Kavalactones & Chemotypes
Six major kavalactones and three principal flavokavains account for much of Kava's characteristic chemistry. Just as important as the total concentration is the relative proportion of those compounds, which helps distinguish one kava from another. The six major kavalactones are ranked by abundance and expressed as a six-digit chemotype, while the broader chemical profile—including flavokavains—is used alongside other analytical criteria to assess whether a kava is Beverage Grade and whether it is consistent with Noble or Tudei-type material.
Is it Beverage Grade?
Rank the Kavalactones most abundant first, then set the flavoKavain result. The Kavalactone chemotype alone cannot answer the question. The Beverage grade classification is decided by a combination of Kavalactone and FlavoKavain content, and the two readings have to be taken together.
Each Kavalactone carries a fixed number. The chemotype lists them in decreasing order of concentration. FlavoKavain content is reported separately on the Certificate of Analysis.
Rank at least the first three Kavalactones, then set the flavoKavain result. Both are needed before a grade can be assigned.
Two grades, six classes
Beverage Grade — Noble, heady. Chemotypes 461, 462, 463, 641, 642 and 643 with total flavoKavains below 0.4%. Lighter and more mentally uplifting; the sociable end of the range.
Beverage Grade — Noble, balanced. Chemotypes 426, 423, 436 and 421 below 0.4% flavoKavains. Even-handed between heady and heavy, and the most forgiving place to start.
Beverage Grade — Noble, heavy. Chemotypes 243, 246, 264, 245 and 425 below 0.4% flavoKavains. More physical and relaxing, with a longer-lasting character worth knowing about before a second shell.
Beverage Grade — ISA. heavy Chemotypes 254 and 256 with flavoKavains below 0.4% — Madang Short, Madang Tall and others. The low flavoKavain load is what places them outside tudei. Beverage worthy, but heavy and long lasting.
Non-Beverage Grade — Tudei. Chemotype 253, and 254 or 256 with flavoKavains above 0.4%. From “two-day,” for the lingering after-effects drinkers report. Not sold for drinking.
Non-Beverage Grade — Wild. Piper wichmannii forms such as 512, 521, 251 and 215. Growers describe the effect as too severe for consumption. We do not sell wild Kava.
Where Noble and Tudei Came From
Modern Kava classification owes much to the work of researcher Vincent Lebot, who organized Kava cultivars into categories including Noble, Tudei, medicinal, ceremonial, and wild forms. For everyday discussion, these are often simplified into Noble and Non-Noble Kava. His work also helped establish the six-digit chemotype system, which ranks the six major Kavalactones from highest to lowest concentration.
Noble cultivars became associated with Kavas traditionally selected for regular beverage use, while Tudei and other Non-Noble types were associated with different chemical profiles and patterns of traditional use. This system gave the Kava industry its first practical framework for connecting cultivar, chemistry, and use.
Why the Original Screening Methods Had Limits
Precisely measuring Kavalactones requires instruments such as HPLC, which are expensive and impractical for routine screening throughout the Pacific Kava trade. A simpler acetone-based colorimetric test was therefore adopted as a rapid way to distinguish (very) broad classes of Kava without running a complete HPLC analysis.
The test was useful, but it was still a screening method. Results could be affected by sample form and preparation, and the test did not quantify all six individual Kavalactones, flavoKavains, moisture, or the other measurements needed to fully characterize a sample. A color result could indicate that something looked chemically unusual, but it could not explain the entire composition of the Kava. Over time it was deemed only sensitive enough to distinguish Noble from wild forms of Kava
Beyond Noble vs. Tudei
Beginning in 2017, KavaLytics® began building a different approach to Kava classification. Instead of relying on cultivar name, chemotype, or color alone, the system compares the relationships among Kavalactones, flavoKavains, moisture, near-infrared spectra, and HPLC laboratory reference data. The original KavaLytics model was already trained on more than 500 laboratory analyses by 2020.
By 2026, the internal KavaLytics reference library had grown to approximately 800 HPLC analyses, more than 5,000 NIR scans, and tens of millions of analytical data points collected across numerous cultivars, origins, and commercial Kava samples.
That work led to the Beverage Grade and Non-Beverage Grade classification system that can correctly classify Kava at 95% accuracy. It was created to address situations that a simple Noble-versus-Tudei distinction could not always explain. Some Kavas may share chemotypes historically associated with Non-Noble material while having very different flavoKavain concentrations and broader chemical profiles that allowed them to be consumed without issue. For example, certain varieties of Kava from Papua New Guinea such as ISA, whose peeled chips are what is used in our Premium Papua powdered product.
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What a lab report should tell you
Identity, confirming the material is genuinely Piper methysticum. Composition — all six Kavalactones quantified plus flavoKavains A, B and C, and the chemotype. And purity: heavy metals, microbials, mycotoxins, pesticides where relevant, and moisture. If a product says “lab tested” without letting you read the report and match its lot number to the bag in your hand, that phrase is doing no work.
Read our full testing program and current lab results →
Chemotype notation follows Lebot & Lévesque, The Origin and Distribution of Kava, Allertonia 5(2), 1989, which established the six-digit Kavalactone coding system. The historical Noble, Tudei, medicinal, ceremonial, and wild classifications describe cultivar groups and traditional use. Beverage Grade and Non-Beverage Grade are KavaLytics® analytical classifications developed from laboratory reference chemistry and NIR analysis. By 2020, the KavaLytics model had already been trained on more than 500 laboratory analyses; its internal reference dataset has continued to expand since that time.
