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Kratom basics

Leaf versus extract, and why milligrams per serving is the number that matters

How extract tablets concentrate alkaloids, how a percentage becomes milligrams per serving, and which state and federal caps are per serving or per gram.

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What is the difference between leaf and extract?

Answer

A leaf product is ground Mitragyna speciosa leaf sold as powder, in capsules or pressed into tablets. An extract is made by pulling the alkaloids out of leaf and concentrating them. One seller's pressed leaf tablet holds 300 mg of leaf at 1.0 to 1.3 percent mitragynine, about 3 to 4 mg per tablet (Super Speciosa product data); the extract tablets on this store's lab-results pages hold 57 to 70 mg each (NarcoBrands COAs).

The two formats look alike on a shelf and read very differently on a lab report. A leaf report is written in percentages because the leaf is the whole product; an extract report is written in milligrams per serving because the serving, not the package, is what the law regulates. The same seller that lists leaf tablets by the kilogram lists its extract capsules and shots by milligrams of mitragynine per piece or per bottle.

How does a percentage become milligrams per serving?

Answer

Multiply the concentration by the mass of one serving. A report that states 82.81 mg of mitragynine per gram for a tablet weighing 0.69 g gives 82.81 x 0.69 = 57.1 mg per tablet, and three tablets per package give 171 mg per package; those are the figures printed on PharmLabs report SD260424-137 (NarcoBrands COAs).

The same arithmetic runs the other way for leaf. A 300 mg pressed leaf tablet at 1.0 percent is 300 x 0.010 = 3 mg. A 2 g serving of leaf powder at 1.3 percent is 26 mg. A label that states only a percentage, or only "extract" with a total milligram figure that does not say which alkaloid it counts, cannot be converted, which is why this store's product pages print the per-serving figure from the report or print nothing.

Which laws are written per serving?

Answer

Georgia prohibits any kratom product with "greater than 150 mg of mitragynine per serving," "greater than 0.5 mg 7-hydroxymitragynine per gram," or "greater than 1 mg 7-hydroxymitragynine per serving," and requires the label to state both alkaloid amounts and directions for use (Georgia Department of Law). It is the only per-serving mitragynine cap the research found.

Virginia bars "any kratom product containing 7-hydroxymitragynine in an alkaloid fraction exceeding one percent of total alkaloids in the container or providing more than one milligram of 7-hydroxymitragynine per serving" (Va. Code § 59.1-200). Maryland's regulator reads its statute the same way, 7-OH "does not exceed 1 mg per serving," and adds that the label must carry "affirmative amounts of BOTH mitragynine and 7-OH," with ranges or less-than signs noncompliant (Maryland ATCC notice). Mississippi caps 7-OH at 0.5 mg per container (HB 1077 conference report).

Which laws are written per gram?

Answer

The pending federal threshold is per gram and per milliliter: 7-OH and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl become Schedule I articles when a product holds "greater than 1 mg per gram (for solid powders, encapsulated material, or other solid forms) or greater than 1 mg per milliliter (for liquid preparations)," or when the mass of mitragynine divided by the mass of those compounds "is less than 100" (91 FR 65370).

Kentucky's regulation sets a tighter line, 7-OH above 0.4 mg/g (400 ppm) on a dry-weight basis, as a state Schedule I threshold (Recording Law, Kentucky). Florida's June 2026 rule mirrors the federal 1 mg per gram or milliliter and the 100-to-1 mass ratio. Eight states (Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming) use a third form, 7-OH as a share of the alkaloid fraction, usually 2 percent.

Why does a 60 mg extract tablet pass or fail these lines?

Answer

For a tablet weighing about 0.7 g, the federal 1 mg/g line means under 0.7 mg of 7-OH per tablet, and Kentucky's 0.4 mg/g line means under 0.28 mg. The 100-to-1 ratio is met automatically at 57 to 70 mg of mitragynine as long as 7-OH stays under 0.57 to 0.70 mg. A report that shows 7-OH not detected with a stated limit of quantitation is what lets the arithmetic be done; a label that says "extract" with no 7-OH figure cannot be judged against any of these lines (91 FR 65370).

Mitragynine itself is not the binding limit anywhere the research looked except Georgia's 150 mg per serving. For a 57 to 70 mg tablet, every current state and federal line is a 7-OH line.

Why do some states allow leaf but not extract?

Answer

Two states draw the line at the format. Ohio's Board of Pharmacy rule places mitragynine-related compounds in Schedule I "in the resinous extractives of mitragyna speciosa" while excluding "kratom in its natural, vegetative form" (Ohio Board of Pharmacy notice). Utah's 2026 statute bans "any kratom product that is not 'pure leaf kratom'" and states that "kratom extracts or products made from extracts are not considered pure leaf kratom and cannot be sold" (Utah Attorney General).

This store's state table therefore carries separate rows for kratom extract and kratom leaf. Ohio ships leaf and excludes extract; Utah excludes both, because leaf may be sold there only by registered in-state tobacco specialty retailers.

What has to be on the label?

Answer

Texas requires "directions for safe consumer use, including the recommended serving size" and permits retailers to sell only products "tested and labeled" under its chapter (Texas SB 497). Georgia requires the alkaloid amounts and directions; Maryland requires exact numbers. A serving size is the manufacturer's statement, printed on the package. This store reproduces the manufacturer's directions where they are printed and otherwise says "Follow the directions on the package"; it never writes a serving of its own.

General information, not personalized guidance.

Sources

  1. Super Speciosa storefront product data (leaf tablet and extract figures) Super Speciosa (vendor page, documents what sellers publish) (accessed 2026-10-20)
  2. NarcoBrands COAs page (PharmLabs San Diego reports SD260424-137 to -139) NarcoBrands (accessed 2026-10-20)
  3. Georgia Kratom Consumer Protection Act summary Georgia Department of Law, Consumer Protection Division (accessed 2026-10-20)
  4. Va. Code § 59.1-200(A)(77) Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-10-20)
  5. Maryland ATCC retailer notice: Know the rules, kratom Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission (accessed 2026-10-20)
  6. Mississippi HB 1077 (2025) conference report Mississippi Legislature (accessed 2026-10-20)
  7. 91 FR 65370, notice of intent (thresholds) Federal Register via GovInfo (accessed 2026-10-20)
  8. Kentucky kratom laws (902 KAR 55:015 threshold) Recording Law (secondary) (accessed 2026-10-20)
  9. Ohio Board of Pharmacy consumer and retailer notice Ohio Board of Pharmacy (accessed 2026-10-20)
  10. Utah Attorney General: new kratom law now in effect Utah Attorney General (accessed 2026-10-20)
  11. Texas SB 497 (88R), enrolled Texas Legislature Online (accessed 2026-10-20)

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