Kratom Wikipedia: A Brief Summary

Well, just like everything on this planet, Wikipedia is a good source to learn about Kratom. However, if you check the Kratom Wikipedia page, you may feel that the information is lacking. It offers you the basic info about the herb, but a lot is missing.

In a bid to help you understand Kratom better, we will provide all the necessary information in this article as a summary of the Wikipedia page about kratom.

Kratom: What is it?

Kratom is a herb that is sourced from Kratom trees. Due to its smaller size, you can even call it a Kratom plant if you feel like it.

So, where does it grow? Only in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia the largest exporter of Kratom in the world. In fact, 95% of all the Kratom comes from Indonesia, along with the most popular Kratom strains. But wait, we will talk about the Kratom strains in the later part of this quick Wikipedia summary on kratom.

The actual herb available in the US and other parts of the world is sourced from the leaves of the Kratom tree. The other parts of the tree are pretty much useless.

History of Kratom

Even though Kratom was an integral part of local culture in Southeast Asia for centuries, it remained unknown to the west. This is mostly because the Southeast Asian forests were too deep and protected from outer influence.

However, it was first introduced to the west in the late 18th century when the Dutch colonized Indonesia and Malaysia. However, it was after the Vietnam war when the Kratom traveled to the US, as some American soldiers brought it back from the Vietnam war.

In the last few years, with the rise of online Kratom vendors and importers, Kratom has become increasingly popular in the US. Today, there are more than five million regular Kratom buyers in the United States.

Key Ingredients

Kratom is a unique herb mostly because of the two active alkaloids, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. These are also unique to Kratom, so the herb is the only natural source for these active alkaloids.

Even though Kratom leaves contain more than 40 different alkaloids and flavonoids, but in most Kratom strains, these two alkaloids make the overwhelming proportion. It is actually the variation of these key alkaloids in Kratom trees and leaves that give birth to different Kratom varieties, defined as Kratom strains and Kratom vein colors.

Kratom Strains

Kratom grows all over Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Each location provides a unique set of growing conditions that affect the concentration of alkaloids in the Kratom leaf. As a result, based on the location, each Kratom strain offers you different properties.

When most Kratom strains are natural, like Bali Kratom, Red Sumatra Kratom, Thai Kratom, and Malaysian Kratom, some are produced using modern harvesting and drying techniques, like Maeng Da Kratom. Some Kratom strains are also named after the shape of the leaf, like Elephant Kratom.

Kratom Vein Colors

Next in our discussion is vein colors. Each Kratom strain is further divided into one to five vein colors, out of which three are natural vein colors, while the other two are obtained by using different drying techniques.

The natural vein colors include Red, Green, and White, while human-made colors include Yellow and Gold.

Each natural vein color represents the age of the Kratom leaf, which also means the concentration of alkaloids, which increases as the leaf ages. So Green vein color comes with a lower concentration and red vein with the highest.

Kratom Products

What’s next on our brief Wikipedia summary about kratom? Kratom products. There are plenty of options available that include Kratom capsules, Kratom powder, Kratom extracts, liquid Kratom, and even Kratom gums.

Even when you can buy Kratom from both local stores (if Kratom is legal in your state) and online vendors, you can always find a better variety on online stores. This is because most of the online vendors only sell Kratom, and imports directly from the Kratom farms in Indonesia and neighboring countries.

Final Words

We are sure this article will serve as a quick Kratom Wikipedia for you if you are just beginning with Kratom. We have covered all the basics you need to learn about this herb before making your first purchase.

If you think you still need to learn more about Kratom, you can always visit our Kratom blog and explore our in-depth articles. We have covered everything on our blog, from Kratom legal status to Kratom effects on Southeast Asian economies and the local environment. Keep reading!