Motives for using Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.) among regular users in Malaysia

Singh D 1 , Narayanan S 2 , Müller CP 3 , Swogger MT 4 , Chear NJY 5 , Dzulkapli EB 5 Show all authors , Yusoff NSM 5 , Ramachandram DS 5 , León F 6 , McCurdy CR 6 , Vicknasingam B 5

Affiliations 

  • 1 Centre for Drug Research, University Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia. Electronic address: darshan@usm.my
  • 2 School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia
  • 3 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Clinic, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Schwabachanlage, Erlangen, Germany
  • 4 Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical School, United States
  • 5 Centre for Drug Research, University Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia
  • 6 Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
J Ethnopharmacol, 2019 Apr 06;233:34-40.
PMID: 30594604 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2018.12.038

Abstract

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The leaves of Mitragyna speciosa (Korth.) or kratom have been traditionally used in Malaysia and Thailand mainly to enhance work productivity, as a folk remedy for treating common ailments, and as a mood enhancer.

AIM OF THE STUDY: This present study sought to investigate kratom use motives among regular kratom users in Malaysia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 116 regular kratom users were recruited for this cross-sectional survey. The Drinking Motives Questionnaire (DMQ) was administered to measure kratom use motives.

RESULTS: Our results indicate that heavy (>3 glasses daily, each glass contains 48.24-50.4 mg of mitragynine) kratom use was associated with coping (t87.09 =3.544, p 3 glasses daily) kratom consumption (p 3 glasses daily) kratom consumption among regular kratom users in traditional, rural settings.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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