Kavalactones & Chemotypes FAQ
How to read the chemistry behind kava — and what those numbers can and cannot tell you.
Kavalactones are a group of naturally occurring compounds found in kava. Although numerous kavalactones have been identified, six major kavalactones make up the profile most commonly measured and used to characterize a kava lot.
The amount of each compound and, just as importantly, their proportions relative to one another vary among cultivars, plant parts, growing conditions, and individual lots.
The six major kavalactones used in the traditional chemotype system are assigned numbers:
1 — Desmethoxyyangonin (DMY)
2 — Dihydrokavain (DHK)
3 — Yangonin (Y)
4 — Kavain (K)
5 — Dihydromethysticin (DHM)
6 — Methysticin (M)
Those numbers are the building blocks of the six-digit chemotype code, established in the analytical literature on kava.
A chemotype is a numeric fingerprint describing the relative abundance of the six major kavalactones, ranked from most to least abundant. Each is assigned a number — 1 desmethoxyyangonin, 2 dihydrokavain, 3 yangonin, 4 kavain, 5 dihydromethysticin, 6 methysticin — and the code lists them in decreasing order. A chemotype of 256 means dihydrokavain is most abundant, followed by dihydromethysticin, then methysticin. The chemotype describes the relative profile — it does not tell you the total kavalactone percentage.
Read the digits from left to right as the kavalactones from greatest to least abundance.
For 426531: 4 = Kavain (most abundant), 2 = Dihydrokavain, 6 = Methysticin, 5 = Dihydromethysticin, 3 = Yangonin, 1 = Desmethoxyyangonin (least abundant of the six).
The code describes their ranking, not their absolute concentrations. Try the chemotype decoder above ↑
No. They describe two different things.
Total kavalactone percentage tells you how much of the tested material consists of the measured kavalactones. Chemotype tells you the order in which the six major kavalactones occur from highest to lowest concentration.
A kava can therefore have the same chemotype as another lot while having a different total kavalactone concentration.
No. Kavalactone percentage is a measurement, not a quality grade. A higher percentage means the tested material contains a greater concentration of measured kavalactones by weight. It does not tell you whether the cultivar is appropriate for beverage use, whether the raw material is clean, what the chemotype is, how the kava was processed, or whether you will prefer it.
Quality has to be evaluated from several measurements rather than reduced to the largest number on a lab report.
Chemotype can provide useful information about the relative chemical profile of a kava and can help explain why cultivars differ, but it should not be treated as a perfect prediction of the drinking experience.
Terms such as heady, balanced, and heavy are practical descriptions used by kava drinkers rather than formal scientific classifications. Cultivar, absolute concentrations, preparation strength, plant material, growing conditions, and individual response can all influence the finished experience.
Yes. Chemotype records only the order of the six major kavalactones.
Two lots can have the same six-digit ranking while containing different absolute amounts of those compounds. They may also differ in total kavalactone content, cultivar, plant part, age, growing conditions, processing, storage, flavokavain content, and preparation.
Chemotype is therefore an important piece of the description of a lot, but it is not the entire description.
Yes. Roots, rhizomes, and other portions of the plant can differ in both total kavalactone concentration and the relative proportions of individual kavalactones. Research comparing kava roots and rhizomes has documented differences in kavalactone content and profile.
This is one reason a meaningful lab result should identify what material was actually tested rather than simply reporting a number for “kava.”
No. Flavokavains and kavalactones are different groups of compounds.
The six-digit chemotype describes only the relative ranking of the six major kavalactones. Flavokavains A, B, and C are measured separately and are important to beverage-grade evaluation. A favorable-looking chemotype does not tell you what the flavokavain concentration is.
No. Chemotype tells you the relative ordering of the six major kavalactones. Beverage classification requires additional information, including cultivar or material identity and separate flavokavain measurements. A favorable chemotype alone is not proof that a lot meets Beverage Grade specifications.
Analytical laboratories can separate and quantify the individual kavalactones using methods such as high-performance liquid chromatography, or HPLC. Once the concentrations of the six major kavalactones are known, they can be ranked from greatest to least abundance to produce the chemotype.
Other analytical technologies can also be used for rapid screening or prediction when properly calibrated against reference laboratory methods.
Kavalactone percentage, usually shown as % w/w, tells you what portion of the material's weight is made up of the six major kavalactones: kavain, dihydrokavain, methysticin, dihydromethysticin, yangonin and desmethoxyyangonin. It is measured by HPLC or NIR spectroscopy and is the main indicator of potency. A good Certificate of Analysis reports each of the six individually as well as the total.
Match the lot number printed on your product against the lot number on the Certificate of Analysis. Results belong to a specific lot and do not carry across batches, which is why per-lot testing matters and why 'lab tested' as a standalone phrase means very little.
Important
This guide is provided for educational purposes and reflects traditional use, published research, and our own experience sourcing, testing, manufacturing and serving kava since 2006. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Kava products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Kava is for adults only. Do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding. Do not combine with alcohol. Do not drive or operate machinery after consuming kava. Consult a physician before use if you have or have had liver problems, frequently use alcoholic beverages, or take any medication. Discontinue use and consult a physician if you experience symptoms that may signal liver problems, including jaundice, unusual fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, or dark urine.