Revised 18 September 2026. The earlier version of this page explained how kavalactones are thought to make people feel. That part is gone. What's left is the chemistry itself, which is documented, plus a plain guide to reading the numbers on our own lab reports. For adults 21 and over.
Kavalactones are the compounds a lab measures when it tests kava. They're why a report on one kava looks different from a report on another. This page covers how many there are, which six do the measuring work, how the chemotype shorthand is built, and what our reports actually list. It does not tell you what any of it feels like.
The three GÜD Tonics ready-to-drink tonics are made with noble kava root extract and Mitragyna speciosa, the kratom leaf. The kratom content is why they're 21 and over.
Table of Contents
- The short version
- What kavalactones are
- The six that get measured
- How a chemotype is written
- Noble, medicinal and tudei cultivars
- What our lab reports measure
- What we can't tell you
- What we stock right now
- Safety, and who should skip it
- How we revise this guide
- Frequently asked questions
- Summary
The short version
- Eighteen kavalactones have been isolated and identified from kava root extract, according to FDA's 2020 review of the published literature.
- Six of them account for roughly 95 to 96 percent of the total kavalactones in the lipid resin: kavain, dihydrokavain, methysticin, dihydromethysticin, yangonin and desmethoxyyangonin.
- Each of those six carries a digit from 1 to 6. A cultivar's chemotype is those digits written in decreasing order of quantity, so it's a ranking, not a dose.
- Kavalactones concentrate in the rhizomes, roots and root stems, with the highest concentration in the lateral roots. They have low water solubility.
- More than 200 kava cultivars exist, sorted into noble, medicinal and non-noble or tudei groups.
- Our three tonics list all six kavalactones individually, plus a total. Current lot is 082026, tested by Cora Science, LLC, report completed 6 August 2026, posted on the Lab Results page.
- Kava products have been linked to rare cases of liver injury. Never mix kava with alcohol. Read the safety section.
What kavalactones are
Kavalactones are a family of compounds found in the kava plant, Piper methysticum. NCCIH describes kava as native to the South Pacific and a member of the pepper family.
FDA's August 2020 review of the published literature on kava states that eighteen kavalactones have been isolated and identified from kava root extract. It also states that they are "concentrated mainly within the rhizomes, roots and root stems of the plant, with the highest concentration in the lateral roots." That's the reason kava is made from the root and not the leaf.
One practical detail from the same document: "in general, kavalactones have low water solubility." That single fact explains why traditional preparation involves kneading and straining rather than steeping, and why an extract and a home-brewed cup are not interchangeable things.
The six that get measured
Eighteen compounds exist. Six do nearly all of the accounting. FDA's review puts those six at "approximately 95 to 96 percent of the total kavalactones in the lipid resin," which is why a lab report lists these and not the other twelve.
| Kavalactone | Abbreviation | Chemotype digit | On our report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desmethoxyyangonin | DMY | 1 | Yes |
| Dihydrokavain | DHK | 2 | Yes |
| Yangonin | Y | 3 | Yes |
| Kavain | K | 4 | Yes |
| Dihydromethysticin | DHM | 5 | Yes |
| Methysticin | M | 6 | Yes |
The digits come from FDA's Table 1 in that review. They are not a quality ranking and a higher number is not better. They're just labels, and they exist so the next part works.
How a chemotype is written
A chemotype is a six-digit code that describes the balance of those compounds in a particular kava. FDA's review puts it this way: "Kava cultivars are established based on the chemical signature of the six kavalactones obtained from a kava sample. The chemotyping is based on the sequence of the elution of each kavalactone by HPLC and in their decreasing order of quantity."
In plain terms: rank the six from most abundant to least, then write their digits in that order. A kava whose largest component is kavain starts with a 4. One dominated by dihydrokavain starts with a 2.
The useful part is that you can do this yourself with any report that lists all six. Ours do. Open the PDF for your lot, put the six values in order from largest to smallest, and read off the digits from the table above. That's the chemotype of the kava in your bottle, calculated from the document rather than taken from a marketing line.
