How to Read a Kratom Certificate of Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’ve been researching kratom products with a view to purchase, you’ll likely have seen claims on many vendor websites that their kratom is ‘lab-tested’ and wondered what that actually means. Why is it so important?

While manufacturers may test their kratom powders and extracts in-house before they package and export them, the results may be subjective. Without objective analysis carried out by an independent 3rd-party, you have no way of knowing, as a buyer, whether stated alkaloid content is accurate or if the product is free from contamination.

A Certificate of Analysis is a record of the tests performed on a particular sample of kratom and lists the results obtained. Different testing panels answer different questions, so the presence of a single CoA alone may not tell you everything you need to know. Below, we’ll detail what you should look for on a third-party test result and explain what it actually tells you.

How a CoA Details the Alkaloid Profile

A certificate of analysis (COA) becomes easier to understand when you know what the numbers refer to. This report from SDPharmLabs, used by Jack Botanicals, provides a good example. It measures the four main kratom alkaloids and provides information about the laboratory's ability to detect each compound. It also leaves several questions unanswered.

1. The sample details

At the top of the page, the sample is identified as “KTM.” The field beside “Sampled” contains a dash, and there is no visible product name or batch number.

That is worth checking when a seller provides a COA. You need to know that the report relates to the kratom you are considering, ideally through a batch or lot number that matches the packaging. Without that link, the results could belong to a different product or batch.

2. The dates

The laboratory received the sample on January 22, 2025, analyzed it on January 23, and reported the results on January 24.

These dates tell you when the testing took place. They do not tell you when the kratom was harvested or packaged, or whether the material currently for sale comes from the same batch. A recent report is useful, but the connection between the sample and the product still needs to be clear.

3. The four alkaloids

In this example, the main table lists four substances: mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, speciogynine, and speciociliatine. Each has its own row because the laboratory measures them separately. Some panels may only test for mitragynine.

Mitragynine is the most prominent result on this report, at 1.88%. The other three entries are marked “ND,” meaning the laboratory did not detect them at the applicable reporting threshold.

Mitragynine is often the first figure worth looking at when comparing kratom products. It gives you a measured concentration instead of a seller's description of a product as strong or potent. It cannot, by itself, predict how the kratom will affect you.

4. What 1.88% signifies

The laboratory gives the mitragynine result in two forms: 1.88% and 18.79 mg/g, meaning 18.79 milligrams per gram of material.

You can use the second figure to work out the amount present in a particular weight of powder. Two grams of material with this composition would contain about 37.6 mg of mitragynine.

That calculation describes the amount in the powder, not the amount your body will absorb or the effect you will feel. The COA measures the sample's composition; it does not measure the strength of your personal response.

5. What “ND” means

“ND” stands for not detected. It does not necessarily mean that absolutely none of the compound is present. The laboratory can only report what its testing method is capable of detecting.

The two columns labeled LOD and LOQ help explain this. LOD is the limit of detection, while LOQ is the limit of quantification. The first concerns whether the method can detect a substance; the second concerns whether it can measure the amount reliably enough to report a numerical result.

For 7-hydroxymitragynine, the report gives an LOD of 0.008 ppm and an LOQ of 0.025 ppm. Its result is ND. In plain English, the report does not establish a precise concentration of zero.

The thresholds differ between compounds, so an ND result needs to be read alongside the figures in its own row.

6. The uncertainty figure

Just above the table, the laboratory states that the expanded uncertainty of the analysis is approximately ±7.81% at the 95% confidence level.

You do not need to treat this as a separate measure of product quality. It describes the uncertainty of the laboratory's measurements. It does not mean that 7.81% of the kratom is inaccurate, or that different batches will fall within that range.

The figure is also relative to the measurement, not an additional 7.81 percentage points. For the reported mitragynine concentration of 1.88%, a relative uncertainty of 7.81% would amount to roughly 0.15 percentage points. The exact interpretation depends on the laboratory's calculation.

Heavy Metals Testing: What Does It Reveal?

Heavy metals can enter botanical products through the soil and water in which plants grow. Testing checks for specific metals that may pose health risks if exposure is excessive or prolonged. Jack Botanicals’ homogenized heavy metals Certificate of Analysis (COA) provides an example of how to read the results.

