If you have read the lab panel on one of our labels and seen 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) listed at 40 ppm, you may reasonably have concluded that the product contains 7-OH. It does not. That figure is our laboratory’s limit of detection, meaning the lowest level the testing instrument is able to measure. Our products test below it. This page explains what the number is, why we print it, and why an older label said “0” while the current one does not.
40 PPM Is a Measurement Floor, Not a Measurement
Every lot we sell is tested by an independent, ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory. The analytical method they use has a limit of detection of 0.04 mg per gram. Expressed in parts per million, that same figure is 40 ppm. Below that level, the instrument cannot distinguish a trace amount from nothing at all.
When our lots are tested for 7-OH, the result comes back as “ND,” meaning not detected. The amount present is below what the equipment can see. So the 40 ppm printed on the label is a property of the test method, not a quantity found in the product.
This is a normal and well understood convention in analytical chemistry, but it reads confusingly on a package. A number sitting next to a compound name looks like a content declaration. In this case it is a sensitivity threshold.
Why We Stopped Printing “0”
Some of our earlier labels printed 7-OH as “0.” We changed that, and the change moved in the direction of more caution, not less.
No laboratory test can prove that a substance is completely absent. A test can only report that a result falls below what the equipment is able to measure. Printing “0” stated something our laboratory could not actually certify. Printing the detection limit states exactly what we do know: the amount is below 40 ppm, and it was not detected.
The formula did not change. The standard we hold the label to did. If you have an older package and a newer one side by side and the 7-OH line reads differently, that difference is a labeling correction, not a reformulation.
7-OH Occurs Naturally in the Kratom Leaf
7-hydroxymitragynine is a minor compound associated with Mitragyna speciosa at trace or undetectable levels, formed largely through oxidation of mitragynine after harvest. It is not something that has to be added for a kratom product to contain a trace of it. You can read more in our detailed guide to what 7-OH is and how it differs from whole leaf kratom.
The concern in the marketplace, and in recent federal and state regulatory activity, is about products containing concentrated, added, or synthetically produced 7-OH. Those products are chemically and pharmacologically distinct from kratom leaf and from leaf extracts.
Amazing Botanicals does not add 7-OH to any product, and does not sell isolated or synthetic 7-OH products.
One clarification worth making, because customers ask: some of our products are made from raw leaf powder and some are made from a leaf extract, which is more concentrated than plain leaf. Our tablets, for example, are extract based. In both cases the material originates in the kratom leaf, and in both cases our lots test with no detectable 7-OH.
See the Lab Results Yourself
We publish the certificate of analysis for every lot. The 7-OH row, the detection limit, and the analytical method are all printed on the document, so you do not have to take our word for any of this.
If you want the certificate for the specific lot you received rather than a representative one, contact us with your order number and we will send it to you. New to reading these documents? Our guide on what a kratom COA is and how to read one walks through each section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this product contain 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine)?
No detectable 7-OH. The 40 ppm figure on our label is our laboratory’s limit of detection, meaning the lowest level the instrument can measure, not the product’s content. Our lots test as “ND,” not detected. We do not add 7-OH to any product.
Why does the label list 40 ppm of 7-OH instead of 0?
A laboratory cannot certify a true zero. A test can only confirm that a result is below the instrument’s detection limit. Our earlier labels printed “0,” which claimed more than the lab could support. We now print the actual detection limit, 0.04 mg per gram or 40 ppm, and the product tests below it.
Did you change the formula?
No. The change was to the label, not the product. Sourcing and formulation are unchanged. What changed is that we replaced a figure our laboratory could not certify with one it can.
Is 40 ppm a lot?
It is not a quantity found in the product at all, it is the threshold below which the test cannot measure. For context, the threshold under discussion in recent federal rulemaking for kratom leaf material is 0.05 percent, which is 500 ppm. Our laboratory’s detection floor of 40 ppm sits well under that figure, and our lots test below the floor rather than at it.
How do I see the lab results for my order?
Every lot’s certificate of analysis is published on our lab results page. For the certificate matching your specific lot, contact us with your order number.