Author(s)

Mary Ellen Wright¹, Donna Coy², Joseph Jones², Andre Sukta², Amy Racines², Mary Jones²

¹Clemson University School of Nursing, Greenville, SC, USA.
²United States Drug Testing Laboratories, Des Plaines, USA.

Objective: Kratom is widely available and literature exploring the effects of prenatal kratom exposure is lacking. This study aims to report a validated method for the detection of mitragynine in the umbilical cord and report our observations for specimens received at a national commercial reference laboratory. Study Design: Assays were validated according to the recommendations of ANSI/ASB. A retrospective evaluation of records at a national reference laboratory was conducted to determine prevalence and co-exposure to other substances of abuse. Result: Mitragynine was detected in 19 of 4456 specimens (0.43%) with concentrations ranging from 4 to >50 ng/g. Thirteen (13) of these specimens were positive for only mitragynine while the other 6 were also positive for either marijuana or opiates. Conclusion: Umbilical cord is a suitable specimen type for the surveillance of maternal kratom use and can be used to identify exposed neonates for further investigations into short- or long- term health consequences.

Kratom, Mitragyna Speciose, Mitragynine, Umbilical Cord, Prenatal Exposure, Maternal Drug Use

Wright, M. , Coy, D. , Jones, J. , Sukta, A. , Racines, A. and Jones, M. (2022) The Identification of Prenatal Exposure to Mitragynine Using Umbilical Cord Tissue. American Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 13, 162-174. doi: 10.4236/ajac.2022.134011.