1. Laboratory name and contact details. This identifies the independent laboratory that carried out the analysis and provides its contact information if you have questions about the report.
2. Product description. This identifies the material tested. In this example, it is powder. Other certificates may cover gummies or extracts, so check that the description matches the product in question.
3. Heavy metals analyzed. The panel lists the specific metals tested. These include arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, as shown on this certificate. The results do not cover metals absent from the panel.
4. Method. The report lists IRL ICPMS. ICP-MS stands for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, a laboratory technique used to measure elements at low concentrations. The precise meaning of the IRL prefix needs confirmation from the laboratory.
5. MDL/LOQ. MDL means method detection limit, the lowest concentration the method can reliably detect. LOQ means limit of quantitation, the lowest concentration the laboratory can quantify with acceptable reliability. Neither figure is a safety threshold.
6. Specification. This field reads Record Only. The laboratory records the measured result without applying a pass/fail specification in this field. A separate, applicable limit is needed to assess whether the concentration is acceptable.
7. Results. These figures show the measured concentrations of the individual metals. For example, arsenic at 0.494 is a reported measurement, not an automatic indication that the product fails a safety standard. Interpretation depends on the relevant limit and the units reported.
8. UOM. This means unit of measure. Here, ppm stands for parts per million. For a solid sample, 1 ppm is equivalent to 1 milligram per kilogram.
9. Lab ID. The value 1 is a laboratory identifier used within the report. It is not a test result or a safety rating.

Microbial Testing: What The Results Tell You About Purity

Microbial testing checks a botanical product for specified microorganisms and measures microbial levels where required. The methods and acceptance criteria depend on the organisms tested and the type of product. We’re using Jack Botanicals’ microbial analysis CoA as an illustration of the information a laboratory report provides.

1. Laboratory name and contact details. Identifies the third-party laboratory responsible for the analysis and provides contact information for queries.
2. Date of analysis. Records when the laboratory conducted the tests.
3. Product description. Identifies the sample tested: in this case, MS Powder 7.
4. Microorganisms tested. Lists the specific microorganisms or microbial groups included in the panel.
5. Method. USP stands for United States Pharmacopeia, which publishes recognised testing standards. AOAC refers to AOAC INTERNATIONAL, which develops and validates analytical methods. These references identify the procedures used for the tests.
6. MDL/LOQ. MDL (Method Detection Limit) is the lowest level the test can reliably detect. LOQ (Limit of Quantitation) is the lowest level it can measure with acceptable accuracy and precision.
7. Specification. Results Only means the certificate reports findings without recording a pass/fail specification in this field.
8. Results. Absent generally indicates that a specified microorganism was not found in the test portion. None Detected means the test did not detect the target under the method's conditions. The distinction may reflect different test methods or reporting conventions; the laboratory can confirm its precise meaning.
9. UOM. CFU means colony-forming units, a measure of viable microorganisms. The notation specifies the quantity of product tested or the basis for reporting the result. A 10 g or 1 g basis may depend on the organism and test method used.

As with heavy metals testing, results apply to the sample analyzed, not automatically to every batch. A negative result also does not guarantee that the entire batch is free of microorganisms.

How to Read a Certificate of Analysis in Context

The three types of COA answer different questions. 

• Alkaloid tests report on the levels of specified alkaloids, which helps you understand the product's composition. 
• Heavy metals testing measures the particular metals listed on the report: you want them to be absent or undetectable. 
• Microbial analysis will confirm whether the product is free from specified microorganisms. No single panel covers every aspect of product quality, even if they are summarized onto one homogenized report.

The units and the way results are reported are important. Alkaloid concentrations may be expressed as percentages, while heavy metal analyses typically use parts per million (ppm). Microbial results may use colony-forming units (CFU) per gram, or report whether or not a specified organism was detected. Detection limits help explain what a laboratory can measure, but it's important to realize they are not safety limits.

The report should include acceptance criteria or a specification against which results can be assessed. A result alone does not establish compliance with any relevant safety standard. If the field is marked 'Record Only' or 'Results Only ', that does not, by itself, confirm a pass: it means no processing was carried out to change the sample.

Finally, the most important piece of evidence, that is easy to overlook, is the one that connects the certificate to the batch you received. Laboratory findings only apply to the sample tested. Unless the report identifies your batch, you cannot assume the results are identical for your order.  Even when the batch matches, the COA is evidence about the tested sample, not a guarantee of every aspect of the product's quality.

Where do I find the CoA for the product I’m about to buy or have just bought?

On some retailers’ websites, the CoA for the most recent batch of a particular product is easily accessible via a link. If there isn’t one, there may be a specific area of the site that displays all their latest lab results. If you can't find either of these, drop a line or make a quick call to their customer support team, who will be able to shoot one over to you quickly.

If you’ve already received your product and want to check its contents, check the lot or batch number, which links to that Certificate of Analysis. That way, you can link the packet you have in your hand to the certificate displayed by the retailer.

Look Beyond the Presence of a COA

The real value of a Certificate of Analysis lies in the evidence it provides of purity as well as the alkaloid content of your kratom.

With their commitment to transparency and quality, Jack Botanicals subjects every one of its products to rigorous third-party testing and makes the results readily available. This openness gives you a firmer basis for your purchasing decision than the mere presence of a certificate or a claim of ‘lab-testing’. Examine their laboratory findings for yourself and see what the tests reveal about the products.