1. Skin Soothing Ingredient PMSoothe® Kava Overview
PMSoothe® Kava is obtained by supercritical low temperature extraction and supramolecular encapsulation; it’s naturally from the dried rhizome of Piper methysticum. Piper methysticum, also named kava pepper is a perennial evergreen shrub-like medicinal plant of the piperaceae family. It mainly grows in the South Pacific islands, wild or cultivated. Its roots and rhizomes are used for medicine, and the active part is the fat-soluble resin part. The main medicinal components of kava pepper are kavalactones, Kavain, etc. It is able to regulate neurotransmitters in both directions, and has a variety of effects such as anti-anxiety and depression, sedative-hypnotic, local anaesthesia, and anticonvulsant. In cosmetics, it can effectively inhibit the overreaction of sensory nerves, thus significantly improving the skin’s tolerance to external stimuli. Therefore, PMSoothe® Kava is a natural cosmetic ingredient with strong analgesic and anti-irritating effects.
| Product Name | INCI Name | Content | |
| PMSoothe® Kava | PIPER METHYSTICUM ROOT EXTRACT | 50%~80% | |
| HYDROXYPROPYL CYCLODEXTRIN | 20%~50% | ||
| Minimal Package | Minimal Order Quality | ||
| 1KG | 1KG | ||
2. Botanical Source
Kava pepper (Piper methysticum Forst) is a perennial erect shrub-like medicinal plant of the Piperaceae family, which mainly grows in the Samoa Islands, Vanuatu Islands, Tonga Islands and other islands in the South Pacific. In the South Pacific islands, the local people regard the root of kava as a sacred thing. They believe that the magical feeling of drinking kava wine is the call of God’s spirit. The local people often use the root or rhizome to make “kava wine” to entertain guests, which has been recorded for more than 3,000 years of history. With the opening up of the South Pacific Islands, kava pepper has gradually become familiar to people around the world. As early as 1990, the German Federal Office of Health approved the use of kava pepper for the treatment of anxiety disorders; the United Kingdom will be included in the “Botanical Pharmacopoeia”; the United States will be included in the new version of the “U.S. Pharmacopoeia”; many countries in Europe and the United States have been listed in the kava pepper as an over-the-counter drugs or prescription drugs. In recent years, kava pepper has been widely recommended as a food supplement in Europe, and has become one of the 20 best-selling herbs in Germany and one of the 16 best-selling herbs in the United States. At present, the most important medical use of kava pepper is as a good antidepressant. Cosmetics are mainly made from its dried rhizomes.
3. Technical Data Sheet
| Items | Specification |
| Part used | Root |
| Organoleptic Tests | |
| Appearance | Off white to white powder |
| Odor | Characteristic |
| Taste | Characteristic |
| Physical Characteristics | |
| Moisture | ≤10.0% |
| Ash content | ≤7.0% |
| Kavain (ppm) | ≥4000 |
| Heavy Metals | |
| Pb | ≤10ppm |
| As | ≤2ppm |
| Hg | ≤1ppm |
| Cd | ≤5ppm |
| Microbiological Tests | |
| Total of bacteria | ≤1000cfu/g |
| Yeast & mold | ≤100cfu/g |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Not detected |
| Staphylococcus aureus | Not detected |
| Heat-resistant escherichia coil | Not detected |
4. PMSoothe® Kava Mechanism & Function
- Analgesic & Anti-irritating
Piper Methysticum Root Extract effectively reduces the stimulation received by the skin’s neuron cells, thus instantly relieving the skin’s discomfort caused by external stimuli such as stinging, burning, itching, redness and swelling.
- Help for Sleep
Piper Methysticum Root Extract has a relaxing and soothing effect on the skin, making it useful for aiding sleep.
5. PMSoothe® Kava Efficacy Tests
- Never Soothing Test Based on Zebrafish Model
In this test, use glacial acetic acid as an irritant to induce zebrafish inflammatory pain in a larger area and for a time, resulting in increasing movement distance and faster speeds. Then detect the total distance and speed of zebrafish, and evaluate whether the sample PMSoothe® Kava has a soothing effect. The result is as follows:
| Item | Samples name | Concentration | Effect | P-value | Test result |
| Soothing effect | PMSoothe® Kava | 0.25% | 98% | ＜0.001 | Significant |
Figure 1. Typical diagram of soothing
(The red line represents the rapid movement, the green line on behalf of the medium movement, the black represents the slow movement.)