Noble, medicinal and tudei cultivars
FDA's review counts more than 200 kava varieties, sorted into noble cultivars, medicinal cultivars, and non-noble or "two-day" (tudei) cultivars. The grouping is based on the chemical signature described above.
This is not a trivia point, and it connects to safety rather than to sensation. NCCIH notes that among the possible explanations for kava's rare liver-injury cases are "the use of undesirable varieties (cultivars) of kava plants or inappropriate parts of the plant." Cultivar and plant part are the two variables, and both are sourcing decisions made long before a bottle reaches anyone.
The product pages for our three tonics state noble kava root extract. We'd rather you check that on the page than take it from us here.
What our lab reports measure
The three GÜD Tonics ready-to-drink flavors are tested by Cora Science, LLC. The current lot across all three is 082026. The Baja Bliss sample was received 5 August 2026 and the report was completed 6 August 2026.
Each report lists all six kavalactones individually and a total, three flavokawains, the Mitragyna alkaloids, and density. Every report is on the Lab Results page, and you can pull the PDF for the lot printed on your bottle.
The Raw Kava Extract Powder is a different document and we're not going to present the two as equivalent. Its posted report is from Shaanxi Jiahe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, the kava supplier, for Lot CKW-C-A508380, dated 18 August 2025. It covers kava compounds only, because there's no kratom in that product.
If the layout of a report is unfamiliar, we wrote a walkthrough of how to read one.
What we can't tell you
This section exists because the old version of this page filled these gaps with guesses.
- What any of these compounds do to you. The old page had a section explaining kavalactones through GABA activity in the brain. It's removed. We're not describing a mechanism to imply a result, and kava is not a treatment for anything.
- Our chemotype, as a published figure. The numbers are in the report for your lot and they move between lots. Printing one here would turn a measurement into a promise, so we point at the document instead.
- Whether the raw powder is a noble cultivar. The three tonic product pages say noble kava root extract. The powder's page does not say either way, so neither will we until someone confirms it against the supplier paperwork.
- The bottle volume in fluid ounces. It isn't stated on the product pages, which is our gap to close, not something to estimate.
What we stock right now
Five products, verified against our catalog on 18 September 2026. If a kava format isn't in this table, we don't sell it. The old version of this page recommended a "Kava Oasis" product. It is not in our catalog, and that link now redirects to the powder.
| Product | Kava form | Contains kratom | Price | Lot on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baja Bliss | Noble kava root extract, ready to drink | Yes | $10.99 · $29.00 · $115.00 | 082026 |
| Pink Sunset | Noble kava root extract, ready to drink | Yes | $10.99 · $29.00 · $115.00 | 082026 |
| TropiColada | Noble kava root extract, ready to drink | Yes | $10.99 · $29.00 · $115.00 | 082026 |
| Bundle | One bottle of each of the three above | Yes | $27.99 | 082026 |
| Raw Kava Extract Powder | Kava extract powder, 1 oz and 3 oz | No | $60.00 · $160.00 | CKW-C-A508380 |
The three tonic prices are for one bottle, a 3-pack and a box of 12. The label on each bottle declares two servings, which the product pages use to show a per-serving price of $5.50, $4.83 and $4.79 across those three sizes. The whole lineup is on the shop page.
Safety, and who should skip it
The liver question. NCCIH states that "various kava products have been linked to rare cases of liver injury, some of which have been serious or even fatal." It points to possible contributors including the use of undesirable cultivars of the kava plant, use of inappropriate parts of the plant, and consuming kava together with alcohol. Its overview page is worth reading before you buy from anyone, including us. FDA lists kava in its dietary supplement ingredient directory and links a safety communication on the subject dated March 2002.
Never with alcohol. NCCIH names consuming kava together with alcohol as one of the possible contributors to liver injury. This isn't a brand preference.
Who should not drink it. Anyone under 21. Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding. Anyone with a liver condition, anyone who drinks regularly, and anyone on medication should talk with a healthcare provider before trying kava at all.
Don't drive after. Don't operate machinery or swim either.
It is not a medicine. Kava does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition, and nothing on this page should be read as saying it does. If you're looking for help with a health problem, a provider is the right destination and we're not.
