By Danny DeCota
Chances are high that you have heard some fascinating facts about kratom – a tropical tree native to certain South Asian countries. As with other plant species, there are varied strains of kratom, and you will also find a bunch of blends to choose from. Websites like In Sense Botanicals have made kratom more accessible to buyers in the west.
Kratom contains certain alkaloid compounds, specifically:
- Mitragynine
- 7-hydroxymitragynine.
People of Indonesia and Thailand have been using kratom since ancient times, as herbal product to alleviate pain and also to gain additional energy for doing manual work.
What Kratom can really do?
As per the research done by FDA, kratom is considered as an agonist, which binds to mu-opioid receptors, that is same part exists in our brain, which is activated while taking opioids, or any prescription painkillers.
Hence, Kratom is basically a natural opioid and also comes with risk of dependence, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms.
Due to the presence of mitragynine as well as 7-hydroxymitragynine, it can also help to control our pain by attaching it to proteins which is called as opioid receptors and as a result, reduces the perception of pain.
In the recent online survey, it was found that most of the users of kratom in the US are either middle-aged or middle-income group of people who are living with pain. However, quite a few in this survey responded that they wanted to quit from opioid use.
Common side effects
Many people have reported following effects after consuming kratom:
- Irritability
- Drowsiness
- Palpitations
- Poor concentration
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Seizure
- Hypothyroidism
- Psychosis
- Hepatitis
- Coma.
However, it is difficult to say how much the Kratom was responsible for all above symptoms. Risks can however be higher if someone takes concentrated extracts mixed with some other psychoactive substances like drugs, adulterants or alcohol.
Following are few short-term side effects:
- Calmness
- Constipation
- Dry mouth
- Euphoria
- Increased social behavior
- Increased urination
- Itching
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Sensitivity to sunburn
- Sweating
- Talkativeness
Following are few long-term side effects too:
- Anorexia
- Constipation
- Discoloration of cheeks
- Frequent urination
- Insomnia
Psychotic symptoms like hallucinations, delusion or confusion.
How long will Kratom stay in our system?
There is a need for further research in order to determine about the exact half-life period of kratom. Similar to many other addictive substances, the duration the Kratom will stay in our system will largely depend on following few factors:
- Age
- Body fat
- Food and water intake
- Frequency of use
- Genetics
- Metabolic rate
- Type of kratom
In order to detect the main active mitragynine and alkaloid present in the body urine test will be needed.
