The plant world is full of natural chemicals and compounds that are beneficial not only to plants but to humans as well. One chemical compound that’s commonly found in plants is what’s called alkaloids. Alkaloids are present in many different commonly consumed natural products like coffee seeds, cacao, potatoes, and kratom. There are many different kinds of alkaloids, several of which have been found to have beneficial effects on human health. 

Let’s explore the effects of alkaloids in kratom as well as other commonly consumed plants. 

Potential Health Benefits of Alkaloids

“Alkaloids” is a general term for a class of naturally occurring organic molecules that contain one or more atoms of nitrogen. 

You may be familiar with amino acids, often called the building blocks of life, and are molecules that form together to create proteins. Well, alkaloids, which are derived from amino acids, are important to human health. 

So important, that humans have been using plants that contain alkaloids for different purposes since ancient times. What do humans use alkaloids for? You’ll find these compounds in all sorts of commonly used products like stimulants, like in the case of coffee, and medicines.

Indole alkaloids are especially important for the development of medicines. That’s because they can be modified to create different types of molecules. These types of alkaloids have been used to develop treatments for many different types of diseases, including malaria, cancer, and depression.

Alkaloids in Your Daily Life

Even if alkaloids is a new term for you, we promise you’re more familiar with these compounds than you may realize. These chemical compounds are found in many things you eat on a daily basis like spices, vegetables, coffee, and tea.

You may be surprised to learn that even caffeine is an alkaloid! In fact, it’s one of the two alkaloids found in the coffee bean, along with another one called trigonelline. If you’re a chocolate fan – which is made from cacao beans, then you’re definitely familiar with alkaloids. Raw cacao contains a range of alkaloids, including theobromine and paraxanthine. 

Even if you’re not a coffee or tea drinker, you likely consume alkaloids in vegetables like eggplants, potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes, which are all part of the nightshade family. They’re even found in black pepper!

Are All Alkaloids Good for You?

Based on the many potential medicinal benefits of alkaloids, it may be safe to assume that all alkaloids are good for you, but that’s not necessarily true. Just like there are endless different types of plants, alkaloids have a wide range of effects on the human body. 

Because there are so many different kinds of alkaloids, not all of them are beneficial. Some of these plant chemicals can be harmful or intoxicating to humans as well – but don’t worry, these aren’t the ones that you ingest regularly.

Alkaloids in Kratom

A somewhat commonly consumed natural product that contains alkaloids is kratom. What alkaloids are in kratom? Well, like many plants, the kratom plant has several different strains, and the different strains have varying proportions of alkaloids. The proportion of alkaloids also changes as the plant grows and matures – which is something to take into account when harvesting the plant. 

That being said, the two main alkaloids in kratom are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which make up about 84% of the alkaloid content in kratom. Even though those are the main ones, there are 28 different kratom alkaloids, possibly more! 

These alkaloids are responsible for the effects of kratom in the body. One of the things that makes alkaloids stand out from other plant chemicals is the strong effects they can have on people when ingested. Mitragynine accounts for about 66% of the alkaloids found in the kratom plant, although, as we mentioned before, that can vary depending on the strain as well as growing conditions. The other main alkaloid in kratom, 7-hydroxymitragynine, only makes up about 2% of the amount found in the plant. 

You can see the difference in these different alkaloids in the strain White Maeng Da, which is higher in mitragynine and considered more of a “daytime” strain. Compared to Red Maeng, which is high in 7-hydroxymitragynine, and is reported to give people more mellow effects.

How do these different alkaloids affect the body? One of the key differences between them is their half-life, which affects how long the different compounds affect the body. Mitragynine has a longer shelf life than 7-hydroxymitragynine so it affects the body for longer.

Joe’s Got You Covered 

It’s important to note that although alkaloids have been studied in-depth to create different medications and other important applications, that’s not the case for kratom. The alkaloids in kratom occur naturally and are not manufactured or manipulated to produce a specific effect. 

Doing your own research into different types of kratom strains and their effects will give you a better idea of what kind of kratom is best for you. At Joe’s Botanicals, we offer a variety of kratom strains and products to choose from. Browse our online store today.