AHP To Develop Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium for Kratom Leaf

The Global Kratom Coalition announces funding support to the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) to develop a first-of-its-kind Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium for kratom. Creation of the AHP Monograph will support the safe use of the botanical ingredient kratom by providing a nomenclature, identification, handling, and analytical summary among other sections.

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a tropical evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia, predominantly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, where its leaves have long been used as a mood booster, energy enhancer, and mild pain reliever. Kratom has been shrouded in controversy with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considering it illegal for use in dietary supplements and many conventional medical authorities steer away from it due to likening it to conventional opioids and noting its potential as a substance of abuse.

The Monograph will establish standards for kratom leaf and help to distinguish between traditional preparations and those consisting of pure kratom alkaloids. According to AHP President Roy Upton: “The work of AHP is to determine the role of relatively crude botanical preparations in contrast to highly concentrated or purified extracts for use in traditional medicine and dietary supplements. Our decision to embark on this Monograph was contingent upon a formal safety review by the Expert Committee of the Botanical Safety Handbook (BSH).”

AHP's primary goal is to support the safe use of botanical ingredients. Therefore, the organization aims to ensure that providing guidance in the form of the AHP Monograph could better inform the safe and effective use of kratom. The BSH review confirmed this and the organization is identifying experts worldwide to collaborate on the Monograph.

The AHP Monograph is a multiple section publication which will include standards for identity, purity, quality, and testing. The Monograph aims to fill a critical need for kratom and the herbal industry overall. It will offer analytical methodologies that can detect full spectrum preparations and differentiate these from purified concentrates. It will also establish appropriate use guidelines emphasizing the need to avoid excess, abusive use, and products mislabeled as kratom.

The Global Kratom Coalition, an alliance of Kratom consumers, experts, and industry leaders, is supporting the development of the Monograph. Issuing the AHP Monograph will help fulfill the organization’s goal of greater understanding and responsible manufacturing and use of kratom products. The GKC seeks to enhance scientific interest, drive consumer education, and guide the pursuit for robust regulations that are backed by science and protect consumers.

According to Matthew Lowe, Executive Director of the Global Kratom Coalition: “We’re supporting the creation of the AHP Monograph because we believe it will help provide greater clarity and guide future decision making for stakeholders. This publication is critical for establishing clear standards and helps ensure the safe and responsible use of kratom. It will also serve as a primary reference for academicians, health care providers, manufacturers, consumers, and regulators with the necessary guidance to separate fact from fear.”

According to Upton: "Everyone knows there is no such thing as a substance without risk, including water. Herbal medicine in this country and worldwide is partially stifled by the fact that regulatory and medical authorities routinely accept risk with pharmaceuticals, tobacco, cigarettes, and unhealthy diets, but prohibit or restrict botanicals that usually have a much lower potential for risk. Another part of AHP’s work is to put these risks into context of appropriate use. Chewing of coca leaves has been happening for several hundred or a thousand years before purifying it into cocaine. Kratom has been similarly used and the key is to distinguish between appropriate traditional use and provide guidance to prevent abuse.”

It is projected that AHP’s Kratom Monograph and Therapeutic Compendium will be released in the first half of 2025 and will help to guide national and international policy regarding this botanical.

For more information regarding AHP’s work, contact Roy Upton at (831) 461-6317 or roy@herbal-ahp.org.

About the Global Kratom Coalition

The Global Kratom Coalition is an alliance of kratom consumers, experts, and industry leaders dedicated to protecting and expanding access to kratom worldwide. The coalition focuses on advancing scientific research, driving consumer education, and developing robust regulations that protect consumers.