What is Kratom?
Kratom is a plant (Mitragyna speciosa) that occurs naturally in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, mainly Thailand and Malaysia. In the areas where they occur naturally, Mitragyna species are used for medicinal purposes, as well as for their fine wood. In recent years, Kratom has become increasingly popular as a recreational use.
Kratom has been used for hundreds of years in Thailand and neighboring countries, by chewing the leaves or making tea. Kratom is used as a stimulant, pain reliever and sometimes as a remedy for opioid withdrawal symptoms. The plant is promoted on several websites as an herbal remedy for pain.
Kratom contains a number of active substances, so-called alkaloids, of which mitragynine probably causes the most important effects. Mitragynine is an opiate agonist, which means it has an effect on the opiate receptors in your brain. These receptors influence your mood and anxiety. Mitragynine binds to these receptors and improves your mood and gives a euphoric feeling.
The advice is not to combine kratom with alcohol, benzodiazepines, opiates or any other substances that depress the nervous system. This could lead to respiratory depression.
Kratom in combination with stimulants can greatly increase blood pressure and is strongly discouraged.
It is also better not to combine kratom with MAO inhibitors, such as Peganum harmala, Banisteriopsis caapi and certain anti-depressants. Serious and potentially fatal reactions can occur when an MAO inhibitor is combined with monoamine drugs. As far as we know, no research has been done into the combination of MAO-inhibiting drugs with kratom, which contains monoamine alkaloids.
