Problems of Forensic Sciences 2020 Vol. 121 (CXXI) 39-50
KRATOM – A PLANT PREPARATION AROUSING INCREASING INTEREST AND FEAR
Piotr ADAMOWICZ, Roman STANASZEK, Bogumiła BYRSKA
Institute of Forensic Research, Kraków, Poland
Streszczenie
Kratom is a colloquial term for the Mitragyna speciosa plant, as well as for products derived from this plant, whose main psychoactive compounds are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Kratom is used as a traditional medicine to relieve muscle pain and intestinal infections, increase energy and appetite, and also as a psychoactive and mood enhancer. In recent years, the popularity of this substance has increased both in Europe and in the United States, where it can be easily purchased online in the form of leaves, capsules, tablets, powders and concentrated extracts. Products obtained from kratom were analyzed within casework at the Institute of Forensic Research in 2009, 2014 and 2019. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography with diode detection (UPLC-PDA) were used for the analyses. The presence of mitragynine was confirmed in all the analysed materials. The concentration of mitragynine in powdered substances analysed in 2019 was 1.1–1.4%. The number of cases investigated at the Institute in recent years in which mitragynine was detected does not indicate that kratom was (is) a significant problem on the Polish illegal drug market, but the growing interest in this substance may change this situation. An increasing number of cases related to the identification of kratom ingredients in biological materials collected from users, including fatally intoxicated people, are reported worldwide. Although administration of kratom alone may seem relatively safe, its mixtures with other psychoactive compounds pose a significant threat to the health and life of users.
Słowa kluczowe
Kratom; New psychoactive substance; Mitragyna speciosa.