Kava vs kratom: what's the difference?

They're different plants with different active compounds, and they're often confused because both are sold in the same shops.

Kava

• Piper methysticum — a pepper relative, from the Pacific Islands
• Root is the part used
• Active compounds: kavalactones
• GABA-related receptor activity
• Traditionally drunk socially and ceremonially
• Legal federally in the US

Kratom

• Mitragyna speciosa — a coffee relative, from Southeast Asia
• Leaf is the part used
• Active compounds: mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine
• Opioid-receptor activity
• Traditionally chewed by labourers; also used medicinally
• Federally legal, but banned or restricted in some states and cities

The key distinction is mechanism. Kratom's active alkaloids act on opioid receptors. Kava's kavalactones don't — they work through a different pathway entirely. That difference is why the two have different regulatory treatment and why they're discussed very differently in the literature.

Kavayn products contain kava only. No kratom, and nothing else with an active effect.