Rolling Stone reports a 21-year old University of Pennsylvania student died after consuming a high-dose caffeine drink at overpriced fast food chain Panera Bread. Branded as “Charged Lemonade”, the “drink has 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is close to the amount of caffeine in three Red Bulls”. Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old student at the University …
Coffee is a tropical evergreen plant originating in Ethiopia but now grown worldwide. Two species, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, are predominantly sold as a recreational stimulant. Referred to “joe”, “java”, “brew”, “mud”, “liquid cocaine”, “espresso” and “go juice”, coffee is a drug of abuse, primarily used for its psychoactive and stimulant effects, similar to …
Brian welcomes Julia Brose, graduate student at Michigan State University and lead author of the study “The Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom) Genome: A resource for data-mining potent pharmaceuticals that impact human health”. She’s joined by Dr. Robin Buell, MSU Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology, who co-authored the study. We talk about the Rubiaceae family of plants, …
50. The Kratom Genome with Julia Brose and Dr. Robin Buell Read More »
A team from the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University published the kratom genome, or the complete contents of genetic material in an organism. Using Rifat kratom trees grown in a greenhouse at the university, the team analyzed plant material to generate a draft assembly of mitragyna specioca for the first time. As …
Is kratom a drug, a medicinal herb, a dietary supplement, a “safe food”, a tea? These terms have a whole lot to do with social perception, a little to do with legal issues, and nothing to do with science. Kratom is a shrub that grows natively in Southeast Asia. Botanically, kratom comes from the Rubiaceae …
Let’s invent a remote island in the middle of the Pacific. We’ll call it Coca Island. It’s present day. Coca Island is a modern society much like ours. People drive cars to work. Kids take buses to school. There are hospitals, libraries, restaurants, bars, and churches. They have a few big cities and they have …
