Since kratom first landed on the US market, people have devised clever ways to highlight its potency and effects. So today, you’ll find various products sold online under the names kratom isolate and kratom extract. But just how effective are these products?
Claiming to provide more potent benefits than the usual kratom, isolates and extracts allegedly let users experience the full effects of kratom at smaller doses. And with such strong claims, you might ask — are these products really what they claim to be?
Isolates started gaining popularity during the advent of hemp and CBD. When hemp advocates discovered all of the different cannabinoids found in the hemp plant, they started isolating specific compounds which were thought to contribute the most to the plant’s effects.
In the same way, kratom isolates hope to bring about the potency of kratom’s effects by isolating the compounds believed to be responsible for kratom’s benefits. These include mitragynine and 7-hydroxy mitragynine.
But don’t be deceived — while some vendors advertise their products as 100% kratom isolates, there’s no such thing as a complete isolate. That means there will always be some other kratom-based compounds in the mix since it’s impossible to completely separate them, even in sophisticated labs.
Today, kratom isolates come in various forms, but the most common are powders and tablets. Product potency varies from product to product, but just for context, Mit45 offers a kratom isolate powder containing 511mg mitragynine and 20mg 7-OH per 1g jar.
Krabot and Kratom Collection also sell kratom isolate tablets that are said to contain 50mg of mitragynine. They don’t indicate, however how much 7-OH each one contains.
In a way, kratom isolates fall under the kratom extract umbrella. These products aim to provide users with a more potent experience by emphasizing and magnifying the herb’s effects. They do this by extracting the active compounds in kratom, which is also essentially what isolation attempts.
Today, a few companies out there attempt to ‘standardize’ kratom extract production. That means that these products contain relatively the same kratom chemistry across batches.
Brands like Mit45 and OPMS produce large quantities of kratom extracts that they sell to distributors. These products make their way to headshops, convenience stores, and gas stations across the country and provide the same effects across the board.
And then, on the other side of the coin, there are small-scale businesses that produce bespoke batches of kratom extracts. These can be processed using raw powder, and variations in batches and even minor changes in the process can produce differences in potency.
When browsing kratom extracts, you’ll find that they’re often labeled 10x, 20x, 50x, 100x, or similar. This tells you how much stronger they are than the typical kratom powder. So, for instance, a 10x or 10:1 kratom extract produces effects that are 10 times stronger than the standard dose.
More popular extracts that have reached the market are standardized extracts. Standardized extracts are measured in a percentage of alkaloids. For example, 45% extract means the extract is standardized to contain 45% mitragynine. Standardized extracts are better because you know precisely the amount of alkaloids in the product.
If kratom isolates are comparable to CBD isolates, kratom extracts are like full-spectrum hemp products. So instead of attempting to separate the active compounds in the kratom plant, extracts take the whole plant chemistry and turn it into a concentrated product.
Dosing kratom extracts and isolates can be tricky since there are so many variations in their strength and potency. A close look at the label should tell you how much of the product you should take.
For instance, if your usual kratom powder dose sits at about 15g, you would take about 1.5g of 10x extract to reach the same threshold. Most of the time, with more potent extracts and isolates, you’ll take far less than a gram to experience its full effects.
The manufacturer will often tell you how much you can take with liquid shots. Mit45’s Gold Liquid Kratom shot, for example, requires that users dilute 1/5 of the solution in a glass of water or juice. Other shots like those from OPMS are measured in single-serve bottles that you can down in one gulp.
For the record, the FDA does not approve kratom as a food product or supplement. So, some kratom advocates frown upon products marketed as food and drink. To some kratom freedom fighters, these products taint kratom’s reputation and work against its legality.
And because these products are not assessed or approved by the FDA, there’s always a slight risk involved. The best way to mitigate the dangers would be to buy your kratom extract and isolates it only from trusted sources.
Brands that provide results from third-party lab testing always come out as a safer alternative than those that don’t mention tests or publicize their results. On top of that, buying from an AKA-GMP-certified vendor can also reduce your chances of buying risky products.
That depends. Remember that you can develop a kratom tolerance and dependence if you overdo your doses. That said, if powders work fine for you and you don’t see the need to step up your doses, then you might not have to try extracts altogether.
For the most part, people who use extracts have more experience with kratom and want to achieve the same results without taking too much product. It’s also worth noting that extracts and isolates can be far more expensive than standard powders and capsules.
Another thing worth considering is that kratom isolates and extracts often contain various other ingredients. Standardized formulations like those from Mit45 and OPMS require a sundry of additives to produce a viable kratom liquid.
Even hard-pressed kratom extract tablets need a binder ingredient to stick together. So, unless you’re willing to take your kratom dose with a mix of other ingredients, additives, and perhaps preservatives, it might be best to take the all-natural route with standard powders.
Kratom extracts and isolates can be immensely enticing, but there’s much more to them than stronger alternatives. Understanding potency, formulation, and variations should help determine whether these products are right for you.
So, if you’re an experienced kratom user ready to try something new, it might be high time to try an extract. Make sure you’re buying your products from a trusted source to get the best experience.
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