Standardized Versus Full Spectrum Extracts
16 responses, Jul 23, 2008
Full Spectrum extract, Full Spectrum tincture, Ultra enhanced Indo (UEI), and 250x Kratom extract represent a new breed of Kratom extracts that have just recently become available. Unlike the standardized extracts of the past, these versions almost completely capture and reproduce the essence of Kratom leaf, but how close are they? For anyone who has read this blog, you probably know my innate dislike of extracts, not because they don’t work, but because they are cost prohibitive and only assist in the potential vilification of this plant. Nevertheless, I put together this short introduction of Kratom extracts focusing on why the old ones are worthless, and why the new ones aren’t so bad—but definitely not great.
To really understand why these new extracts are so interesting, we must go back several years, when enhanced Kratom extracts were just entering the market. Probably the first mass produced extract was commonly known as “enhanced leaf”, which was purportedly active at roughly 1 gram (5x the potency of regular Kratom leaf); of course, it absolutely wasn’t. And even though Kratom vendors were essentially condensing 5 grams of leaf to produce 1 gram of extract, the result was akin to drinking a decaf espresso—why even bother? Yes, it was less bulky, and somewhat similar to leaf, but it just could not reproduce the full effects.
Were these extracts simply a scam? Absolutely not, like everyone in the Kratom community at the time; vendors, wholesalers, and hobbyists alike believed the active alkaloid in the Kratom leaf to be mitragynine. And, according to the Merck index, mitragynine was supposed to be soluble in alcohol, chloroform, or acetic acid. The problem was, mitragynine was not the only active alkaloid, and it is almost certainly not even the most important one. It was not until 2001 that a Japanese research team began to confirm that mitragynine was not the active alkaloid and eventually concluded that another substance, 7-hydroxymitragynine, was; but before this research was widely published in 2005, Kratom sellers had already flooded the market with a barrage of even more expensive, equally ineffective, extracts.
This first wave of extracts is still commonly referred to as the “standardized” range, and typically consists of standardized 5x, 10x, and 15x extractions. Interestingly, the 15x extract, while much more expensive than the 10x or 5x, was not much more potent, dissuading many consumers, as exemplified in The Ultimate Kratom Comparison Guide. Basically, the only advantage of these older extracts was that they condensed leaf material, but again, the ill effects far outweighed the cost. Today, you can still typically find the 15x extract, but the 5x and 10x have been rendered obsolete by a new breed of fortified extracts.
Today, the new extracts, such as Ultra Enhanced Indo and the Full Spectrum Extract are almost reproducing the effects of pure leaf—but still not completely. From reading various observations, reports, and polls, roughly 65% of Kratom consumers score the newer extracts at about a 9 out of 10; while about 35% actually prefer the newer extracts over raw leaf. These new “fortified” extracts are obviously the result of a more sophisticated extraction technique that revolves around a better understanding of the varying alkaloids within the plant. But still, roughly 3/4ths of all Kratom consumers prefer raw leaf (thai, bali, indo, malaysion, etc.) to any extract, obviously, something still missing.
