If you are a kratom user, you have probably done some research before deciding what product to purchase. Choosing the right kratom product might be complicated for some people, especially new users, due to the huge number of varieties that the market offers. Typically, the first thing that comes to mind before buying is what strain to choose. Should you choose a white, red, or green variety? After you decide on the kratom color, you need to pick the strain. Which is better for you? Red Bali or Red Thai? But decisions don’t end there. You then need to decide whether to buy regular kratom powder, a kratom extract, or even enhanced kratom.
Typically, people prefer regular kratom powder over the most potent products. This is mainly due to the fact that some individuals consider that extracts and enhanced products might be unsafe. But is this true? Is it safe to use kratom extracts? Let’s explore it in this article.
Difference Between Kratom Extracts and Kratom Powder
So, is it safe to use kratom extracts? Before we answer this question, it is important to understand the differences between regular kratom powder and kratom extracts.
Kratom powder is a natural product that is obtained from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree. The kratom tree grows naturally in the Southeast Asian rainforest. The kratom growers in this area, manually pick the leaves from the trees and take them to their facilities, where they put them to dry and crush them into a fine powder. Different drying and processing conditions will result in the different kratom colors that you know: red, white, and green. The powder obtained in this process is what you know as regular kratom powder.
Conversely, kratom extracts need further processing to be made. Kratom extracts are a more concentrated product than regular kratom powder. There are various ways to make kratom extracts, all of them involving a process of extraction of the plant’s alkaloids. The different extraction methods result in different kratom extract products, which we’ll see below.
Types of Kratom Extracts
If you are interested in kratom extracts and have gone window shopping for them, you might have discovered that there are various types of extracts:
- Kratom powder extracts are probably the most popular. They are typically made by taking a large amount of regular kratom powder. Then, the kratom powder is mixed with a bit of ethanol to better extract the alkaloids and to obtain a paste. After this, kratom extract processors will dry this paste and grind it to get the final kratom extract product.
- Kratom tinctures are also kratom extracts but in liquid version. The extraction process consists of adding raw leaves to water and a citric acid. This mix is left to steep for a couple of weeks, to then be reduced to half through a process of evaporation.
- Kratom resin is another type of kratom extract, but it’s not very popular and not easy to find in the market. The process to obtain it is similar to the kratom powder extracts extraction method.
Are Kratom Extracts and Enhanced Kratom the Same?
When shopping for kratom you have probably come across enhanced kratom, which is a concentrated kratom product. But are kratom extracts and enhanced kratom the same?
Although they are both potent kratom products, they are not the same. As we said, kratom extracts are obtained by reducing a large amount of kratom powder into a smaller and more potent product. Conversely, to make enhanced kratom, the primary alkaloids of the plant, namely Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitraginine are added to regular kratom powder to make it more potent.
Is It Safe to Use Kratom Extracts?
Now that you understand the process of making kratom extracts, it’s time to answer the big question: Is it safe to use kratom extracts? The answer to this is yes if you use it right.
As we said, kratom extracts are a more potent kratom product, so you should not use it the same way as you would use regular kratom powder. When making kratom extracts, the alkaloid concentration on the plant may vary, so the product is stronger. Taking this into consideration, you should reduce the dosage significantly to obtain the same result that you’d get with regular kratom powder.
Before using kratom extracts, you need to understand what the extract concentration means. You have probably noticed that kratom extracts usually come with a number that indicates the concentration amount. For example, you can see 15x, 25x, 50x and so on next to the extract product name. This number does not mean that the product is 15, 25 or 50 times stronger. What it means is that 15gr, 25gr, or 50gr were used to obtain 1gr of extract powder.
Considering all these, you can safely use kratom extracts by adjusting the kratom dose to its potency. Also, you should only take kratom extracts if you are experienced kratom user, if you just recently discovered kratom you should not use them yet.
How To Use Kratom Extracts?
The first thing that you should do when using kratom extracts is to find the right dosage for you. The recommendation is to start with a dose that is at least 10 times smaller than your regular kratom dose. So, let’s say that you typically use 2gr of regular kratom powder to obtain the results that you are looking for. In this case, you should not go above 0.2gr of kratom extract powder to get the same effects. However, we recommend that you start even lower before you find the right dose.
If you are using kratom liquids, they typically come in a bottle containing 1-2 servings. If the vendor gives you any consumption recommendations, you should stick to them. However, as we always say, if you are unsure, it’s better to start low.
Finally, another way to use kratom extracts is by adding a small amount of it to your regular kratom powder. This way you’ll need to use less of your kratom powder to make it last longer. But remember to add a very small amount of extract to your regular powder to prevent overdoing it.
