Kratom extract is an increasingly popular way to enjoy the benefits of this natural plant. Taking it orally, extracts can provide a powerful and effective boost to the effects of regular kratom use. If you’re considering trying kratom extract, it’s important to consult your healthcare provider first and to understand how to use it responsibly.
The kratom leaf is the basis of all kratom products. It contains alkaloids, most notably mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Both are known to produce potent pain-relief, mood-enhancing and cognitive boosting effects. Kratom is a plant that has been used for centuries in its native Southeast Asia for a variety of reasons. It’s a stimulant, analgesic, mood enhancer and an opioid receptor antagonist, among other things.
It’s most commonly ingested orally, either raw or brewed into tea. Depending on the strain, the preparation and dosage, it can induce different effects including increased energy, improved mood, pain relief, altered states of consciousness and sedation. In the past, kratom was also used to combat stress and anxiety, depression and addiction.
Traditionally, fresh or dried leaves were chewed to increase work efficiency and relieve fatigue for manual laborers. They were also brewed into tea and smoked. In the modern world, kratom is sold in head/smart shops and over the Internet to be consumed orally for its therapeutic properties. The kratom leaves available at these sources are most likely from Mitragyna speciosa cultivars in Indonesia, where the drug originates.
There are several ways that kratom can be extracted, most of which involve boiling the kratom plant and then straining it to create a paste or resin. This residue can then be dissolved in water, ethanol or another solvent to make a liquid tincture. Some people use a method called supercritical fluid extraction, which uses carbon dioxide to extract the plant compounds and can be further refined through solid phase microextraction.
The more advanced methods of kratom extraction produce extremely high-quality products with a much higher concentration of active compounds. They are often produced in a lab, where the quality and consistency of the final product can be monitored. This is especially important since the FDA has not approved kratom as a supplement.
In terms of the kratom extract market, most manufacturers are using a solvent such as acetone or ethyl acetate to help with the extraction process. These substances are known as ‘green solvents’ because of their low toxicity and safety profile. Unlike other chemical solvents like methanol, these green solvents do not damage the cytotoxic and antinociceptive activities of kratom leaves.
In this article, we will take a closer look at the differences between a kratom tincture and a kratom extract. It’s important to note that all tinctures are extracts, but not all extracts are tinctures. To distinguish the two, we will review the extraction processes that are used to create them.