We can't ship everywhere either. The restricted states and counties are listed on each product page, and that list moves as laws change, so the product page is the accurate one rather than anything we could write here.
How we revise this guide
This page has a date on it because the date is the point. Our content isn't static. We revise it as new information arrives and as we learn things we didn't know before, and we'd rather show you a page that visibly changed than one that pretends it was always right.
When a lot changes, the lot number here changes. When we find an error, we say what it was instead of deleting it, which is what the "what we can't tell you" section above is for.
If something on this page is wrong, tell us. Send us the correction and name the sentence. We'll fix it and date it, and if you caught something real, that becomes a revision-history line other people can read.
Frequently asked questions
What are kavalactones?
They're a family of compounds found in the root of Piper methysticum, the kava plant, and they're what a lab measures to characterize a kava sample. FDA's 2020 literature review says eighteen have been isolated and identified from kava root extract.
How many kavalactones are there, and why do reports list only six?
Eighteen have been identified. Six account for approximately 95 to 96 percent of the total kavalactones in the lipid resin, per FDA's review, so those six are what analysis focuses on. They are kavain, dihydrokavain, methysticin, dihydromethysticin, yangonin and desmethoxyyangonin.
What is a kava chemotype?
A six-digit code describing the balance of those six compounds in a given kava. Each compound has a digit, 1 through 6, and the code lists them in decreasing order of quantity as measured by HPLC. It describes proportion, not strength or quantity.
Can I work out the chemotype of a bottle I already own?
Yes, if the report lists all six. Ours do. Pull the PDF for your lot from the Lab Results page, rank the six values from largest to smallest, and write their digits in that order.
What's the difference between noble and tudei kava?
They're groupings of cultivar based on the chemical signature of those six compounds. FDA's review counts more than 200 kava varieties sorted into noble, medicinal, and non-noble or two-day (tudei) types. NCCIH separately notes that undesirable cultivars are among the possible explanations for rare liver-injury cases, which is why cultivar is a sourcing question and not a preference.
Which of your products contain kratom?
All three ready-to-drink flavors, Baja Bliss, Pink Sunset and TropiColada, are made with noble kava root extract and Mitragyna speciosa. The Raw Kava Extract Powder is not. That's why the drinks are 21 and over.
Do more kavalactones mean a better product?
We're not going to answer that, because any answer becomes a claim about how a product performs. What we'll do is publish the report for every lot so you can compare documents instead of adjectives.
Does kava help with anxiety, sleep, pain or stress?
We're not able to answer that, and you should be skeptical of any seller who does. Kava is not a medicine and we don't sell it as one. Talk to a healthcare provider about a health concern.
Summary
Eighteen kavalactones have been identified in kava root extract. Six of them make up roughly 95 to 96 percent of the total, each carries a digit from 1 to 6, and a chemotype is those digits ranked from most abundant to least. Kavalactones sit in the roots and rhizomes, concentrate highest in the lateral roots, and dissolve poorly in water.
Our three tonics report all six individually. The current lot is 082026, tested by Cora Science, LLC, report completed 6 August 2026. The powder's posted report is a supplier document from 18 August 2025 covering kava only. Kava products have been linked to rare cases of liver injury, it should never be combined with alcohol, and it is not a treatment for anything.
That's the chemistry, and it's as far as the documents go. If part of it is wrong, tell us and we'll date the fix.
Revision history
- 18 September 2026. Full rewrite. Removed the section explaining kavalactone activity through GABA, all onset timing, and every description of how kava feels, including in the title. Removed three external citations: a bare database homepage, a commercial health site attributed to a government agency, and a general FDA index page offered as the source for a consumer advisory. Sourced the chemistry to FDA's August 2020 literature review instead, which corrected the earlier "95 percent of the organic extract" figure to approximately 95 to 96 percent of total kavalactones in the lipid resin, and added the chemotype digit assignments and the cultivar groupings. Removed a recommendation for a "Kava Oasis" product that does not exist. Rebuilt the product section against the live catalog with current lot numbers. Added a section stating plainly what we cannot tell you. Retitled the H1. URL unchanged.
- 24 June 2026. Original version published, imported from the previous site.
