Description
This complete guide to kava describes its centuries-long use in the religious, political, and economic life of the Pacific islands and summarizes the literature and research on a plant that is now considered a comparable or superior alternative to anti-stress prescription drugs. Vincent Lebot was a research fellow in the department of Horticulture at the University of Hawaii. Mark Merlin is an associate professor in the General Science department at the same university. Lamont Lindstrom is a professor of anthropology at the University of Tulsa. Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Botany: Morphology, Biogeography, and Origin of the Species 3. Chemistry: Active Principles and Their Effects 4. Ethnobotany: Cultivation, Classification, Preparation, and Medicinal Use 5. Anthropology: The Cultural Significance and Social Uses of Kava 6. Economics: Kava as a Cash Crop 7. Kava: A World Drug? Appendices Bibliography Index
