Mitragyna speciosa
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| Species: | M. speciosa
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| Mitragyna speciosa | |
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a leafy plant harvested from a large tree native to Southeast Asia, first documented by Dutch colonial botanist Korthals. It is botanically related to the Corynanthe, Cinchona and Uncaria genii and shares some similar biochemistry. Other species in the Mitragyna genus are used medicinally in Africa, and also used for their wood.
It is a well established psychoactive drug in its native region and there is some use elsewhere in the world. In Southeast Asia the fresh leaves are usually chewed, often continuously, by workers or manual laborers seeking a numbing, stimulating effect. Elsewhere, the leaves are often made into a tea or extracted into water and then evaporated into a tar that can be swallowed. Kratom is not often smoked, although this method does provide some effect.
Kratom contains many alkaloids including mitragynine, once thought to be the primary active, and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which is currently the most likely candidate for the primary active chemical in the plant. Although structurally related to yohimbine and tryptamines, its pharmacology is quite different and it seems to act in some ways similarly to opiates, although it seems to also have some stimulant properties similar to yohimbine. Kratom users have described feeling alternatively stimulated then sedated over the course of several hours of use. Kratom also contains alkaloids found in uña de gato (Uncaria tomentosa) which are powerful immune system enhancers and lower blood pressure, as well as epicatechin, a powerful antioxidant found in dark chocolate and closely related to the ECGC that gives green tea its beneficial effects. Other active chemicals in kratom include raubasine (best known from Rauwolfia serpentina) and some yohimbe alkakoids such as corynantheidine.
Kratom has many potential medicinal uses, including as a safer and cheaper replacement for methadone, and as a source of chemicals with a wide range of beneficial activities.
Effects
Kratom's pharmacology shares some elements of the activity of other substances including opiates and yohimbine. While the comparison to opiates are often emphasized by persons and businesses who are selling it, this is frequently exaggerated. A good analogy might be comparing kava to benzodiazepines. For example, the analgesic and sedative activity of kratom is much lower than with narcotics. Kratom also does not produce the extreme constipation produced by opiates. Kratom also has a yohimbe-like stimulant activity, and uncaria-like immunostimulant activity. Its effects are reported to be relatively short-lived, typically fading after two hours or less.
Habituation
Kratom use can be habit-forming. Long-time kratom addicts chewing fresh leaves in Southeast Asia have been observed to develop dark patches of skin discoloration on their cheeks. It is unknown whether habituated use of commercial dried kratom and kratom derivatives produces similar effects.
Legal Status
Kratom is classified as an illegal Narcotic Level 5 drug in Thailand, but is still sold openly in markets in the rural south of the country. It is apparently legal in all other countries aside from Australia, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Myanmar (Burma). Thailand is rumored to be considering altering its legal status in light of recent discoveries of kratoms medicinal uses in treating drug addiction and as a possible safer natural alternative to illegal illicitly produced amphetamines. Similar research is also underway in Malaysia. Kratom is currently legal everywhere in the United States (The recently passed bill in Louisiana banning several entheobotanicals does not mention and/or include Kratom).