J.; Hughes, M.; Bousman, C.A.; Rossell, S.; Scholey, A.; Stough, C.; Suo, C. Neuroimaging Insights: Kava’s (Piper methysticum) Effect on Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex GABA in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Nutrients 2023, 15, 4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214586

AMA Style

Savage K, Sarris J, Hughes M, Bousman CA, Rossell S, Scholey A, Stough C, Suo C. Neuroimaging Insights: Kava’s (Piper methysticum) Effect on Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex GABA in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Nutrients. 2023; 15(21):4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214586

Chicago/Turabian Style

Savage, Karen, Jerome Sarris, Matthew Hughes, Chad A. Bousman, Susan Rossell, Andrew Scholey, Con Stough, and Chao Suo. 2023. "Neuroimaging Insights: Kava’s (Piper methysticum) Effect on Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex GABA in Generalized Anxiety Disorder" Nutrients 15, no. 21: 4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214586

APA Style

Savage, K., Sarris, J., Hughes, M., Bousman, C. A., Rossell, S., Scholey, A., Stough, C., & Suo, C. (2023). Neuroimaging Insights: Kava’s (Piper methysticum) Effect on Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex GABA in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Nutrients, 15(21), 4586. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214586

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