Didgital
Bluelight Crew
I developed a process to isolate/purify Mitragynine. So I'm putting it here, hopefully people can use the information. Disclaimer, theres definitely toxic and flammable solvents, so no one should attempt this without proper PPE and safety knowledge beforehand
Primary Extraction is macerating the kratom powder in warm methanol for at least 3 hours. Evaporation of the solvent leaves a very crude product that usually tests around 10% mitragynine but also includes all of the other alkaloids. The crude product is then dissolved in pH 2 acid. Acetic or even enough white vinegar will work for this. A lot of the product will not dissolve. I get a much better result if the residue is completely dried, powdered, and added in increments. Otherwise if you throw it all in once it can coagulate into a big rock type things that won't entirely dissolve. filter the gunk or decant the solution from the insoluble material. The solution can be extracted or washed using a non polar solvent like heptane though I haven't found this to be absolutely necessary. Discard the non polar solvent. Slowly add concentrated NaOH and the freebase alkaloids will precipitate out of the solution, and can either be filtered or extracted with a non polar solvent and then evaporated. This material usually tests around 50% mitragynine with 20% other alkaloids like speciocillatine, paynantheine, isorhynchophylline, and speciogynine etc. It's usually a gold/yellow powder at this point.
Now the real innovation that I came up with. Basically, the extract is dissolved in a solvent and that solvent is then run through Silica 60. It's essentially a ghetto/less precise form of column chromatography. I noticed when doing TLC (Thin layer chromatography) with kratom, that the mitragynine elutes first, then the other alkaloids. I would use a 3:2 Hexane/Ethyl acetate eluent. I would actually bind the kratom extract to silica, then deposit this on the top of the column packed with silica, then run the solvent through the column. The first volume that passes through the column, will not contain any alkaloids. The second and 3rd volume will contain just mitragynine and no other alkaloids. The 3rd column volume you will almost certainly start eluting other alkaloids with the mitragynine. TLC and UV can be used to determine the exact point that the mitragynine is eluting and when it stops. If i remember correctly, the mitragynine solution turns blue/teal under UV so you don't really even need to use TLC, though it is extremely useful. You can keep adding eluent and go until TLC says no more mitragyinine is eluting. After all the mitragyine is done, pool and evaporate the solvent for a material that is typically around 85% mitragynine. The % varies with out much silica one uses. The more silica, the better the separation of the alkaloids, but a lot more solvent/time/recovery becomes necessary. The column can be flushed with just ethyl acetate, and after evaporation, you can recover and concentrate the minor alkaloids. If i really tried, I could probably isolate and separate them, but I've yet to try that. The material can be recrystallized in boiling isopropyl alcohol. Each crystallization will bring potency up, end result is a white powder that is essentially tasteless. Most kratom extracts taste like shit. All of the pigments and shitty tasting compounds do not move through the column.
As a side note, I'm actually 100% positive that some or one of the minor alkaloids or maybe combinations of them are pretty toxic. I say this because I made 2 extracts a high purity MIT and then a mixed alkaloid extract. I gave a girlfriend 100mg of the 93% and she immediately wanted to build me a lab and invest in me. The next day I gave her 200mg of the full spectrum which had 30% Mitragynine and 30% other alkaloids. She got terribly sick and could not get out of bed for an entire day. I've taken up to 200mg of the pure mitragynine and felt no danger of overdose. It has to be one of the other alkaloids that gets you sick.
Hopefully someone will use this information to make some great medicine.
Power to the People!
Oh yeah the true chemist can oxidize the pure mitragynine into the much more potent 7-OH-Mitragynine and psuedoindoxyl analogures. Haven't done that yet, but it seems like a pretty easy synthesis. I hear its very nice material, and quite potent.
Primary Extraction is macerating the kratom powder in warm methanol for at least 3 hours. Evaporation of the solvent leaves a very crude product that usually tests around 10% mitragynine but also includes all of the other alkaloids. The crude product is then dissolved in pH 2 acid. Acetic or even enough white vinegar will work for this. A lot of the product will not dissolve. I get a much better result if the residue is completely dried, powdered, and added in increments. Otherwise if you throw it all in once it can coagulate into a big rock type things that won't entirely dissolve. filter the gunk or decant the solution from the insoluble material. The solution can be extracted or washed using a non polar solvent like heptane though I haven't found this to be absolutely necessary. Discard the non polar solvent. Slowly add concentrated NaOH and the freebase alkaloids will precipitate out of the solution, and can either be filtered or extracted with a non polar solvent and then evaporated. This material usually tests around 50% mitragynine with 20% other alkaloids like speciocillatine, paynantheine, isorhynchophylline, and speciogynine etc. It's usually a gold/yellow powder at this point.
Now the real innovation that I came up with. Basically, the extract is dissolved in a solvent and that solvent is then run through Silica 60. It's essentially a ghetto/less precise form of column chromatography. I noticed when doing TLC (Thin layer chromatography) with kratom, that the mitragynine elutes first, then the other alkaloids. I would use a 3:2 Hexane/Ethyl acetate eluent. I would actually bind the kratom extract to silica, then deposit this on the top of the column packed with silica, then run the solvent through the column. The first volume that passes through the column, will not contain any alkaloids. The second and 3rd volume will contain just mitragynine and no other alkaloids. The 3rd column volume you will almost certainly start eluting other alkaloids with the mitragynine. TLC and UV can be used to determine the exact point that the mitragynine is eluting and when it stops. If i remember correctly, the mitragynine solution turns blue/teal under UV so you don't really even need to use TLC, though it is extremely useful. You can keep adding eluent and go until TLC says no more mitragyinine is eluting. After all the mitragyine is done, pool and evaporate the solvent for a material that is typically around 85% mitragynine. The % varies with out much silica one uses. The more silica, the better the separation of the alkaloids, but a lot more solvent/time/recovery becomes necessary. The column can be flushed with just ethyl acetate, and after evaporation, you can recover and concentrate the minor alkaloids. If i really tried, I could probably isolate and separate them, but I've yet to try that. The material can be recrystallized in boiling isopropyl alcohol. Each crystallization will bring potency up, end result is a white powder that is essentially tasteless. Most kratom extracts taste like shit. All of the pigments and shitty tasting compounds do not move through the column.
As a side note, I'm actually 100% positive that some or one of the minor alkaloids or maybe combinations of them are pretty toxic. I say this because I made 2 extracts a high purity MIT and then a mixed alkaloid extract. I gave a girlfriend 100mg of the 93% and she immediately wanted to build me a lab and invest in me. The next day I gave her 200mg of the full spectrum which had 30% Mitragynine and 30% other alkaloids. She got terribly sick and could not get out of bed for an entire day. I've taken up to 200mg of the pure mitragynine and felt no danger of overdose. It has to be one of the other alkaloids that gets you sick.
Hopefully someone will use this information to make some great medicine.
Power to the People!
Oh yeah the true chemist can oxidize the pure mitragynine into the much more potent 7-OH-Mitragynine and psuedoindoxyl analogures. Haven't done that yet, but it seems like a pretty easy synthesis. I hear its very nice material, and quite potent.
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