Tea is the answer
Botanical information
An evergreen tropical tree, it grows to a height of 15m with a spread of 5m. The stem is erect and branching; the leaves are glossy and dark green, opposite and ovate-acuminate; the flowers are yellow and occurr in spheres. A native of Thailand and Malaysia, it prefers humus rich, wet soils in a protected position, and is drought and frost tender. Seedlings need to be very well protected from sun and wind, but the maturing plant is quite hardy.
Propagation is by very fresh seed or by cuttings (low strike rate due to endogenous fungus attacking the xylem tissue).
The "Robert Rifat Clone" is cultured from a plant we grew from seed under sterile conditions. This seed was collected in Thailand by a dear friend of ours and was sourced from a research institution. The parent tree was properly identified by botanists at the facility and has been the subject of several studies of this species. The seedlings are known to reproduce true to type and we have every confidence that this is a pure species. Other indications for this are the textbook comparisons of the seed heads and the regular flowering season. This is the plant we mail out, if not otherwise requested.
The "Craig's Clone" is also cultured under sterile conditions from seed. This seed is sourced by one of the most active researchers in this field at this time. Most of the material recently provided to the leading lights of the ethnobotany community for research has the same origin as the seed. The seed was collected in Thailand from trees that were used by the locals as favoured plants for the production of kratom. The collector was however told by the farmers that the seedgrown plants are very unreliable. They supposedly change from one leaf form to another (and sometimes back again) and at the same time also changing their pharmacology. About 50% of the offspring is supposed to be useless for harvesting. We only managed to grow one seedling to a size where it can be propagated efficiently, so all our "Craig's Clone plants" are from the same parent. They all appear uniform at this stage, but this is to be expected from the tissue culture. All plants are much too small to sample the leaves at this stage and no further determination about this clone can be made for a few months yet. A major issue of concern to us is the fact that the seedheads look somewhat different to the textbook pictures and also different to the "Robert Rifat Clone". Furthermore it appears that the flowering time is in January, rather than July (as is the case with the "Robert Rifat Clone"), however this may be due to the equatorial seasons of the region. We feel that there is a distinct possibility that the parent of this seed is a hybrid. More details as the come to hand......
Traditional uses
Mitragyna speciosa is only used in it's native country Thailand, where it is highly illegal. It is often used to replace opium consumption as a cheaper alternative and has a similar effect in that it can cause 'stoned' and lazy effects. It is also used to interrupt opium addiction and may be useful in the treatment of heroin addiction. A few leaves are either smoked, prepared as tea or made into a resin extract. The effects of kratom last for several hours and only very small quantities are needed to achieve the desired effect. There appears to be no psychedelic activity and heavy use usually results in prolonged sleep phases. One of the side effects of Kratom consumption is constipation and this is made use of in folkmedicine to treat diarhoe. Many Mitragynas and related species are used medicinally and as fine timber.
Pharmacology
The active principle of Kratom is mitragynine, an indole alkaloid superficially resembling yohimbine and also somewhat related to psilocybin and LSD. It makes up about half of the total alkaloid content of 0.5% in the leaves. Other indole alkaloids present are ajmalicine, corynanthedine, mitraphylline, mitraversine, and more. The effect of mitragynine is comparable to cocaine in that it is stimulating in small doses and narcotic in larger doses. Latest research indicates that mitragynine attaches to the delta-opiate receptor site, which is closely related to the mu-opiate receptor site. This is significant, as heroin/opiate addiction is usually due to overstimulation of the mu-opiate receptors. Although mitragynine does not attach directly to the appropriate receptor site, it's attraction to the neighbouring site and the spill over effect onto the mu-site produces a similar effect in the user and satisfies the craving for the opiate. While it is rarely advisable to treat one drug addiction by replacing it with another (as is done so frequently in modern medicine), indole alkaloids -including mitragynine- are usually non-addictive and in many cases anti-addictive. This may leave the drug user free from his opiate addiction after only a few weeks treatment with kratom, which he can moderate himself. It appears that many Thais utilise these properties to control their opium consumption, similar to the way we advocate Naltrexone™ treatment in the west.
Peace,
Eric
