This post summarizes the chapter “Kabbo's !Kwaiń: The Past, Present and Possible Future of Kanna” by Nigel Gericke, MD, published in The Ethnopharmacological Search for Psychoactive Drugs (Synergetic Press, 2018). Read the full chapter.
What kanna means
Kanna refers to plant material from several Sceletium species, with centuries of documented use. Folk names include kanna among Nama-speaking Khoikhoi, kougoed among Afrikaans speakers — from the Dutch for “chewing stuff” — and !k”waï among the /Xam-speaking San.
Botany
Sceletium belongs to the family Aizoaceae, named for the skeletonized leaf venation visible in dried older leaves. The plants are climbing or sprawling succulents with white, yellow, or pale pink flowers, found across arid southwestern South Africa. Place names record the plant's former abundance: Kougoedvlakte (“Chewing Stuff Plains”) in Namaqualand, and Kannaland in the Western Cape. Gerbaulet's 1996 revision recognizes eight species, with Sceletium tortuosum the best known.
Four centuries of records
Part I of the chapter collects historical accounts from 1610 to 1971. Early European visitors to the Cape sought kanna roots as a trade item and compared them to ginseng. In 1660, control of the kanna fields made the Inqua king Hijkon, in the words of Jan van Riebeeck's journal, “chief lord of all kings and potentates.” The 1685 Van der Stel expedition to Namaqualand documented the plant, its fermentation, and its use for stamina during hunts and social life.
The chapter's title comes from //Kabbo, a /Xam San man interviewed in 1873, who gave the name !k”waï and described how kanna was fermented and used.
The modern research
Parts II and III cover research from 1995 to 2017 on a standardized research extract (Zembrin). In laboratory work, the major alkaloids show two activities: serotonin reuptake inhibition and phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibition. Pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies covered safety and tolerability, brain imaging, cognitive test batteries, and changes on standard clinical rating scales.
Where the author sees it going
Part IV sketches future scenarios for kanna and its alkaloids as subjects of further research and as supplement ingredients. As a review, the chapter synthesizes existing records, and the author notes that broader study is still needed.
†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
