Analysis of heavy metals content in commercially available kratom products in Richmond, Virginia

Abstract

Kratom is a novel psychoactive substance that has gained popularity within the past ten years. Originating from Southeast Asia, the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree contain two principal alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxy-mitragynine, that play a key role in opioid-like effects. Due to its effects, the use of kratom products has increased drastically. However, reports describing concerns about the heavy metal content of these products for safe consumption are still scarce. i Twenty-seven kratom products were obtained from tobacco shops in the Richmond, Virginia area, including powders, teas, extracts, and a carbonated beverage. Kratom samples were subjected to an acid digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis. Aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) were quantitated using yttrium as the internal standard. Kratom tea samples were found to have up to 20 times the tolerable upper intake of manganese. Overexposure to manganese can lead to manganism, a syndrome that presents Parkinsonian symptoms including tremors, dystonia, and facial muscle spasms. As kratom products become more mainstream, stricter regulations of these products must be set in place. The presence of toxic metals in kratom products is a public health concern.