Kratom, an herbal supplement available at vape shops and online stores, has been linked to 91 deaths over 18 months from July 2016 to December 2017, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those deaths made up less than 1 percent of the 27,338 overdose fatalities analyzed for the report, released online on April 12. Although small, the numbers point to increasing numbers of people using the plant to combat pain, depression and even opioid addiction.
Interest in, and exposure to, kratom is apparently rising. “Wed see about 10 cases a year, and now were seeing hundreds,” says toxicologist Henry Spiller of the Central Ohio Poison Center in Columbus.
Here, scientists weigh in on whats known and unknown about the herbal supplement.
What is kratom, and why are people using it?
The supplement is mashed leaves from the tropical tree Mitragyna speciosa, a coffee cousin that grows in the warm, wet forests of Southeast Asia. Pulverized leaves create a green powder that can be dissolved in tea, packed into pill capsules or extracted into alcohol. Traditionally, workers chew the leaves in search of a mild stimulant effect during the day, and then drink tea to relieve pain, says pharmacologist and toxicologist Oliver Grundmann of the University of Florida in Gainesville.
In a survey of about 8,000 kratom users in the United States, 68 percent used kratom for pain, and 66.5 percent used it for emotional or mental conditions, Grundmann reported in Drug and Alcohol Dependence in 2017. A smaller fraction of people used kratom to help with drug dependency.
Is kratom an opioid?
No, Spiller says. Scientists are still working to pin down the behavior of various kratom compounds. Some of kratoms ingredients seem to weakly bind to a protein in the body and brain that is activated by opioids. But so far, its clear that kratom doesnt act like an opioid, Spiller says.
In an analysis of kratom-linked health problems, Spiller and his colleagues found that the most common symptoms were racing hearts and irritability, not respiratory depression, drowsiness or coma, which are typical during an opioid overdose (SN: 3/31/18, p. 18).
Is kratom safe?
The recent CDC numbers of kratom-linked fatalities are small — 91 deaths out of 27,338 overdose deaths. Of those 91, seven tested positive for only kratom; the rest of the cases tested positive for at least one additional substance, making it hard to conclude exactly what drug — or combination of drugs — was to blame. Those numbersRead More – Source
Kratom, an herbal supplement available at vape shops and online stores, has been linked to 91 deaths over 18 months from July 2016 to December 2017, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those deaths made up less than 1 percent of the 27,338 overdose fatalities analyzed for the report, released online on April 12. Although small, the numbers point to increasing numbers of people using the plant to combat pain, depression and even opioid addiction.
Interest in, and exposure to, kratom is apparently rising. “Wed see about 10 cases a year, and now were seeing hundreds,” says toxicologist Henry Spiller of the Central Ohio Poison Center in Columbus.
Here, scientists weigh in on whats known and unknown about the herbal supplement.
What is kratom, and why are people using it?
The supplement is mashed leaves from the tropical tree Mitragyna speciosa, a coffee cousin that grows in the warm, wet forests of Southeast Asia. Pulverized leaves create a green powder that can be dissolved in tea, packed into pill capsules or extracted into alcohol. Traditionally, workers chew the leaves in search of a mild stimulant effect during the day, and then drink tea to relieve pain, says pharmacologist and toxicologist Oliver Grundmann of the University of Florida in Gainesville.
In a survey of about 8,000 kratom users in the United States, 68 percent used kratom for pain, and 66.5 percent used it for emotional or mental conditions, Grundmann reported in Drug and Alcohol Dependence in 2017. A smaller fraction of people used kratom to help with drug dependency.
Is kratom an opioid?
No, Spiller says. Scientists are still working to pin down the behavior of various kratom compounds. Some of kratoms ingredients seem to weakly bind to a protein in the body and brain that is activated by opioids. But so far, its clear that kratom doesnt act like an opioid, Spiller says.
In an analysis of kratom-linked health problems, Spiller and his colleagues found that the most common symptoms were racing hearts and irritability, not respiratory depression, drowsiness or coma, which are typical during an opioid overdose (SN: 3/31/18, p. 18).
Is kratom safe?
The recent CDC numbers of kratom-linked fatalities are small — 91 deaths out of 27,338 overdose deaths. Of those 91, seven tested positive for only kratom; the rest of the cases tested positive for at least one additional substance, making it hard to conclude exactly what drug — or combination of drugs — was to blame. Those numbersRead More – Source
