Journal Club with Dr. Jonathan Cachat

Study examined in this episode: Smith, K. E., Bunting, A. M., Walker, R., Hall, M. T., Grundmann, O., & Castillo, O. (2019). Non-Prescribed Buprenorphine Use Mediates the Relationship between Heroin Use and Kratom Use among a Sample of Polysubstance Users. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 51(4), 311–322. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2019.1597224

Link to all studies covered on Kratom Science Journal Club https://bit.ly/KratomSciPDFs

For #21 Brian and Dr. Jon Cachat look at a study of polysubstance users in Kentucky, most of whom were either currently incarcerated or had been incarcerated in the 7 years prior to the research. The study examines substance use trends of this sample of about 500 volunteers, licit vs. illicit opioid use, and why heroin users were 2.5 times more likely to use kratom than users of other substances. We talk about the motivations for why low income people may either prefer or are required by circumstance to turn to diverted buprenorphine (meaning obtained legally but sold illegally) or kratom instead of prescription drugs or Medication Assisted Treatment. The paper examines the scarcity of MAT resources in Kentucky. Dr. Jon also talks about the limitations of the study and his problem with one aspects of the study's conclusion.

Music: Captain Bigwheel, "Moonrunner"

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

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A new study from Thailand (La-up, 2021) found traditional users of kratom had elevated levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good” cholesterol) and low levels of triglycerides. In the largest recent study of its kind, researchers recruited 581 participants, half kratom consumers, and half who did not consume kratom as a control group. Though the consumers of traditional kratom (fresh leaves brewed or chewed) had higher instances of drinking and smoking, they showed healthier cholesterol levels than the control group. Many fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants also promote healthy cholesterol, and you'd expect that from a dark green leafy food like kratom.

La-Up, A., Saengow, U., & Aramrattana, A. (2021). High serum high-density lipoprotein and low serum triglycerides in Kratom users: A study of Kratom users in Thailand. Heliyon, 7(4), e06931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06931

Catch Dr. Jonathan Cachat on social media @jcachat

Music: Risey, "Memories of Thailand"

Kratom Science Journal Club is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

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Neuroscientist Dr. Jonathan Cachat and host Brian Gallagher look at the blistering report by Jane Babin released in August 2018: "FDA Fails to Follow the Science on Kratom" (PDF available here https://t.co/G76TVsWdLY?amp=1 ). Babin demonstrates how FDA manipulated data to create a Schedule I justification based on what a former HHS Assistant Secretary of Health Brett Giroir called "embarrassingly poor evidence & data, and a failure to consider overall public health." FDA systematically omitted data, left out instances of polydrug consumption, failed to cite original case reports, and labelled suicides, homicides, and accidents as "kratom related deaths". Since 2012, FDA has REPEATEDLY cited this bad information as justification of import alerts, seizures, and their push to make kratom a Schedule 1 drug. We look at Dr. Babin's report in detail.

Find Dr. Jonathan Cachat on social media @jcachat

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

In a departure from kratom science, Dr. Cachat and Brian look at a paper by a pioneering pharmacologist and researcher in the field of psychedelics, Dr. David E. Nichols. Dr. Nichols methodically lays out his case for why endogenous DMT produced in the pineal gland, brain, or other parts of the human body is not present at adequate enough doses to be psychoactive. Therefore there is not enough evidence that endogenous DMT explains out-of-body experiences or near-death experience. This is controversial in drug nerd world as evidence by YouTube comments on a related talk given by Dr. Nichols, and may run counter to Rick Strassman's arguments presented in his popular book and documentary The Spirit Molecule. Is endogenous DMT a neurotransmitter? If not what is it? If DMT doesn't explain near death experiences, what does?

References:

Breaking Convention. (2017, Jul. 9). David Nichols - DMT and the pineal gland: Facts vs fantasy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeeqHUiC8Io

Lokhorst, Gert-Jan, "Descartes and the Pineal Gland", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/pineal-gland/

Nichols D. E. (2018). N,N-dimethyltryptamine and the pineal gland: Separating fact from myth. Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England), 32(1), 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117736919

Music: Captain Bigwheel “Moonrunner”

Kratom Science Journal Club is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

The subject of episode 17 of Kratom Science Journal Club Dr. Jon Cachat and Brian Gallagher talk about an article from Portuguese scientists about "new" psychoactive substances of natural origin, some of which have been consumed responsibly for centuries, some of which are best used if you want to murder someone via poisoning them. Oh, please don't take any portion of this podcast or any portion of KratomScience.com as medical advice, murdering advice, or any advice for any purpose. We talk about kratom, kava, mushrooms, datura, ayahuasca, khat, betel nut, jimson weed, mandrake, morning glory, and salvia divinorum.

Gonçalves, J., Luís, Â., Gallardo, E., & Duarte, A. P. (2021). Psychoactive Substances of Natural Origin: Toxicological Aspects, Therapeutic Properties and Analysis in Biological Samples. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 26(5), 1397. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26051397

Check out Dr. Jon Cachat @jcachat on Twitter and elsewhere

Music: Captain Bigwheel, "Moonrunner"

Kratom Science Journal Club is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

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Another study from University of Florida is the “first report that has simultaneously evaluated the systemic exposure of 11 kratom alkaloids following the administration of traditional and commercial kratom products” (Kamble, 2021). Researchers looked at the pharmacokinectics (how drugs move through the body and are metabolized) of alkaloids in rat plasma following the oral administration of both kratom tea and a commercial liquid extract.

This study lays the groundwork for future research into the difference between “natural” kratom and extracts, and how the alkaloids act in concert, or as Dr. Cachat calls, the “entourage effect”, versus how they act separately.

