Akuamma Vs. Kratom: Which Is Best?

Kratom and Akuamma are both becoming increasingly popular within the same circles. Our customers regularly ask us about the difference between akuamma and kratom to help them determine which is more appealing. Both of these products are natural plant-based because they come to us from trees. When you decide to buy Akuamma or buy kratom online, it’s important to go into it with clear expectations. This comparison will help you learn about what Akuamma and kratom are, the similarities between the two, and their differences.

What Is Akuamma?

Akuamma is a shrub or tree found throughout the tropical regions of West Africa. You may also hear it referred to as vincamajordine or Picralima nitida. Seeds from the Akuamma tree have already been popular for many years in folk medicine in Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Zaire. It wasn’t until much more recently that the plant also started to become popular on a global scale. 

The Akuamma plant grows naturally in rainforests, especially along river banks. Like kratom, the Akuamma tree can grow to heights of 100 feet, though it normally doesn’t get that tall in most environments. Akuamma produces flowers in addition to fruits that are filled with seeds all throughout the year. People are interested in the tree’s fruits, flowers, barks, and roots, all of which are regularly harvested by locals in West Africa.

Why Do People Buy Akuamma Extract?

People in West Africa use Akuamma for a wide variety of purposes. The wood is often crafted into different tools, but most people in the United States are interested in this tree because of its association with folk medicine. Akuamma extract is normally created using seeds from the fruit this tree produces.

Once the Akuamma tree produces ripe fruits, people harvest them, normally by hand. The fruits can be cut open to access the seeds, which are either chewed whole or ground into a powder. Like kratom, people are mostly interested in Akuamma extract because of the alkaloids it contains. The major Akuamma alkaloids are pericine and akuammine. Natives of West Africa often associate these seeds with bursts of energy as well as relief.

There are several other alkaloids in this plant, but pericine and akuammine are believed to be the most important. The rest of the Akuamma plant also contains some alkaloids, though not nearly as many as you can expect to find in the seeds. For that reason, Akuamma powder is typically nothing more than ground seeds. If you visit West Africa, you may also find that people use the bark, roots, and leaves for various applications.

What Is Kratom?

Kratom is another name to describe leaves from the mitragyna speciosa tree, which is also a tropical plant and has some relation to the coffee tree. Mitragyna speciosa grows naturally in Southeast Asia, and people in that part of the world have a long history of harvesting these leaves. The first documented stories of people enjoying kratom come from the 1800s, but many historians believe people have appreciated kratom since ancient times.

Farmers and laborers in Southeast Asia may enjoy the leaves by chewing on them raw, but kratom can also be dried and powdered. Here in the United States, it’s relatively difficult to find fresh kratom leaves simply because we have to get them from so far away. Instead, most of our kratom as sold as powder, which may also be portioned out into capsules for maximum convenience. You may see various blends including gold kratom, but there are actually only three true strains of this plant:

• Red Vein Kratom
• White Vein Kratom
• Green Vein Kratom

Why Do People Buy Kratom Powder?

Like with Akuamma, people normally buy kratom online because they’re interested in the alkaloids contained within these leaves. Alkaloids from kratom have been shown to interact with the human body similarly to anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs like ibuprofen, oxycodone, anesthesia drugs, tramadol, and fentanyl. Some of our customers say they support legal kratom because natural products are more interesting to them than pharmaceutical drugs made in a lab.

The primary kratom alkaloids are mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, which the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association says interacts with opioid receptors in the human body. Pharmacological researchers have said these alkaloids can interact with delta, kappa, and mu-opioid receptors alike. Mitragynine was the first kratom alkaloid to become well known, but we’re starting to believe that 7-hydroxymitragynine is even more important.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/ Tammarat