Kratom is the evergreen family coffee (Rubiaceae), which is a plant native to Southeast Asia and grows mainly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand uses medicinal and recreational medicine. Deciduous trees, which are used for pharmacological activities, may have different color lines (white, green or red), cannot be distinguished from their natural environment, but have been linked to various effects that are sold as leaf extract powder in western countries.
The main active compounds are the flower indol alkaloids now, especially hydroxymitraginin mitragyna and which act as partial agonists on opioid receptors. Kratom products contain about 2% mitragyna and none or between 0.01% and 0.02% hydroxymitragynine. Other indole alkaloids offer a mechanism of action and pharmacology that is uniquely different from classical opioids such as morphine, heroin, or fentanyl. Binding to the opioid receptor causes recruitment and activation of the signal cascade of protein G combined but leads to recruitment of capture 2 has been associated with many undesirable effects of opioid receptor activation such as constipation, respiratory depression, and dependence. In animal models, mitragyna does not produce dependency or increase self-administration and even reduce previous administration of morphine, while faced with the risk of hydroxymitraginin dependence.
Kratom is also known as a breed, Ketum or Maeng da kratom in various regions and describes different trees and extracts and preparations obtained from them. The use of kratom in Southeast Asia has been re-documented for at least 150 years and illustrates both the stimulating effect for use on hard work days when fresh leaves are chewed and the analgesic and relaxation effects when brewed into tea. It also functions as an opium substitution and mitigation strategy widely used in Malaysia and Thailand from 1830 to 1920. In addition, Kratom remains used for antispasmodics, muscle loosening, and anti-diarrhea effects and meanwhile stimulates short and analgesic effects. Remains a popular home remedy in Southeast Asia. The use of kratom is prohibited in Malaysia under the Poison Act 1952, but its use remains widespread because the tree grows naturally and the tea ingredients are available in the local community. Thailand lifted the ban on the use, production and ownership of Kratom in 2018 for medicinal purposes.
Increased Kratom sales throughout Europe and North America have led to growing security problems with several European countries banning factories and active alkaloids. The state of Kratom as a food supplement remains vague in the United States as of this writing, because the Food Administration Drug (FDA) does not take into account Kratom recognized supplements that were present in the US market before the enactment of the health of the Dietary Supplements. And the Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which would allow regulation.
Instead, the FDA has designed mitragyna and hydroxymitragynine as opiates and the placement of these compounds of the type recommended in the Drug Enforcement Administration Schedule I of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In writing, the programming of this action has not yet taken place even though previous attempts by the agency to do so were drawn based on feedback from the public and the actions of several members of the US Congress. Some US states have banned Kratom alkaloids and active compounds or laws that prohibit the sale of counterfeit products that are not properly labeled in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Practices that are enacted.