WHAT IS KRATOM?

Kratom has been integral in Southeast Asian cultures for centuries. It is becoming more popular around the world because aficionados have found that Kratom enhances their optimism and sense of wellness, boosts motivation and focus, and can help them seize the day.

As many people are turning away from chemical pharmaceuticals and toward botanicals, Kratom has moved to the forefront. To understand this botanical more fully, here is some more background as to what makes Kratom so unique.

THE BOTANY BEHIND KRATOM

This tropical evergreen tree grows in Southeast Asia and is a member of the coffee plant family. Native to countries like Borneo, Malaysia, and Indonesia, Kratom is an incredibly adaptable tree that can top out at heights of 80 feet or more.

Kratom intrigues botanists due to its ability to grow in a wide range of environments, including flood plains and arid climes. It also accelerates its growth monumentally when exposed to excess warmth and sunlight directly before harvest.

Farmers and Kratom tree growers in Southeast Asia understand that it is crucial to the leaves’ alkaloid content to pick it at precisely the right moment. Pick it too early, and the alkaloid content falls well below normal levels; pick it too late, and a similar outcome occurs.

When you pick Kratom at the perfect time, it has the maximum number of alkaloids in its leaves, and alkaloids are the compounds that make Kratom so special.

What Are Alkaloids?

What makes Kratom so special? It’s actually two things, and they are both alkaloids. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (sometimes referred to as 7-OH) is the celebrated pair of organic compounds that turn those simple leaves into…