Rachel Carlson

Metragynine binds to opioid receptors, but also things like serotonin receptors in the brain.

And in the kratom plant and in natural kratom leaf products, 7-OH shows up in tiny quantities.

But what about products that have higher concentrations of 7-OH?

What does that do to the brain?

7-OH does seem to bind more exclusively to opioid receptors in the brain, just like heroin, morphine, or fentanyl.

Your classic opioids.

Yeah.

That's Oliver Grundman.

He's a professor at University of Florida College of Pharmacy.

Yeah, the concern is that there are a lot of new 7-OH products popping up, like extracts and pills, that are much stronger than the Kratom products researchers have been studying for the last decade or so.

Got it.

Okay.

So 7-OH, it binds to opioid receptors.

I asked Ed Boyer that.

He's a medical toxicologist at The Ohio State University, and that means his job is dealing with things like poisonings and overdoses in humans.

Is there any data about this?

There's not a lot, but there's some.

One study surveyed around 2,000 people who used kratom in the natural leaf form or concentrates or extracts, and a little over a quarter met criteria for kratom use disorder.

David Epstein told me those symptoms typically include withdrawal, increased tolerance, and cravings.

I have seen anecdotal reports on addiction.