Three kava lactone constituents of Piper methysticum, namely, kawain, methysticin and desmethoxyyangonin, have been separated and identified by reversed-phase HPLC using superheated deuterium oxide as the mobile phase and on-line 1H-NMR detection. The method avoids the use of organic solvents in the mobile phase and hence interferences in the NMR analysis are minimised.
