Santé Laboratories unveils full-panel alkaloid testing for kratom

29 Jun 2021 --- US-based Santé Laboratories is releasing what it says is the first-ever full-panel alkaloid test for botanical ingredient kratom (Mitragyna speciosa). 

Despite containing over 40 structurally related alkaloids, kratom remains largely untested in the food and supplements industry. 

The development of the panel will make Santé Laboratories the first contract research organization in the world to offer such a service to industry, it claims. 

Identifying alkaloids
Identification and characterization of these major and minor alkaloids will support efforts to standardizes raw material and finished products for quality control purposes, says the company. It will also help researchers and drug developers better understand the overall effects reported with kratom use.

“Doing our part to fulfill the ‘full spectrum’ hypothesis in kratom raw material and finished products is an exciting moment. Kratom manufacturers everywhere are currently feeling the weight of finding an appropriate laboratory for monitoring their supply chain,” president and COO of Santé Laboratories Mike Sandoval explains.

Kratom is a plant that grows in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. For centuries, the plant has been used to relieve fatigue, anxiety, chronic pain, cough and diarrhea, and, more recently, as an aid in opioid withdrawal. 

Opiate users commonly use kratom to reduce withdrawal symptoms.The major kratom alkaloid
Typically, kratom is only tested for two alkaloids – mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. 

Mitragynine is the most abundant alkaloid (>80 percent of the total) found in kratom, with typical, naturally occurring concentrations of 0.5 to 1.5 percent. 

Although pharmacological effects are not fully understood and thought to contribute to less than 1 percent of total alkaloids, over 40 structurally related compounds have been identified in kratom leaves.

It is generally accepted by industry and university researchers that alkaloids and other phytochemicals found in kratom may also fall into a similar, interactive category. 

A new analytical method 
Using chromatographic separation and identification of indole and oxindole alkaloids using Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) instruments, Santé Labs has managed to provide identification of new alkaloids 

The analytical method was developed and validated for quantification of indole and oxindole alkaloids such as mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, paynantheine, speciogynine, speciociliatine, mitraphylline, isorhynchophylline and rhynchophylline. 

Santé Laboratories asserts that recreational labs using inferior separation sciences, instruments and analytical chemistries struggle to precisely identify and quantify all the major and minor alkaloids. 

“To do this with high precision and reproducibility in a high-throughput commercial environment is an art, especially doing so without compromising quality control,” comments Sandoval. 

“If a lab is unable to demonstrate proficiency to their ISO/IEC accrediting body, I don’t believe they should be testing for others or claiming they are accredited.”

As the kratom industry continues to scale up into food, dietary supplement and drugs industries, access to superior and scientifically valid testing services is of utmost importance, he continues. 

Kratom under the spotlight
Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized approximately US$1.3 million worth of dietary supplement products containing kratom after determining they pose a potential threat to public health. 

The products were manufactured by Atofil, a subsidiary of Premier Manufacturing Products, based in Florida, US. The FDA requested US law enforcement to seize over 207,000 dietary supplements and bulk dietary ingredients containing kratom, including over 34,000 kg of bulk kratom. 

Suppliers were touting the products for their ability to provide a range of physically and cognitively stimulatory effects.

The apparent dichotomy of harm and benefit posed by kratom is driving industry efforts to understand better and control the ingredient’s properties. 

By Louis Gore-Langton