Kratom tea is increasingly popular, but a new study on kratom's side effects has deemed products made with this plant to be a public health threat. Is it a real remedy—or a risk to steer clear of?

By Isadora Baum
September 13, 2018

What is Kratom tea? This buzzy tea is made from the leaves of the kratom tree, which is native to Southeast Asia. Kratom is thought to act as a stimulant in smaller doses. In larger amounts, it has a sedative effect. Some people even use kratom to ease symptoms of opiate withdrawal. It's marketed as a "natural high" and is illegal in many countries.

Kratom tea has also been in the news this past year because a Florida mother filed a lawsuit claiming that her daughter suffered permanent brain damage due to her kratom tea habit. And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that they sent warning letters to two sellers of kratom tea for making health claims that are not supported by research.


While there’s no denying the wellness benefits of green or black tea, with kratom tea, think twice before trying it. Here's everything you need to know.

Kratom tea effects


What are the effects of using kratom? It supposedly works as a treatment for pain, anxiety, and depression, and it’s been heavily marketed as a "safe" plant-based treatment for these conditions. People also use kratom for its stimulating effects to heighten sexual performance, improve mood, and enhance physical endurance. “There is insufficient evidence to back up any of these claims,” says Moon.

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Kratom tea dangers


Research published in May 2019 in the journal Pharmacotherapy looked at data from the National Poison Data System, which tracks calls made to the 55 poison control centers across the US. The data showed that over 2,300 people had called in concerned that kratom had made themselves or someone else ill

The most common symptoms reported were agitation (18.6 percent), a rapid heartbeat (16.9 percent), and drowsiness (13.6 percent). But some called about more serious symptoms, like seizure (6.1 percent), hallucinations (4.8 percent), and coma (2.8 percent).

The effects in larger kratom doses can be more serious, and these include a strong euphoric high, anxiety, slowed breathing, changes in heart rate, constipation, seizures, coma, and even death. For these reasons, the FDA put out a statement warning people to stay away from products containing kratom.

What’s more, individual case studies have linked kratom use to seizures and coma and addiction and hypothyroid, and the FDA has reports of 44 deaths linked to kratom products, as of February 2018.


As for the link to brain damage alleged by the mom in Florida, Moon says that she doesn't know enough about the case to comment or make a conjecture. However, but the FDA does seem to suggest potential for brain damage and recommends avoidance.

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Is kratom legal?





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