Undeclared Kratom Alkaloids and Tianeptine in Products Labeled as Cat's Claw

In the world of dietary supplements, consumers often rely on the name of a plant to tell them what they are buying. A label reading "cat's claw" suggests a specific vine from the Amazon rainforest, traditionally used for immune support and known for having no pain-relieving or opioid effects. However, the market for these products is vast and largely unregulated, creating a gap between what a package says and what is actually inside. This gap becomes dangerous when manufacturers add powerful, unlisted substances to mimic the effects of controlled drugs while hiding behind the cover of a harmless herbal name. Recent concerns have focused on a group of chemicals derived from the kratom plant, which can act like opioids, and a few synthetic versions of these chemicals that have recently been flagged by government agencies as high-risk substances. When these hidden ingredients appear in products sold as simple herbal supplements, they pose a serious threat to public health, potentially causing overdoses in people who believe they are taking a safe, natural product.

A team of researchers set out to investigate this specific danger by examining products sold in the United States that were labeled as containing cat's claw. They purchased 46 different chewable tablets or unit-dose packages from online stores and gas stations in Mississippi. These items came from 17 different brands, and some even carried bold claims on their packaging stating they contained no kratom and no high-potency alkaloids. The scientists did not test these products on people; instead, they dissolved the tablets in a solvent and used advanced laboratory instruments to identify and measure every chemical present. They compared the chemical fingerprints of these commercial products against a verified sample of the actual cat's claw plant to see if the products matched their labels.

The results revealed a complete disconnect between the labels and the contents. None of the 46 products declared the presence of kratom alkaloids or their derivatives on their ingredient lists, yet every single one contained at least one of these hidden substances. The most common finding was mitragynine, a primary alkaloid from the kratom plant, which was present in 41 of the 46 products. Even more concerning was the presence of 7-hydroxymitragynine, a potent compound found in kratom, in 35 of the products. The amounts of this substance varied wildly, with some units containing as little as a tiny trace and others holding nearly 96 milligrams per dose. The study also found two semi-synthetic opioids, which government agencies had recently placed under strict control due to their high risk, in the majority of the samples. Specifically, 39 products contained either of these two controlled substances, meaning that most of the "cat's claw" pills on the shelf actually contained ingredients that are now classified as illegal drugs.

The deception went beyond just hiding kratom derivatives. The researchers found tianeptine, an antidepressant medication that is not approved for use in the United States, in five of the products. These pills contained between 28 and 40 milligrams of the drug per unit. In one instance, a single product was found to contain yohimbine, melatonin, and lidocaine alongside the other hidden ingredients. Perhaps the most alarming discovery was that the marketing claims on the bottles were entirely false. Eight products explicitly stated on their labels that they contained no kratom or no high-potency alkaloids, yet laboratory analysis confirmed they were loaded with mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. In fact, the chemical profiles of these products did not match the actual cat's claw plant at all; only five of the 46 products showed any trace of the plant's natural alkaloids, and even those also contained the hidden kratom derivatives, suggesting the ingredients were deliberately added rather than naturally occurring.

The study concludes that for anyone taking these products, the label offers no reliable guide to what they are actually consuming. The wide variation in chemical content, even within the same brand and flavor, means that one pill could be nearly empty of active ingredients while the next could contain a dangerous overdose. The presence of these hidden opioids and unapproved drugs aligns with reports of overdoses and deaths linked to similarly labeled products in other states. The researchers suggest that doctors treating patients with unexplained opioid toxicity should consider that the patient may have taken a product labeled as cat's claw that actually contained kratom-derived opioids or tianeptine. Ultimately, the findings indicate that simply listing a plant name on a bottle does not guarantee the product contains that plant, and that strict testing and enforcement of labeling laws are necessary to protect consumers from these hidden dangers.