Compound or practice · Supplement
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)
A partial-opioid leaf used for pain, energy and opioid-withdrawal self-treatment — real effects, real dependence and safety risks.
- Overall grade
- Grade D
- Last revised
- 1
- graded outcome
- 0
- references listed
A structured monograph in Prometheus's bundled library. Its grades are the monograph's own reading of the evidence, not a peer-reviewed review.
1 at grade D — 1 graded row
What is known
Each outcome with its grade (how strong the evidence is, A to D), the size of the effect where the entry records one, and how often studies agree.
- Pain / opioid withdrawalEvidence grade D
Observational only
Unclearlow
What is uncertain
Read off the same rows as above. Nothing here is added that the entry does not itself record.
- Thin evidence: Pain / opioid withdrawal (grade D).
- Caution with Sedative: Dangerous additive CNS/respiratory depression with alcohol, benzodiazepines, opioids.
Interactions
Documented pairings with supplements and medicines. A medicine on this list is a conversation for whoever prescribes it.
SedativeCaution
Dangerous additive CNS/respiratory depression with alcohol, benzodiazepines, opioids.
The evidence in words
What it is
Kratom is a Southeast Asian tree whose leaves contain mitragynine; low doses stimulate, higher doses are opioid-like.
How it works
Its alkaloids are partial agonists at mu-opioid receptors (with less respiratory depression than classical opioids) plus adrenergic effects at low doses.
What the evidence shows
Human evidence is mostly observational: many people use kratom for pain, energy, or to self-manage opioid withdrawal, and it does have genuine opioid-like activity. But dependence, withdrawal, drug interactions, contamination, and case reports of liver injury and deaths (often with other substances) make it far from benign. Not a validated therapy.
Safety & interactions
Dependence and withdrawal occur; risks rise with high doses, other depressants (alcohol, benzodiazepines) and adulterated products. Liver-injury case reports exist. Legality varies by region. sedative — Dangerous additive CNS/respiratory depression with alcohol, benzodiazepines, opioids.
Bottom line
Pharmacologically real but genuinely risky and habit-forming — not a casual supplement. If used to manage opioid problems, that belongs in a clinical setting, not self-treatment.
Related reading
Entries that share this one's tags or conditions.
- Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) for Pain / opioid withdrawalEvidence grade D — Observational onlyEvidence grade D
- Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa): side effects, safety & interactionsDependence and withdrawal occur; risks rise with high doses, other depressants (alcohol, benzodiazepines) and adulterateEvidence grade D
- GingerOne of the best-evidenced natural anti-nausea agents, with modest anti-inflammatory and pain data on top.Evidence grade B
- AHCCA cultured-mushroom immune extract with a genuinely interesting HPV-clearance signal.Evidence grade C
Sources
This entry lists no references of its own.
Last revised . A grade is this entry's reading of the evidence, not medical advice.