Kratom basics
What kratom is: the plant, the alkaloids and how extracts differ from leaf
Mitragyna speciosa, the alkaloids a lab report measures, how leaf products and extract tablets differ, and what federal agencies have said about the plant.
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What plant is kratom?
Kratom is the common name for Mitragyna speciosa, a tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves are the raw material for every kratom product. Statutes define the product by the plant: Virginia's code says kratom "means any part of the leaf of the plant Mitragyna speciosa or any extract thereof" (Va. Code § 59.1-200).
Every regulatory definition found in the research starts from the leaf. Tennessee's 2026 statute reaches "any part of the Mitragyna speciosa plant" and anything derived from it that contains its two named alkaloids; Ohio's rule, by contrast, draws its line between "kratom in its natural, vegetative form" and the "resinous extractives" of the plant. That distinction, leaf versus extract, is the one that matters most for where a product can be sold, and it is the subject of leaf versus extract.
Which alkaloids does a lab measure?
A kratom lab report quantifies alkaloids, the nitrogen-containing compounds the leaf produces. The two named in nearly every statute are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH). DEA's July 2026 notice states that "in its natural botanical form, 7-hydoxymitragynine makes up less than two percent of the total alkaloid content" of the plant (91 FR 40917).
Reports that go further list speciociliatine, paynantheine and speciogynine. One seller's published lab program tests five alkaloids, mitragynine, 7-OH, paynantheine, speciogynine and speciociliatine, alongside a microbial panel and heavy metals (Super Speciosa lab lookup). The three PharmLabs San Diego reports linked from this store's lab-results pages quantify mitragynine and speciociliatine and report 7-OH as not detected (NarcoBrands COAs).
The word that regulators use for mitragynine and 7-OH is "psychoactive": DEA's October 2026 notice says it "still views kratom and its two major psychoactive ingredients, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymtragynine, as drugs of concern" (91 FR 65370). Mitragynine itself is not a federally controlled substance; the October notice uses it only in a ratio test against 7-OH.
How do leaf products differ from extracts?
Leaf products are ground leaf: powder, capsules filled with powder, or tablets pressed from powder. One seller lists its pressed leaf tablets at 300 mg of leaf each and 1.0 percent or more mitragynine by strain, which works out to about 3 mg of mitragynine per tablet (Super Speciosa product data).
Extracts concentrate the alkaloids. The three extract tablet reports on this store's lab-results pages show mitragynine at 8.28 to 9.85 percent of tablet mass, or 57 to 70 mg per 0.69 to 0.73 g tablet (NarcoBrands COAs). That is roughly 20 times the mitragynine of a pressed leaf tablet in a smaller piece, which is why extract pages state milligrams per serving rather than a percentage, and why several states cap alkaloids per serving rather than per package.
Not everything sold as "extract" is a leaf concentrate. A 2026 Journal of AOAC International study of eight products from five brands sold as kratom extract found 22 to 75 mg/g of 7-OH against 2.0 to 6.0 mg/g of mitragynine, with the other leaf alkaloids absent, a profile that cannot come from leaf (Kratom.news summary of Brown et al.). A report that shows mitragynine in the tens of milligrams and 7-OH not detected or in the trace range is the signature of a leaf-derived extract; the reverse profile is the signature of a converted product.
What has the federal government said?
FDA states that kratom is not approved for any use and has described concentrated 7-OH products as a public health concern, distinct from leaf (FDA, Hiding in plain sight: 7-OH products). Kratom leaf and mitragynine are not federally scheduled as of 2026-10-20; the pending federal action concerns 7-OH and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl above a threshold (91 FR 65370).
The dates, docket numbers and thresholds are laid out in the federal scheduling timeline. The state picture, ten statutory bans and about nineteen consumer-protection statutes, is in kratom law by state.
What does a product label have to say?
State consumer-protection acts converge on the same label content: the full ingredient list, the manufacturer's identity and address, the amount of mitragynine and 7-OH, a serving size with directions, and an age statement. Georgia requires "clearly labeled ingredients," "the amount of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine contained in the product" and "clear and adequate directions for the consumption and safe and effective use" (Georgia Department of Law). Virginia requires a verbatim warning sentence and New York requires seven disclosures and two statements; both are reproduced on product warnings.
What this store prints
Every kratom product page here states the mitragynine per serving and per package from the linked lab report, the 7-OH result with its limit of quantitation, the laboratory and sample number, the manufacturer's printed directions where they exist, and the warnings block. It does not describe what the product does. The reasoning is on the editorial policy page.
General information, not personalized guidance.
Sources
- Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine Above a Specified Threshold in Schedule I (notice of intent), 91 FR 40917 Federal Register via GovInfo (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine and Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl Above a Specified Threshold (notice of intent), 91 FR 65370 Federal Register via GovInfo (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Hiding in plain sight: 7-OH products U.S. Food and Drug Administration (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Va. Code § 59.1-200 (definition of kratom at (A)(77)) Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Georgia Kratom Consumer Protection Act summary Georgia Department of Law, Consumer Protection Division (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Super Speciosa lab lookup (five-alkaloid panel) Super Speciosa (vendor page, documents what sellers publish) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Super Speciosa storefront product data (leaf tablet alkaloid percentages) Super Speciosa (vendor page, documents what sellers publish) (accessed 2026-10-20)
- NarcoBrands COAs page (PharmLabs San Diego reports) NarcoBrands (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Synthetic 7-OH kratom extract lab study 2026 (summary of Brown et al., J AOAC Int 2026;109(1):124-130) Kratom.news (secondary summary of a journal article) (accessed 2026-10-20)
Related questions
Is 7-OH the same thing as kratom?
No. 7-OH is 7-hydroxymitragynine, one alkaloid that DEA says makes up "less than two percent of the total alkaloid content" of the plant; products sold as "7-OH" are concentrated...
What is the difference between kratom leaf and extract?
Leaf is ground Mitragyna speciosa leaf sold as powder, capsules or pressed tablets at roughly 1 to 1.3 percent mitragynine, about 3 mg per 300 mg tablet; extract concentrates the...
Is kratom a federally controlled substance?
No, as of 2026-10-20. Kratom leaf and mitragynine are not scheduled; three related compounds (mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16) have been Schedule I since 2026-08-26...