Note: This post is a translation from a Thai news story that can be found here https://www.banmuang.co.th/news/region/331878
Mr. Kajornsak Chareonsopha, Governor of Trang Province, as the chairman of the working group to drive and develop medicinal plants led the group to study the GMP standard kratom extract processing plant of Prince of Songkla University at the Southern Industrial Estate, Bang Klam District, Songkhla Province, with Asst. Prof. Dr. Chumpol Chuenjitsiri, Vice President for Legal Affairs Prince of Songkhla University with a welcoming group and Asst. Prof. Dr. Worawit Wanich Suwan (Project Leader) Medical Innovation Research Institute Prince of Songkhla University spoke about the processing of Kratom medicinal plants and gave a visit to the factory.
At present, the market accepts two types of kratom: fresh, and dried and ground powder. Kratom that can be used for medical purposes and food products must be quality kratom leaves, and must be cultivated in an area free from chemicals and heavy metals. The important substances in kratom depend on the age of the kratom leaves: the older the leaves, the more mitragynine there is. The kratom planted in the south was found to contain more mitragynine than the kratom planted in other regions. Currently, Indonesia, which is the world’s number one exporter of kratom, also uses kratom species in southern Thailand for cultivation.
This will be a tool to help create high-value products for medical and food applications. In particular, if the product development can be forwarded to the private sector with factories that meet GMP/PICs standards, it will be able to expand the production scale to the commercial market. This helps to increase the country’s competitiveness in the export of kratom extract.
This is from the government’s herbal promotion policy that encourages hospitals and nursing homes to use herbs instead of importing modern medicines, together with the consumption trend of the new generation who prefer to use herbs as an alternative form of health care. Therefore, it is a good opportunity to push kratom to become one of the economic crops of the South in the future.
In addition to the properties in treating various symptoms and diseases, the use of kratom in the treatment of other addictive substances such as methamphetamine, heroin, ice, and alcohol is also a safer alternative and benefits the Thai herbal industry economy as well.
The governor of Trang province said that kratom is a local plant in southern Thailand. Due to the geographical conditions of the southern region that are suitable for the growth of Kratom plants, Kratom plants can be found in many southern provinces. In the past, before kratom was declared a category 5 narcotic, villagers in the south used kratom to treat symptoms such as cough, diarrhea, abdominal pain, toothache, and also used to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure and used as a substitute for other drugs.
In this study visit, there were 15 participants, consisting of the head of the working group and the secretary of the working group for the propulsion and development of medicinal plants in Trang Province according to the mission in 3 areas: production, processing. and marketing and related sectors, to apply the acquired knowledge and experience as a guideline for driving and developing medicinal plants for Kratom in Trang Province.
The study visit in Trang Province will be integrated with Prince of Songkla University in the development of medicinal plants and Kratom both in the upstream and midstream stages to meet GMP standards.
Original article (in Thai) can be accessed here https://www.banmuang.co.th/news/region/331878
Interested to see what comes out of this. Thx for sharing!