Kratom Powder vs Extract

You may have heard of Kratom extract if you’re a Kratom user. If you’re wondering about the differences between Kratom powder vs extract, this post is for you!

Here at The Kratom Capital, we want to ensure our customers are knowledgeable about the products they consume. Additionally, we’re always looking out for customer safety. It is for these reasons that we do not carry Kratom extracts. And further, why we want to offer information about the dangers of Kratom extracts. When it comes to Kratom powder vs extract, Kratom powder is the clear choice for safety and reliability.

What Is Kratom?

Before we get into the specifics of Kratom powder vs extract, let’s review exactly what Kratom is. Kratom, or mitragyna speciosa, is a tree in the coffee family native to Southeast Asia. This tree is evergreen and can grow at heights upward of 80 feet tall. The leaves of this tree have been in use in traditional medicine practices for centuries.

Historically, field workers chewed on the leaves right from the tree to fight off fatigue and relieve pain. Today, however, Kratom production is a bit more sophisticated. The Kratom for sale today is a result of a whole production process. Kratom leaves are harvested at specific times for desired alkaloid profiles. Once harvested, leaves are dried and then ground to a fine powder. This Kratom powder is either weighed and bagged, or packed into Kratom capsules.

What Is Kratom Extract?

Kratom extracts are highly concentrated doses of Kratom. These are sold in several forms, powder and liquid shots being the most widely available. If you’re someone who takes a larger dose of Kratom, you might wonder if these products are for you. However, we strongly urge caution with Kratom extracts. These products often contain levels of Kratom alkaloids that are astonishingly higher than is natural. And further, these products often cause significant, unwanted side effects.

Kratom Extract Dangers

Potency

One of the biggest dangers of Kratom extracts is just how potent they are. Some of these products have been found to have up to 500% higher alkaloid contents than pure, natural Kratom. Specifically, the alkaloid 7-hydroxymitragynine is of concern in these Kratom extracts. This alkaloid interacts with the body’s opioid receptors and actually affects them 17X more than morphine. This alkaloid is present in unadulterated Kratom at generally less than 2%.

It is not surprising that these elevated products exist in a culture of excess. However, there are very real dangers in consuming these lab-made Kratom extract products. Human brains and bodies simply can’t handle these compounds in these quantities. Kratom extract users often deal with serious withdrawals and have even been known to become immune to morphine through their use.

Ingredients

Aside from the artificially elevated alkaloid levels in Kratom extracts, there are other concerns with unwanted ingredients. Most liquid Kratom extracts don’t have full ingredient lists, only ‘active ingredient’ lists on which they tell you what percentage of the shot contains Kratom.

So, you can’t tell if they have ingredients you’d like to stay away from. For example, synthetic dyes, artificial sweeteners, etc. But even more importantly, you don’t know what other potentially dangerous ingredients may be lurking; like phenibut.

Phenibut is an unregulated drug developed in Russia to help with anxiety. In recent years, it has become available to US markets online. During research, we stumbled upon multiple stories of people unknowingly taking Kratom shots containing phenibut (pgh). These people told their stories of a downhill addiction and moderate withdrawal symptoms.