A natural evolution of kratom powder is the alkaloid filled concentrates (extracts). Taking the important components of the plant, pulling them out of the leaf, and producing a more potent composition. Curious scientists and extraction artists have been pushing the boundaries and developing cutting edge techniques to design some of the best products the world has ever seen. There’s no better time than now to dive into the universe that is kratom extracts.
The alkaloid balances of different extractions can change drastically. There is no white, green, or red vein. It actually doesn’t matter what vein is used in the extraction. A huge number of variables like the solvent, technique, sonicating, soak time, powder strength and a million other things can influence what makes its way to the final product. This means there are a huge variety of effects (even moreso than regular powder).
With regular kratom powder, your body has to perform its own extraction of the alkaloids from the plant matter. This process is never 100% efficient. Kratom concentrates remove some of the work your body has to do and tend to be more effective even at an equivalent dosage.
Can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard this… But it’s simply untrue. A responsible user calculating proper doses can effectively stay at their normal dose and switch between powder and extracts with no issues. However, due to the potency and convenience of extracts- people who are carelessly consuming can potentially develop problems.
Kratom extracts have the same major constituents as kratom powder, only in higher concentrations. They’re not inherently more dangerous. When used irresponsibly, the high strength can be a risk factor to easily overdo it. A good metaphor we use is: A motor vehicle is a 4000lb mass of fast moving metal. The vehicle isn’t dangerous though, that responsibility is beheld by the driver. Don’t be a bad driver.
Hate to burst anybody’s bubble but there’s no such thing. Some companies say a “Full Spectrum” is using all 3 vein colors in an extraction. Others will tell you an extract with a modest amount of secondary alkaloids is “Full Spectrum”. There is no standard for what the spectrum is, or what the claim even means. Some of the compounds in kratom are not extracted by conventional methods. A few are fat soluble / non-polar and others are soluble in a polar solution. Essentially all kratom extractions are a “polar pull” which by default leaves part of the original full spectrum contained in the leaf out of the final extract. So the terminology is rather misleading, especially without any form of standardization.
For years now, shady marketing tactics have dominated smoke shop shelves and even infiltrated many household names in the online space. A great example is “50x crystal kratom extract in rainbow colors!” The 50x is supposed to mean for every 50g of powder 1g of extract is produced. Theoretically 50x the strength. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The zany colors are obtained through food dye, and even if 50g of powder was used to obtain 1g of extract the potency generally doesn’t surpass about 3x normal kratom powder strength… meaning the extraction process was super inefficient or the claims are lies.
Another common tactic is a vague statement of “Contains 500mg Kratom Extract”. Then no information is given on the strength of the extract, total MIT content, or any other information that is vital to the consumer for safe usage. If 2 kratom shots were sitting on the shelf with the exact same price and one says “200mg MIT” and the other says “500mg Kratom Extract”- the 500mg number looks bigger and appears to be a better value. Even though it could realistically be weaker or lower quality than the properly labeled counterpart. It’s important to learn how to recognize and avoid these traps.
Kratom is an unregulated industry which comes with its own list of pros and cons. We are personally happy it is unregulated because there’s no government overreach and interference. BUT due to the grey area some people throw safety to the wind in favor of some better profit margins… Legally. We uphold a high standard of quality and safety for this community, whether people like it or not. Which has landed us in the line of fire from unhappy vendors and their fans alike that don’t appreciate us calling it out. Bad practices like dirty solvents, cheap filler, dyes, misleading marketing, medical claims, poor advice, and corner cutting can cause harm to people and ultimately cause the government to step in and ban kratom. To combat this unethical behavior, while simultaneously preventing the government from stepping in- we want to aid in education about this plant and hold ourselves and other vendors to a gold standard. It will be up to you to hold vendors to a higher standard as well. If businesses with bad practices are still being supported and funded they will continue providing unsafe products. If customers stop buying, these businesses are forced to get better or get out. Since there is almost nothing that can legally be done to shady vendors, the act of cooperatively balancing the free market is the community’s super power in preserving our plant. Regardless of who or where you choose to get your kratom from, you deserve to have a safe and quality experience. That One Place has your back.
There are a few things to look out for when shopping for extracts. A super low price generally indicates a cheap or unwanted extract. The “crystal” shiny looking extracts are a basic crude extraction generally performed in Indonesia with low grade “toss out” powder that could not be easily sold. Often times lab tests are not available and they will be marketed as a “50x” or something similar with an “x”. They’re named with “crystal”, “glass” and other things to emphasize the shiny appearance. These extracts generally don’t surpass around 5-8% MIT content.
There are free base and salt extractions. Neither is superior but they are different from each other. It is wise to find out which type your extract is. Most extracts will be free base, so if the description doesn’t specify the extract is most likely a free base. When the MIT percentage starts climbing over 45%, it may be a salt. If the extract you are looking at is advertised as “water soluble” it is likely a salt but the claim about being water soluble is untrue. A salt requires an acid like citric acid in the water in order to be soluble.
Extracts can come in different colors based on the extraction methods but super bright colors are usually not a good sign. This generally only happens with “crystal” extracts to make them more appealing. Deeper orange and red colors on mit percentages 40% or less can indicate leftover solvents.
Strong odors emitted from the extract indicate residual solvents. This means part of the extraction process was not done properly and not all of those chemicals are evaporated from the final product. If a food safe solvent like citric acid is used then this isn’t a big deal, but if a harsher solvent like methanol is used (without proper protocol) this can be a really big deal and cause irreversible damage to the consumer. Due to the unregulated nature, there are no laws or standards on what chemicals can and can’t be used for extraction.
Just like different veins of kratom, extracts can have varying balances of alkaloids. In fact, they can have more prominent differences. It is a good idea to pay attention to not only the MIT and 7-OH content but the secondary alkaloids as well, to learn what types may be more or less suitable for your specific needs.
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