Abhishek Gour, Sushobhan Mukhopadhyay, Allison Henderson, Ahmed Awad, Maria A Seabra, Mallory Pullman, Francisco León, Stephen J Cutler, Christopher R McCurdy, Abhisheak Sharma
{"title":"从Kratom到半合成阿片类药物:MGM-15的上升和风险。","authors":"Abhishek Gour, Sushobhan Mukhopadhyay, Allison Henderson, Ahmed Awad, Maria A Seabra, Mallory Pullman, Francisco León, Stephen J Cutler, Christopher R McCurdy, Abhisheak Sharma","doi":"10.1002/dta.3952","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a plant native to Southeast Asia, has long been used for its stimulant and analgesic properties. 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-HMG) is a potent and selective opioid agonist in vitro and demonstrates a potent opioid effect in living subjects, reversible by naloxone. It has been semi-synthesized into products that are readily available in retail and virtual shops. It is known that 7-HMG has earned the nickname \"legal morphine,\" and has gained popularity among users seeking pain relief and/or a \"high\" comparable with prescription opioids. Medicinal chemistry efforts have led to synthetic 7-HMG derivatives such as MGM-15, where stereospecific saturation of the imine N(1)-C(2) double bond increases opioid receptor affinity and activity. Despite its higher in vitro opioid potency, MGM-15 is currently sold in the US for human consumption as a \"research chemical\" in tablet form, even though there is an absence of this being studied in humans and obviously no FDA approval. In this study, we analyzed commercially available MGM-labeled tablets using UPLC-MS/MS and subsequently evaluated the binding affinities of purified MGM-15 across multiple opioid receptors. Tablets contained an average of 10.9 ± 0.2 mg (10.7 to 11.2 mg) of MGM-15, with no naturally occurring kratom alkaloids or illicit substances detected. MGM-15 shows greater hMOR and hDOR binding affinities than 7-HMG, indicating the potential for higher opioid effects and risks, emphasizing the urgent need for more research to advise regulation and hopefully prevent misuse and harm.</p>","PeriodicalId":160,"journal":{"name":"Drug Testing and Analysis","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"From Kratom to Semi-Synthetic Opioids: The Rise and Risks of MGM-15.\",\"authors\":\"Abhishek Gour, Sushobhan Mukhopadhyay, Allison Henderson, Ahmed Awad, Maria A Seabra, Mallory Pullman, Francisco León, Stephen J Cutler, Christopher R McCurdy, Abhisheak Sharma\",\"doi\":\"10.1002/dta.3952\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><p>Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a plant native to Southeast Asia, has long been used for its stimulant and analgesic properties. 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-HMG) is a potent and selective opioid agonist in vitro and demonstrates a potent opioid effect in living subjects, reversible by naloxone. It has been semi-synthesized into products that are readily available in retail and virtual shops. It is known that 7-HMG has earned the nickname \\\"legal morphine,\\\" and has gained popularity among users seeking pain relief and/or a \\\"high\\\" comparable with prescription opioids. Medicinal chemistry efforts have led to synthetic 7-HMG derivatives such as MGM-15, where stereospecific saturation of the imine N(1)-C(2) double bond increases opioid receptor affinity and activity. Despite its higher in vitro opioid potency, MGM-15 is currently sold in the US for human consumption as a \\\"research chemical\\\" in tablet form, even though there is an absence of this being studied in humans and obviously no FDA approval. In this study, we analyzed commercially available MGM-labeled tablets using UPLC-MS/MS and subsequently evaluated the binding affinities of purified MGM-15 across multiple opioid receptors. Tablets contained an average of 10.9 ± 0.2 mg (10.7 to 11.2 mg) of MGM-15, with no naturally occurring kratom alkaloids or illicit substances detected. MGM-15 shows greater hMOR and hDOR binding affinities than 7-HMG, indicating the potential for higher opioid effects and risks, emphasizing the urgent need for more research to advise regulation and hopefully prevent misuse and harm.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":160,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Drug Testing and Analysis\",\"volume\":\" \",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":2.7000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-09-11\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Drug Testing and Analysis\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.3952\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Drug Testing and Analysis","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.3952","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS","Score":null,"Total":0}
From Kratom to Semi-Synthetic Opioids: The Rise and Risks of MGM-15.
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a plant native to Southeast Asia, has long been used for its stimulant and analgesic properties. 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-HMG) is a potent and selective opioid agonist in vitro and demonstrates a potent opioid effect in living subjects, reversible by naloxone. It has been semi-synthesized into products that are readily available in retail and virtual shops. It is known that 7-HMG has earned the nickname "legal morphine," and has gained popularity among users seeking pain relief and/or a "high" comparable with prescription opioids. Medicinal chemistry efforts have led to synthetic 7-HMG derivatives such as MGM-15, where stereospecific saturation of the imine N(1)-C(2) double bond increases opioid receptor affinity and activity. Despite its higher in vitro opioid potency, MGM-15 is currently sold in the US for human consumption as a "research chemical" in tablet form, even though there is an absence of this being studied in humans and obviously no FDA approval. In this study, we analyzed commercially available MGM-labeled tablets using UPLC-MS/MS and subsequently evaluated the binding affinities of purified MGM-15 across multiple opioid receptors. Tablets contained an average of 10.9 ± 0.2 mg (10.7 to 11.2 mg) of MGM-15, with no naturally occurring kratom alkaloids or illicit substances detected. MGM-15 shows greater hMOR and hDOR binding affinities than 7-HMG, indicating the potential for higher opioid effects and risks, emphasizing the urgent need for more research to advise regulation and hopefully prevent misuse and harm.
期刊介绍:
As the incidence of drugs escalates in 21st century living, their detection and analysis have become increasingly important. Sport, the workplace, crime investigation, homeland security, the pharmaceutical industry and the environment are just some of the high profile arenas in which analytical testing has provided an important investigative tool for uncovering the presence of extraneous substances.
In addition to the usual publishing fare of primary research articles, case reports and letters, Drug Testing and Analysis offers a unique combination of; ‘How to’ material such as ‘Tutorials’ and ‘Reviews’, Speculative pieces (‘Commentaries’ and ‘Perspectives'', providing a broader scientific and social context to the aspects of analytical testing), ‘Annual banned substance reviews’ (delivering a critical evaluation of the methods used in the characterization of established and newly outlawed compounds).
Rather than focus on the application of a single technique, Drug Testing and Analysis employs a unique multidisciplinary approach to the field of controversial compound determination. Papers discussing chromatography, mass spectrometry, immunological approaches, 1D/2D gel electrophoresis, to name just a few select methods, are welcomed where their application is related to any of the six key topics listed below.