Special thanks to past Kratom Science Podcast guest Dr. Abhisheak Sharma, who worked on this study, for sharing the full text with me.

Dr. Jonathan Cachat can be reached @jcachat on Twitter and at ccvresearch.com

Kratom Science Journal Club is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Work cited (full text soon to be available via open access).

Kamble, S. H., Berthold, E. C., King, T. I., Raju Kanumuri, S. R., Popa, R., Herting, J. R., León, F., Sharma, A., McMahon, L. R., Avery, B. A., & McCurdy, C. R. (2021). Pharmacokinetics of Eleven Kratom Alkaloids Following an Oral Dose of Either Traditional or Commercial Kratom Products in Rats. Journal of natural products, 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c01163. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c01163

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

Note: Nothing in this podcast or on KratomScience.com is intended to be medical advice, nor should it be taken as such. We’re not medical doctors. Please don’t listen to podcasts for advice on what you should or should not put in your body.

Dr. Cachat continues answering questions from February's r/kratom Ask Me Anything. This time we talk about whether kratom will follow the path of cannabis in terms of regulation, if kratom will be turned into a pharmaceutical drug, kratom and dopamine agonists, kratom and libido, and random weird effects that probably aren't caused by kratom.

Part 1 here https://www.kratomscience.com/podcast/14-journal-club-qa-part-1-kratom-and-liver-enzymes-alcohol-pain-management-and-serotonin/

Music: Captain Bigwheel, "Moonrunner"

Contact Dr. Cachat @jcachat on Twitter

Produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

Note: Nothing in this podcast or on KratomScience.com is intended to be medical advice, nor should it be taken as such. We're not medical doctors. Please don't listen to podcasts for advice on what you should or should not put in your body.

For episode #14, Dr. Jonathan Cachat answers half of the remaining question from our February 23rd r/kratom Reddit AMA. There were so many questions, we divided this into two episodes.

In Part 1 questions are answered about kratom and liver enzymes, kratom in combination with alcohol and other substances, kratom vs. classical opioids for pain management, and is there any evidence of neurotoxicity with long-term kratom use?

AMA thread https://www.reddit.com/r/kratom/comments/lmz1pe/live_ama_neuroscientist_answers_your_questions/

Dr. Cachat can be reached on Twitter @jcachat or at ccvresearch.com

Kratom Science Podcast is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Other podcast episodes mentioned:

Studies cited in this episode:

Kamble, S. H., Sharma, A., King, T. I., León, F., McCurdy, C. R., & Avery, B. A. (2019). Metabolite profiling and identification of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of mitragynine, the major alkaloid of Mitragyna speciosa (kratom). Xenobiotica; the fate of foreign compounds in biological systems, 49(11), 1279–1288. https://doi.org/10.1080/00498254.2018.1552819

Johnson, L. E., Balyan, L., Magdalany, A., Saeed, F., Salinas, R., Wallace, S., Veltri, C. A., Swogger, M. T., Walsh, Z., & Grundmann, O. (2020). The Potential for Kratom as an Antidepressant and Antipsychotic. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 93(2), 283–289.

Singh, D., Ph.D, Narayanan, S., Ph.D, Müller, C. P., Ph.D, Vicknasingam, B., Ph.D, Yücel, M., Ph.D, Ho, E., Ph.D, Hassan, Z., Ph.D, & Mansor, S. M., Ph.D (2019). Long-Term Cognitive Effects of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.) Use. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 51(1), 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2018.1555345

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

We all know the mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitraginine act on the mu-opioid receptor. But for episode #13 of Journal Club we talk about a study that looks closely at the binding affinity of various kratom alkaloids on the plethora of opioid and adrenergic receptors in the brain. How exactly does this work? How do different alkaloids lead to the multiple functional effects of kratom? Are we fish out of water when it comes to molecular chemistry? Guesses and possibly even answers, plus listener mail, in episode #13 of Kratom Science Journal Club.

Study cited in this episode:

Obeng, S., Kamble, S. H., Reeves, M. E., Restrepo, L. F., Patel, A., Behnke, M., Chear, N. J., Ramanathan, S., Sharma, A., León, F., Hiranita, T., Avery, B. A., McMahon, L. R., & McCurdy, C. R. (2020). Investigation of the Adrenergic and Opioid Binding Affinities, Metabolic Stability, Plasma Protein Binding Properties, and Functional Effects of Selected Indole-Based Kratom Alkaloids. Journal of medicinal chemistry, 63(1), 433–439. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b01465

Check out the upcoming AMA (Ask Me Anything) with Dr. Jonathan Cachat on https://www.reddit.com/r/kratom/

Contact Dr. Cachat:

Kratom Science Journal Club is produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.

This time Dr. Jonathan Cachat and I look at a study where a team from University of Florida cultivated 68 kratom trees in a greenhouse, gave them varying levels of fertilizer, and measured for biomass, chlorophyll, and alkaloid content. Dr. Jon talks about similar studies he did with cannabis, and we go into what that would mean for a domestic kratom agriculture industry, home growers, and further science on the plant biology of kratom.

Article discussed in this episode: Zhang M, Sharma A, León F, et al. Effects of Nutrient Fertility on Growth and Alkaloidal Content in Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom). Front Plant Sci. 2020;11:597696. Published 2020 Dec 21. doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.597696

Full text https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7779599/

Contact Dr. Jonathan Cachat @jcachat on Twitter and at http://www.ccvresearch.com

Music: Captain Bigwheel "Moonrunner"

Produced by Brian Gallagher for KratomScience.com

Disclaimer: There is no content on the Kratom Science Podcast nor on KratomScience.com that in any way constitutes medical claims or medical advice. You should consult a medical professional for medical advice and we believe this sincerely. Take care.