Study Finds 85% of Kratom-Derived Products Mislabeled
/By Pat Anson
A new study at the University of Florida is likely to increase the growing scrutiny of 7-OH and other semi-synthetic kratom products.
Researchers found that the vast majority of kratom-derived tablets, edibles and extracts contain alkaloid and chemical compounds that differ substantially from their product labels, potentially putting consumers at risk. Some have been altered so significantly during the manufacturing process that researchers concluded “these products are definitively not kratom.”
Kratom comes from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree in southeast Asia, where it has been used for centuries as a natural pain reliever and stimulant. In recent years, demand for kratom products has risen sharply in the United States, reaching an estimated market size of $2.56 billion in 2025.
As the kratom market has grown, so has the variety of products available, including concentrated formulations of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) and other kratom alkaloids that have “opioid-like” effects and are far more potent than natural leaf kratom.
Researchers at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy conducted a laboratory analysis of 44 commercially available kratom-derived products purchased online and in stores in several U.S. states.
The study findings, published in the journal of Drug Testing and Analysis, show that 85% of the kratom products had ingredients and concentrations that did not match their labels. In some cases, products were labeled as having a single alkaloid, but multiple alkaloids were detected. Other products contained compounds that were not disclosed on their labels or were listed but not detected.
“The findings are of strong relevance to public health and underscore regulatory actions needed for proper labeling requirements by manufacturers for consumers to know what they are purchasing,” said co-author Christopher McCurdy, PhD, a Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Development in the UF College of Pharmacy.
“Right now, consumers are part of a large experiment in which they are taking products that they believe are properly labeled as to the composition of ingredients, yet they are being deceived intentionally or unintentionally by the manufacturers, putting the public at risk.”
McCurdy and his colleagues have spearheaded much of the U.S. research into kratom, with McCurdy serving as an expert witness in kratom litigation cases on both the plaintiff and defendant sides.
Their research has grown more complicated in recent years, as the kratom market has been flooded by new semi-synthetic products that are often marketed as “natural kratom.” The DEA is currently planning to classify 7-OH and other concentrated kratom products as illegal Schedule One controlled substances, while keeping natural leaf kratom largely unregulated as a dietary supplement..
“Products containing semisynthetic, kratom-derived compounds should be clearly distinguished from natural kratom products,” says lead author Abhisheak Sharma, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics in the UF College of Pharmacy. “Stronger manufacturing standards, comprehensive testing and transparent labeling are needed to help people make informed decisions and reduce potential safety risks.”
Kratom Litigation
Advocacy organizations for both natural leaf kratom and 7-OH products support stronger labeling, age restrictions and transparent marketing, but there is little effort to enforce those standards at the federal level. That has left most kratom regulation to individual states and local governments.
In a move reminiscent of the opioid litigation cases that cost the pharmaceutical industry over $50 billion dollars, the city of Baltimore recently filed a complaint against several manufacturers and distributors of kratom products, accusing them of “engaging in unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practices.”
Maryland has banned the sale of all synthetic or artificially altered kratom products under the state’s Kratom Consumer Protection Act, which also requires product labels to be accurate.
The Baltimore case focuses on several kratom entrepreneurs behind Optimized Plant Mediated Solutions (OPMS), a kratom brand that sells a potent kratom extract called Black Liquid Kratom that’s been linked to several deaths.
“Defendants have employed a web of shell companies and alter egos, and use multiple business names, assumed names, and trade names to hide the scope of their operation and to avoid liability for their actions… while falsely stating or implying in their labeling, packaging, advertising, and marketing of the Kratom Products that the Kratom Products are safe for consumption or offer therapeutic and health benefits that they do not have,” the complaint alleges.
In 2024, the FDA warned consumers not to use Black Liquid Kratom after it was linked to several adverse events. But the OPMS extracts are still widely available in smoke shops, vape shops and online, where they are often marketed as “all natural” kratom products.
In their analysis of Black Liquid Kratom, University of Florida researchers found the extracts “showed variability in their chemical composition, with measured content different from the values stated on the product labels.”
