Mitragynine is a natural component that is found in the Kratom leaves. Mitragynine has been used by many Asian countries as an herbal supplement over the centuries. It is commonly consumed in the form of a tea beverage that is made from the leaves of Kratom. Although mitragynine is not an opioid, it affects the same receptors as an opioid does, but at a lower affinity. Mitragynine has been used as an analgesic to stop inflammation and diarrhea. Since mitragynine affects the same receptors as opioids, it is also used for treatment of opioid and ethanol withdrawal in order to counter the withdrawal symptoms. In some countries, Kratom leaves tea is being used as the base to prepare the “Kratom Cocktails" that contain a mixture of other drugs including codeine, alcohol, and various opioids. It is currently up for debate as to whether or not to add mitragynine to one of the DEA lists. More tests must be done to find out the long-term effects of mitragynine use. The purpose of this study was to extract mitragynine from Kratom plants and determine the corresponding concentration of mitragynine. A liquid-liquid extraction method is used to extract mitragynine and the extraction efficiency was determined. Mitragynine was detected with a reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography at 223 nm. The mobile phase consists of a mixture of acetonitrile and 0.05% formic acid (50:50 v/v) adjusted to pH = 5.

Extraction of an active component (mitragynine) from Kratom leaves

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.