title: Suspected Adulteration of Commercial Kratom Products with 7-Hydroxymitragynine.
abstract: Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a plant native to Southeast Asia, has been used for centuries for its stimulant and opium-like effects. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, exclusive to M. speciosa, are the alkaloids primary responsible for Kratom's biologic and psychoactive profile, and likely contribute to its problematic use. We purchased several commercially available Kratom analogs for analysis and through our results, present evidence of probable adulteration with the highly potent and addictive plant alkaloid, 7-hydroxymitragynine.
  
  
  
  A simple and sensitive LC-MS/MS method was developed for simultaneous quantification of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine in methanol extract of marketed Kratom supplements.
  
  
  
  We found multiple commercial Kratom products to have concentrations of 7-hydroxymitragynine that are substantially higher than those found in raw M. speciosa leaves.
  
  
  
  We have found multiple packaged commercial Kratom products likely to contain artificially elevated concentrations of 7-hydroxymitragynine, the alkaloid responsible for M. speciosa's concerning mechanistic and side effect profile. This study describes a unique form of product adulteration, which stresses the importance of increased dietary supplement oversight of Kratom-containing supplements.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA. alicia.lydecker@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alicia G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Lydecker
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, 104A Faser Hall, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677-1848, USA.
authors.forename: Abhisheak
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, 417 Faser Hall, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677-1848, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: McCurdy
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, 104A Faser Hall, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677-1848, USA.|Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, 417 Faser Hall, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677-1848, USA.
authors.forename: Bonnie A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Avery
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Kavita M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Babu
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA, 01655, USA.
authors.forename: Edward W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Boyer
mesh_terms: D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000032:analysis; D004340:Drug Contamination; D032065:Mitragyna / Q000737:chemistry*; D009294:Narcotics / Q000032:analysis*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry; D046948:Secologanin Tryptamine Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D010936:Plant Extracts; D046948:Secologanin Tryptamine Alkaloids; C482678:7-hydroxymitragynine; C001801:mitragynine
keywords: 7-Hydroxymitragynine; Drugs of abuse; Kratom; Mitragyna speciosa; Mitragynine