National Institute of Medicines, Chelmska 30/34, 00-725 Warsaw, Poland; Department of Pharmacognosy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA.
Forensic Sci Int. 2013 Dec 10;233(1-3):238-43. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2013.09.016. Epub 2013 Sep 27.
Leaves of Mitragyna speciosa Korth (Rubiaceae), commonly known as Kratom, are a popular narcotic product among recreational users all over the world. This product is widely distributed on the Internet and via smart-shops and is often a subject of examination in police laboratories. A major psychoactive component of Kratom is mitragynine which occurs exclusively in this species. The variety of combinations among M. speciosa products, cases of plant or chemical composition adulteration, give rise to a need to develop an universal methodology for identification of both, plant material and its active metabolite, mitragynine. Herein we propose a comprehensive authentication procedure which involves the microscopic analysis of plant material and inexpensive mitragynine detection using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The developed methodology was successfully applied for the plant material investigation. Five samples of dried, shredded or powdered Kratom leaves, purchased via the Internet and one sample delivered by police have been identified.
四氢大麻酚（Mitragyna speciosa Korth，Rubiaceae）的叶子，俗称 Kratom，是全球娱乐性使用者中流行的麻醉品。这种产品在互联网上和智能商店中广泛分布，经常是警察实验室检查的对象。Kratom 的主要精神活性成分是 mitragynine，它仅存在于该物种中。由于 M. speciosa 产品之间存在多种组合，植物或化学成分掺假的情况，因此需要开发一种通用的方法来识别植物材料及其活性代谢物 mitragynine。本文提出了一种综合鉴定程序，该程序涉及植物材料的微观分析以及使用薄层色谱法（TLC）和高效液相色谱法（HPLC）进行廉价的 mitragynine 检测。所开发的方法已成功应用于植物材料的研究。已鉴定了五个通过互联网购买的干燥，切碎或粉碎的 Kratom 叶样品以及一个由警方提供的样品。
