Kratom and alcohol are more closely related than you might think, considering alcohol is used for extracting alkaloids from the plant. Many steps are involved in this process, most of them involving ethanol.
If you buy Kratom or have ever purchased it, you’d know perfectly well that high alkaloid content is a sign of high-quality Kratom. But how does Kratom attain such a high alkaloid concentration? That’s where Kratom and Alcohol go hand in hand. Let’s discuss it in detail.
What is Kratom?
Kratom is a herb that grows in Southeast Asia and is one of the region’s most popular botanical exports. Local farmers have been growing Kratom for decades. Now, they grow it for exporting the herb to the rest of the world.
The US makes up a considerable part of the Kratom market since millions of people purchase the herb every year. You can judge Kratom’s popularity from the fact that hundreds of Kratom vendors are now operating in the country.
Today, you can order Kratom online or get it from local stores. From common strains like Maeng Da to recent discoveries like Gold Kratom, you can find every variety of the plant online.
That’s why the local buyers need to learn more about this herb and remove the misconceptions about Kratom uses.
Kratom Colors
Kratom colors refer to the vein color of the Kratom leaf. Interestingly, it changes depending on the plant’s life stage. In earlier stages, the veins are green. Thus, farmers harvest these leaves to make green Kratom.
When the plant grows up a little, coming to the intermediate stage, the veins turn white. Now, they’re ready for making white Kratom. Finally, when they reach old age, the veins turn red. These leaves make red Kratom, which is rare and has a high alkaloid content.
Kratom Strains
Kratom strains refer to the varieties of the plant. These strains grow in different parts of Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. While some strains get their names from where they grow, others are named after distinctive features like the leaf shape.
Types of Kratom
As the Kratom market grew, the vendors and farmers introduced new products as per the customers’ needs. Back in the day, you could only buy Kratom powders for different varieties of the plant. Now, you can also buy encapsulated Kratom for almost every strain and a lot more types of Kratom.
It may be hard to find Kratom capsules for rare strains. Luckily, at Green Leaf Kratom, we stock capsules for lesser-known strains. Some of our bestsellers include white horned leaf capsules and red vein Borneo capsules.
Kratom and Alcohol Extraction Process
The process used to extract alkaloids from the Kratom plant using alcohol successfully yields a maximum chemical content from the herb. It comprises a few steps involving ethanol and some other alcohols. That’s why you’d often hear about Kratom and Alcohol together.
Here are the steps in detail:
Crushing Kratom Leaves
First of all, ripe Kratom leaves are smashed with 90 to 95% ethanol, which is an alcohol, at room temperature. In this step, a Kratom concentrate is obtained.
Adding Alcohol
Secondly, the Kratom experts add alcohol to this concentrate until its concentration becomes 90% by mass. Then, they let this solution stand for one to three hours.
After that, they centrifuge the mixture. If you’re not aware of this technique, it’s a method used to separate substances based on their different densities. During centrifugation, the alcohol separates from Kratom concentrate. The Kratom concentrate is now called the supernatant.
Extract the Supernatant
Now, it’s time to extract the alkaloids by passing them through different alcohols. Firstly, the supernatant passes through ethyl acetate up to three times. The more extractions, the higher the alkaloid content. Then, it passes through chloroform for up to two times. After that, the supernatant is removed, frozen, and dried.
Although it seems complicated, the method is straightforward. Since machines are doing most of the work, one can easily control the steps and ensure maximum output.
Final Words
The method of Kratom and Alcohol extraction is very efficient at getting a high yield of alkaloids in each batch. Experts measure that you can get 70% more alkaloid content than average by using this method. Also, in most cases, the yield is close to 0.8%, which is relatively high for a natural substance like Kratom.
Also, when you buy Kratom, make sure you only do so from reliable sellers. At Green leaf Kratom, customer satisfaction is our top priority. Plus, we take pride in having one of the largest selections of Kratom online. You can also find informative articles on our Kratom blog, so don’t forget to follow us.