Figure 2. The column chart of total movement distance
Compared with the model control group, ***p < 0.001
Compared with MC group, the total movement distance of PMSoothe® Kava significantly decreased. It indicates that PMSoothe® Kava has a soothing effect, the efficacy is 98%.
- Inhibits the Expression of TRPV1
Based on keratinocytes to evaluate the soothing effect of the sample to be tested by detecting changes in capsaicin receptor (TRPV1) content. The result is a s below:
| Groups | Relative IOD/
average number of cells |
SD | p-value | Inhibition rate (vs NC) |
| BC | 1.00 | 0.02 | / | / |
| NC | 1.81 | 0.18 | 0.000 ## | / |
| PC | 1.25 | 0.09 | 0.009** | / |
| PMSoothe® Kava-0.0078% | 1.45 | 0.19 | 0.042* | 19.89% |
| PMSoothe® Kava-0.03125% | 1.18 | 0.05 | 0.004** | 34.81% |
| 4-tert-butylcyclohexanol (40%)-0.0078% | 1.14 | 0.07 | 0.021* | 20.99% |
Compared with the NC group, at the concentrations of 0.0078%, 0.03125% PMSoothe® Kava, TRPV1 protein content significantly reduced, the inhibition rate is 19.87% and 34.81% respectively.
- Human Capsaicin Patch Test
The experiment was divided into two groups, A and B. Group A was the blank control group, 10 drops of 0.01% capsaicin were put on the patch test paper. Group B was PMSoothe® Kava test group, 10 drops of the prepared solution containing 0.01% capsaicin and 3% PMSoothe® Kava were put on the paper. Then Groups A and B were put on the left and right arms at the same time. The patches were torn off after 30 min, and the results were as follows:
The results showed significant stinging, burning and redness in Group A, while no adverse reactions were observed in Group B. The results showed that Group B had no adverse effects on the skin. It was confirmed that the sample PMSoothe® Kava could significantly improve the skin tolerance.
6. PMSoothe® Kava Extraction Technology
Plamed develops PMSoothe® Kava by supramolecular capture technology. The technology creatively integrates supramolecular embedding technology and molecular membrane filtration technology. It not only protects the active substance from acid, alkali, high temperature, sunlight and extraction chemical solvents. Also it greatly ensures the naturalness and safety of the active substance. What’s more, it improves the bioavailability of the active substance and prolongs the duration of action.
7. PMSoothe® Kava Characteristics
- The active component kavain is more than 4000 ppm, which is higher than most of the similar products;
- Based on human patch tests, PMSoothe® Kava shows a significant soothing anti-irritation effect;
- At room temperature, it can be 100% dissolved in water.
8. Plamed PMSoothe® Kava Application & Dosage
| Application | Recommended Dosage |
| Masque, cleanser, lotion, toner, serum, essence, cream, etc. | 0.1%~1.4% |
Note: If the ingredients contained in the formulation are mild, it is recommended to add PMSoothe® Kava at concentration of 0.05%~0.5%. If the formulation contains irritating ingredients, it is recommended to add 0.5%~1.4% PMSoothe® Kava, according to the intensity of irritation.
9. PMSoothe® Kava Safety
- Piper MethysticumRoot Extract is CFDA (China Food and Drug Administration) has approved the use of cosmetic ingredients.
- International Cosmetic Raw Material Standard Chinese Name Directory (2015 edition) has included Piper MethysticumRoot Extract.
- PMSoothe® Kava doesn’t show any cytotoxicity within the concentration of 0.3125mg/mL.
- PMSoothe® Kava has no irritation at the concentration of 1%, based on vitro eye irritation test.
- According to Test–Human skin patch test, skin adverse reactions occurred in 0 out of 30 people after using 1.4% PMSoothe® Kava.
10. Packing and Storage
Package: Packed in 25kg paper drums with two plastic bags inside.
Storage: Stored in a cool and dry place and away from direct sunlight and oxidizing agents.
11. Related Reading
Plamed focuses on natural cosmetic ingredients for more than 10 years. We have founded four subsidiary companies, which respectively develops different kinds of cosmetic raw material. Plamed is a company whose CEO is designated as the first secretary general of Shaanxi Plant Extraction Association.
As a professional Skin Soothing Ingredient PMSoothe® Kava manufacturer, Plamed have been constantly upgrading the production process. We firmly believe that good Skin Soothing Ingredient PMSoothe® Kava and good Skin Soothing Ingredient PMSoothe® Kava price will help customers make good terminal products and help customers win a lasting and broad market.
