In brief
The Mitragyna speciosa tree has been historically documented in Southeast Asia for centuries, and European scientific literature has described it since 1839. In the 20th century some Asian states began to impose bans (Thailand 1943, Malaysia 1952). After 2000 kratom spread to North America and Europe, where it has become the subject of regulatory debate over the past decade.
Pre-colonial use in Southeast Asia
Traditional records from southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia mention the chewing of fresh Mitragyna speciosa leaf among farmers and workers in rice fields and rubber plantations. The aim was to ease fatigue during long physical work in a tropical climate. The leaf was also processed into a decoction - part of the ethnobotanical literature describes its use for febrile conditions or as a traditional remedy of village medicine.
In Indonesia (in Borneo and Sumatra) the tree was planted in a semi-cultivated form around villages. Ethnobotanical observations from the late 19th century (Korthals, later Burkill) record the use of the leaf as a stimulant and as part of local customs. A detailed description of traditional practices in SE Asia is given in the article Ethnobotany of kratom in Southeast Asia.
First European mentions (Korthals 1839)
The scientific description of the species was published by the Dutch botanist Pieter Willem Korthals in 1839 in the work Observationes de Naucleis Indicis, issued by the Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen. Korthals described the morphology of the leaf, the flowers and the spherical heads of the inflorescence, and classified the species in the genus Mitragyna.
In the second half of the 19th century British botanists (especially within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) visited plantations in British Malaya and collected herbarium material. The first scientist to isolate the main alkaloid mitragynine was Edmund Field in 1921. The structure of mitragynine was definitively confirmed by Zacharias et al. in 1965.
The 20th century - research and the first bans
Thailand introduced a ban on kratom in 1943 (the so-called Kratom Act, B.E. 2486). The political reasons are described in the historical works of Tanguay (2011): kratom was at the time a cheaper substitute for opium, the taxation of which formed a significant part of state revenue. A detailed analysis is provided in the article Kratom in Thailand: tradition, bans and return.
In 1952 Malaysia placed kratom (locally ketum) on the list of controlled substances under the Poisons Act 1952. At the same time basic phytochemical research continued in Europe and Japan - the description of further alkaloids (speciogynine, paynantheine) was provided by Beckett et al. in the 1960s.
In the second half of the 20th century kratom remained practically unknown outside the region. Global scientific attention grew only with the identification of 7-hydroxymitragynine (Takayama 2002).
Globalisation after 2000
After 2000 kratom began to arrive in North America and Europe primarily as a plant powder supplied by small importers. In the USA it was the subject of repeated discussions about regulation (the DEA scheduling of 2016, which was ultimately not implemented). In Europe it remained without specific regulation in a number of countries, while Poland, Lithuania and Latvia introduced a complete ban.
In the Czech Republic, kratom appears in wider commerce roughly around 2014. After several years of a free market, the Czech Republic prepared an amendment to Act No. 167/1998 Coll., on addictive substances, which as of 1 January 2026 places kratom in a new category of psychomodulatory substances (PML). The current situation is described in The new regulation of kratom in the Czech Republic from 2026.
Frequently asked questions
When did kratom first appear in Europe?
As a scientifically described species in 1839 (Korthals). As a consumer product in wider commerce roughly from the beginning of the 21st century.
Who described kratom scientifically?
Pieter Willem Korthals in 1839. The main alkaloid mitragynine was isolated by Edmund Field in 1921.
When did it appear in the Czech Republic?
On a wider commercial scale roughly around 2014. The exact date of the first import is not unambiguously documented in the available sources.
Was there any historical "kratom culture" outside SE Asia?
Not in a documented sense. Outside its native range, kratom was practically unknown until the second half of the 20th century.
References
- Korthals P. W. (1839). Observationes de Naucleis Indicis. Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen.
- Tanguay P. (2011). Kratom in Thailand: Decriminalisation and Community Control? Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies, No. 13. Transnational Institute.
- Cinosi E. et al. (2015). Following "the Roots" of Kratom. BioMed Research International, 2015, 968786.
