Pharmaceutical Biology

Kratom, Alkaloid-Concentrated Products, and Emerging Derivatives: Chemistry, Safety, Market Evolution, and Public Health Implications

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.) is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain indole and oxindole alkaloids with pharmacological activity. In contemporary commerce, the term “kratom” may refer to products that differ substantially in botanical composition, processing, alkaloid profile, and dose. These include dried leaf preparations, commercial powders, extracts, concentrated alkaloid products, and chemically modified or otherwise poorly characterized kratom-derived products. The key scientific issue is determining when a product remains reasonably comparable to traditional kratom leaf preparations and when it represents a distinct product category. This Article Collection will examine kratom and kratom-derived products through product identity, alkaloid exposure, analytical characterization, pharmacology, toxicology, clinical interpretation, and product quality.

Scientific and public health conclusions about kratom are often limited by inadequate product definition. Evidence related to traditional kratom leaf use cannot automatically be applied to products with substantially enriched, altered, or otherwise atypical alkaloid profiles. Conversely, adverse events involving concentrated, adulterated, or multi-ingredient products should not be generalized without qualification to all kratom preparations. Clinical case reports, poison centres’ data, pharmacokinetic studies, drug-interaction potential assessments, and toxicology findings can be interpreted properly only when the product type and chemical exposure are known. This distinction is increasingly important as products with elevated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) or other kratom-derived alkaloids enter commerce using terminology that may imply equivalence to kratom leaf. Clear scientific separation of product categories is needed to support analytical standards, clinical assessment, toxicological interpretation, and regulatory decision-making.

This Article Collection will prioritize manuscripts that clarify the relationship between kratom product identity, alkaloid exposure, and biological or clinical interpretation. Relevant work may include original research on botanical authentication, alkaloid profiling, chemical standardization, validated analytical methods, product stability, manufacturing-related chemical changes, pharmacokinetics, drug interactions, receptor pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical case interpretation. Reviews and perspectives should synthesize evidence across defined product categories rather than treating kratom as a single undifferentiated exposure. Manuscripts addressing concentrated alkaloid products, emerging kratom-derived compounds, multi-ingredient formulations, adulteration, mislabeling, online product surveillance, or regulatory science questions are welcome when they are linked to product composition and exposure. Preferred article types include original research articles, reviews, perspectives, short communications, data notes, and methods papers. Submissions should clearly define the product class studied and provide analytical confirmation whenever possible.

Keywords:

• Kratom
• Mitragyna speciosa
• opioids; alkaloid
• 7-hydroxymitragynine

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer review if they can pass the desk assessments as part of our standard editorial process; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 28 February 2027.

Please contact Catherine Teng at [email protected]  with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.