The botanical origin of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa; Rubiaceae) available as abused drugs in the Japanese markets

Kratom is the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa (Rubiaceae). Recently, kratom has been sold in street shops or on the Internet in Japan for the purpose of abuse due to its opium-like effects. In this study, we investigated the botanical origin of the commercial kratom products using the internal transcri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of natural medicines 2009-07, Vol.63 (3), p.340-344
Main Authors: Maruyama, Takuro, Kawamura, Maiko, Kikura-Hanajiri, Ruri, Takayama, Hiromitsu, Goda, Yukihiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Complementary & Alternative Medicine
DNA, Ribosomal Spacer - genetics
Humans
Japan
Medicinal Chemistry
Medicine, East Asian Traditional
Mitragyna - chemistry
Mitragyna - classification
Mitragyna - genetics
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Pharmacy
Plant Leaves - chemistry
Plant Sciences
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length - genetics
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Summary:Kratom is the leaves of Mitragyna speciosa (Rubiaceae). Recently, kratom has been sold in street shops or on the Internet in Japan for the purpose of abuse due to its opium-like effects. In this study, we investigated the botanical origin of the commercial kratom products using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis of rDNA in preparation for future regulation of this product. In addition, a previously reported method to authenticate the plant, utilizing polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was applied to the same products in order to estimate the method’s accuracy and utility. The ITS sequence analysis of the commercial kratoms revealed that most of them were derived from M. speciosa or closely related plants, while the others were made from the same tribe plant as M. speciosa . The reported PCR-RFLP method could clearly distinguish kratoms from the other psychoactive plants available in the Japanese markets and also from related plants. The authentication method is considered to be useful for the practical regulation of the plant due to its wide range of application, high accuracy and simplicity.
ISSN:1340-3443
1861-0293
DOI:10.1007/s11418-009-0325-9