Many people have heard that kratom products can be beneficial. However, you may be wondering “exactly how does it work” or even “does it really work?”. Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical tree that’s native to Southeast Asia, where its leaves have been used for hundreds of years in traditional medicine.
Traditionally, the leaves were chewed whole. Now, it’s more common to find its leaves ground into a powder and sold either as a raw powder or put into capsules.
Kratom trees are part of the coffee family. The alkaloids within its leaves allow kratom to have a range of effects on the body, from relaxing to energizing, depending on the type of kratom used. The two alkaloids that seem to be most important in giving its effects are mitragynine and 7-hydroxy mitragynine.
How Does Kratom Work?
Now that you’re clear on what kratom is, let’s answer the question of “how does it work?”. Kratom is able to have an effect on the body because of the alkaloids present in the leaves. The active alkaloids are believed to interact with mu-sedative receptors in the brain which are responsible for sensing discomfort.
A class of substances that includes discomfort relievers also interacts with mu-sedative receptors, but much more intensely.
Because it has a mild interaction with the same receptors, it is able to have a similar but much less powerful effect. To be clear, it is not a synthetic substance nor does it contain addictive alkaloids. It is merely known for providing similar effects.
There haven’t been very many studies on kratom and how it works and until further research is completed, there is a distinct lack of information on the exact mechanics by which organic kratom capsules and other kratom products affect the body.
