Poison control centers are raising concerns about products sold as cat’s claw, an herbal supplement often taken for inflammation, after testing found some contained kratom-related compounds associated with opioid-like effects, according to an Oct. 1 NBC News report. Cat’s claw itself is generally considered harmless, experts told NBC News.
The concern is that consumers may unknowingly take kratom-related compounds when using products labeled as cat’s claw. Chris Holstege, MD, director of UVA Health’s Blue Ridge Poison Center in Charlottesville, Va., told NBC News that kratom can act like an opioid at higher doses, lead to dependence and overdose, and interact with pain medications and other sedatives. Cat’s claw does not contain opioids, Dr. Holstege said. People report using kratom to treat pain, anxiety and depression, as well as opioid-use disorder and withdrawal.
The Utah Poison Control Center began receiving calls in March involving people who had taken products labeled as cat’s claw and developed symptoms similar to opioid overdoses. Testing by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food found Buzzers Cat’s Claw tablets contained mitragynine pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15, two kratom-related chemicals. When Utah officials warned about the product in late July, they said investigators were also looking into a death linked to it.
Tennessee officials have also detected MGM-15 in products marketed as cat’s claw. Mark Delaney, a special agent overseeing the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force, called the products “kratom in disguise.”
Poison control centers recorded a 1,200% increase in kratom-related calls from 2015 to 2025, according to CDC data cited by NBC News. At least 10 states have banned the substance.
In August, the Drug Enforcement Administration temporarily classified three kratom-related substances — mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, MGM-15 and MGM-16 — as Schedule I drugs.
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