AVA

Syn. Kava-kava. The native names of the root, a species of piper, the piper methysticum , cultivated in Tahiti, Hawaii, the Society and Tongan Islands, the natives of which make it into an intoxicating drink. It is said to have been used in France with excellent effect in gonorrhœa; and a tincture of it has been strongly recommended both for external and internal administration in gout. “For medicinal purposes it is used in the form of infusion,” a drachm of the scraped root being macerated in a quart of water for five minutes. Its action appears to vary with the amount taken; in small doses it is generally stated to act as a stimulant and tonic, but when taken in large doses it produces an intoxication which differs from that caused by alcohol, in being of a silent and drowsy nature accompanied by incoherent dreams” (‘Pharmaceutical Journal,’ August 19th, 1876, which consult for further information.’)