Kratom is the common name for the South Asian plant Mitragyna speciosa abused for the legal-high natural product stimulants, notably the alkaloid mitragynine, it produces. In this presentation we will report upon case studies from the literature - use of kratom-based products has been linked to withdrawal anxiety, pulmonary congestion and edema, seizures, coma, and even death - and identification of kratom and mitragynine using color tests (Marquis→Nitric acid→Mecke→Scott), chromatographic and PCR methods. The rapid qPCR-HRM DNA test developed by our group is specific for kratom, which is differentiated from other plant-based drugs by its unique 77 °C melt peak, and can be used to analyze even microtrace quantities of sample.

Detection and identification of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) using chemical tests and a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction high resolution melt (qPCR-HRM) assay

254th National Meeting (2017)

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