Mitragyna Speciosa, more commonly known as Kratom, is found growing both natively and in planted fields of Southeast Asia. Powder manufacturers use a long and lengthy process to transform the leaf from its raw, natural state to the pure, fine powder we all see and love.
However, amidst all this admiration for the plant, a genuine question persists among most Kratom users and that is whether the Kratom they are using is of high quality or not. Well to answer your question, this is where Kratom lab reports come to the rescue. So why do we need to understand how to read a Kratom lab report? Read this article to find out!
What Are Kratom Lab Reports?
Just like you, there are hundreds of other users who are wondering the same thing. Kratom lab testing is a topic that is brought up more often than you think in the Kratom community. It is actually rather rare for a day to go by without at least one Kratom Bedrock Powder user about the purity and quality of their dosage, substantiated by lab reports.
Many Bedrock Kratom users also wonder if it would be worth it to purchase kratom from their preferred, but less than reliable, seller if the Kratom Products they are buying aren’t lab tested. Whether or not your Kratom is lab tested or not, should be the most important factor to consider before your purchase if you place a high value on Kratom quality.
To get right the answer, Kratom lab reports are the results of an examination which is conducted in order to ascertain the purity and potency of a Kratom Bedrock strain.
This analysis can be conducted on Kratom Powder, capsules, and even extracts to check for the presence of heavy metals and pathogens, as well as for measuring the concentration of particular alkaloids.
Why Do Kratom Vendors Test Their Products?
Kratom third-party testing has become a norm and a must-have standard for most Kratom vendors over the years. But what is the reasoning behind it? Let’s find out:
- Kratom vendors and suppliers aim to guarantee the safety of their products for customers. So ascertain their guarantee they get their products lab tested.
- Testing ensures products are free from harmful contaminants, chemicals, or impurities that could lead to adverse reactions.
- Lab tests help verify the correct alkaloid profile, strength, and consistency of Bedrock Kratom Products to provide customers with the best possible experience.
- Allows vendors to maintain quality and consistency across batches to ensure users can expect the same effects or benefits each time they use Kratom.
What We Test For?
Today numerous different companies in the botanical industry are using lab tests to screen samples for a wide range of compounds that are typically regarded as hazardous for human ingestion at particular amounts.
It is important to mention here that these chemicals are totally safe to ingest in very small doses. Do you know you inhale tiny amounts of bacteria and mould spores each time you breathe in. Unless you live in a sterile, controlled clean room, it is inevitable.
However, if we breathe in these elements in amounts exceeding the allowable thresholds, we put our health at risk. Therefore, in a Kratom lab report we test for the concentration of a wide range of compounds together with other things.
Heavy Metals
Heavy metal testing is always a part of Kratom testing. The heavy metals most tests look for are Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic and Lead. Sophisticated testing techniques of today measure the concentration of these elements to guarantee that the product being examined doesn’t have heavy metal contamination.
Although heavy metals can be found in a wide range of materials, consuming them in large quantities is not safe. Laboratory analysis guarantees that the Kratom under consideration is free of hazardous levels of heavy metals.
Pathogens
When testing Kratom, pathogens are the next thing that is looked for. Everything can include pathogens like mould spores or bacteria, thus it’s important to look for these microorganisms.
Because some microorganisms can be dangerous, laboratory testing always makes care to test for the most common microbes such as yeast, mould, E. Coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus.
Alkaloids
Many lab reports also include a focus on quality rather than solely on safety concerns. Most Kratom vendors and suppliers undergo testing to determine the concentration of specific plant alkaloids.
Alkaloids are naturally present in Kratom, but their levels can fluctuate depending on factors such as harvesting time, processing methods, and storage conditions. By analyzing specific plant alkaloids, companies can maintain consistent and high-quality potency and purity in their Kratom products.
Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine are typically the primary alkaloids tested for, as they are responsible for Kratom’s effects on the body. It’s important to note that Kratom contains over 20 different alkaloids, and their concentrations vary by strain. Some labs are now expanding their testing panels to include more alkaloids, with some capable of detecting up to ten alkaloids in very small concentrations.
Understanding Kratom Lab Report
Since almost all the Kratom vendors are publishing Kratom lab reports on their websites, understanding the lab report and interpreting the results are now more important than ever. To help you with this, we have listed down the allowed thresholds of three primary elements that are tested for in the report so that you can easily read the results of Kratom lab testing: Alkaloids, pathogens, and heavy metals.
Alkaloids
In the case of Alkaloids, it’s important to focus on the two most potent alkaloids. The limits can vary depending on the state. The typical requirements are:
- Mitragynine: less than 2% or a limit of 0.25%
- 7-Hydroxymitragynine: less than 2% or a limit ranging from 0.000% to 0.100%
Heavy Metals
To ensure compliance when testing for heavy metals, the following concentrations must not be exceeded:
- Lead (Pb): less than 1.2 parts per million (PPM)
- Cadmium (Cd): less than 0.85 parts per million (PPM)
- Mercury (Hg): less than 0.41 parts per million (PPM)
- Arsenic (As): less than 2 parts per million (PPM)
Pathogens
When testing for the presence of contaminants, ensure the following limits are met:
- Salmonella: not detectable in 25 grams
- Mold: fewer than 100,000 CFUs (colony forming units) per gram
- E. coli: not detectable in 10 grams
- Yeast: fewer than 100,000 CFUs per gram
- Coliforms: fewer than 10,000 CFUs per gram
- Staphylococcus aureus: not detectable in 10 grams
Now that you are aware of these thresholds, you can confidently purchase and use safe, tested Kratom products. Besides understanding these limits, we would like to share some general tips to help you comprehensively interpret the report.
Laboratory
Verify that the laboratory testing is being done by an impartial, accredited laboratory and not the vendor. Compared to internal testing, independent lab testing is more reliable and valid. Thus, make sure the lab name appears at the top of the report when examining the Certificate of Analysis.
Strains
Ensure the Kratom product contains the correct strain, has undergone laboratory testing, and features detailed information on the packaging. Stay away from the products that appear generic, as this may indicate untested strains.
Date
Make sure that the products you’re purchasing have been tested fairly recently by looking at the dates on the Kratom lab test reports. This is particularly important if the lab results are outdated but you know the merchant recently purchased fresh Kratom. If so, be aware that the substance being marketed to you has not been put through testing.
Are Kratom Lab Reports Always Accurate?
No, a Kratom lab report may not always be accurate. The laboratory test can be inaccurate for several reasons:
- Currently, many Kratom vendors lack systems to ensure all packages within a shipment come from a uniform batch. It is possible that individual boxes within the same shipment were milled on different days, leading to variations in the freshness and origin of the Kratom in each box.
- Vendors should avoid mixing Kratom leaves together, as this means a sample from one box may not represent the entire shipment’s contents.
- Most herbal powders, including Kratom, have bacterial hotspots. As a result, a sample from a clean spot within a box might pass lab testing, while a sample from a hotspot within the same box might fail, unless the Kratom powder is thoroughly mixed before sampling.
Final Word
Hopefully by now you must have understood how to read a Kratom lab report. Just as with the food and water you consume, the same standards apply to Kratom and therefore, it should be both safe and beneficial. Don’t put your body at risk and make sure you thoroughly review testing documents provided by the vendor on its website.