Mitragynine is an indole-based alkaloid and is one of the main psychoactive constituents in the Southeast Asian plant Mitragyna speciosa, commonly known as kratom. It is an atypical opioid that is typically consumed as a part of kratom for its pain-relieving and euphoric effects and has also been researched for its use to potentially manage symptoms of opioid withdrawal and as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). More recently, analogs of mitragynine have begun to appear in the unregulated consumer marketplace and some are readily available in gas stations and vape shops in products branded as "7-hydroxymitragynine" or "7OH" causing heightened concern due to studies showing that 7-hydroxy mitragynine and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl (the rearrangement product of 7-hydroxy mitragynine) are more potent opioid agonists, exceeding that of mitragynine on the order of 10x and 100x, respectively.

Listen as Nathan Layle and Camille Waston-Gooden, synthetic chemists at Cayman Chemical, explain more about the history, pharmacology, metabolism, semi-synthetic modifications, and new emerging analogs of Mitragynine.

Presented as part of the CFSRE's 2026 Current Trends in Seized Drug Analysis Symposium.

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