The Benefits of Kanna

Traditionally gathered from the wild by the San and Khoi tribespeople in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, kanna or Sceletium Tortuosum is becoming a household name across many developed nations of the world. From mood-enhancement to improved quality of sleep, discover four of kanna’s proven wellness benefits.

Kanna’s Benefits Explained for Science Nerds…

Before diving into the benefits themselves, let’s begin by explaining the mechanisms through which Sceletium Tortuosum achieves its effects. If you’re not into the gritty details, feel free to skip to the next section about what all of this does in practice!

Like Mitragyna Speciosa, kanna contains several known alkaloids that act on the brain to block the pathways that make you anxious and keep that feel-good serotonin circulating. To date, scientists have isolated around 31 alkaloids from the Sceletium plant genus, and all contribute to the plant’s effects. Some of the primary alkaloids include:

• Mesembrine
• Mesembrenone
• Mesembrinol
• Sceletenone

Out of these four alkaloids, mesembrine and mesembrenone appear to be responsible for most of the benefits of kanna by inhibiting 5-HT transporters (serotonin transporters) and PDE4 in the brain. Let’s now explore what all of this means.

Find Your Center

Having a stressful day/week/month/year? Reports, as well as scientific research, indicate that kanna’s benefits could really help. In modern times as much as tribal usage, people around the world are using kanna to help calm their racing thoughts and find their center ahead of a stressful situation.

What this is talking about is the kind of worry you feel when your brain is stressed leading up to a specific situation like an exam, an interview, or moving house. By working on the amygdala — which regulates emotions and fear — and reducing feelings of stress, kanna not only helps you to calm down and focus while you’re studying but also allows you to feel calmer and think more clearly during exams. This makes kanna an ideal study buddy.

Boost Your Brainpower

Kanna helps with cognition — placing the plant among our favorite nootropics. When used by cognitively-healthy middle-aged adults, kanna improved executive function and cognitive flexibility without having a marked effect on memory, reaction speed, or complex concentration abilities compared to a placebo.

Enhance Your Mood

We’ve seen the benefits of kanna for calming the mind and boosting cognition, but where kanna really shines is in its ability to improve your sense of wellbeing.

In one randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial of kanna extract (Zembrin®) in healthy adults, the participants spontaneously reported a heightened sense of wellbeing as well as an improved ability to cope with stress and a better overall quality of sleep. If a good sleep isn’t enough to enhance your mood (we hear you!), kanna seems to boost mood in another important way as well — by stimulating the release and recycling of serotonin, the “feel-good” hormone in the body, and stopping it from breaking down.

While the study we mentioned was in healthy adults (similar to this study from 2014), there could be hope for people experiencing a variety of symptoms, too. In a study published in 2017, older subjects who used the Zembrin® kanna extract daily for a period of six weeks showed signs of improved concentration, focus, and motivation.

Sleep Like a Baby

After a full day enjoying kanna’s benefits for cheering up your mood and boosting your brainpower, enjoy its nocturnal benefits that can help you to have a good night’s sleep. As mentioned in the randomized study above, kanna improved the participants’ sleep as well as their mood and coping abilities. The cognitive study also confirms these results with subjects experiencing “significant improvements in subjective reports of sleep quality.”

Boost Your Wellness with Organic Kanna

Ready to harness kanna’s benefits for a happier, calmer, and more centered life? Kratora is proud to offer both fermented and unfermented kanna in our premium collection of kratom alternatives. We generally find that fermented kanna is a stronger option for experienced kratom fans while unfermented kanna provides a gentler and subtler lift when you’re just starting out or are especially sensitive. Our kanna extract 10x offers the greatest economy to those kanna enthusiasts who are very experienced.

Whether you’re a confirmed aficionado of kanna’s benefits or completely new to kanna, we invite you to purchase this must-have addition to your wellness collection and discover its uniquely calming aroma.

At Kratora, all of our products are:

• Organically grown
• Socially responsible
• Packaged fresh
• Guaranteed for 30 days

Shop with us today to receive same-day shipping on orders submitted before 3 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays (excluding holidays).

Please note that the US FDA has not approved kratom to be sold for human consumption, sold for external use only. The statements in this article have not been evaluated by the FDA. None of the products sold on our website are intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.

Want to learn more about kratom quality and value? Start here:
Why Buying Cheap Kratom Can Be Dangerous