How to Read a Kanna COA (Certificate of Analysis)

TL;DR: A kanna COA has five lines that matter: total alkaloids (the headline percentage), the mesembrine and mesembrenone split (the profile), heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury in ppm), micro (yeast, mold, coliforms, salmonella, E. coli) and the lot number that ties it all to your jar. Total alkaloids tells you how much; the mesembrine to mesembrenone ratio tells you what kind. A 17 percent extract and a 5.5 percent extract can both be excellent. They are just built for different things.

We publish a certificate of analysis for every kanna extract batch on our lab reports page. Customers open them, see a wall of numbers and close them again. This post reads one with you, line by line, using two of our own products as worked examples.

Line 1: the lot number

Before anything else, match the lot on the COA to the lot on your jar. A COA is a test of one sample from one batch. It does not describe the product in general, it describes that batch. If the numbers do not match, the report is not for your jar. We print the lot on every label for this reason.

Line 2: total alkaloids

This is the percentage on the front of the product. It is the combined weight of all mesembrine-type alkaloids as a percent of the powder. A 5.5 percent extract has 55 mg of alkaloids per gram; a 17 percent extract has 170 mg per gram.

For scale, a 2012 survey of 151 wild plants from 31 South African sites found total alkaloids in raw plant material ranging from 0.11 to 1.99 percent of dry weight. So a 5 percent extract is already several times stronger than the strongest plant, and 17 percent is roughly ten times a good wild specimen.

Two things to check. First, that the number is a measured percentage, not a ratio like "55x" or "100:1." A ratio says how much plant went in, not how much alkaloid came out, and since plants vary by a factor of 18, a ratio tells you almost nothing. Second, that the units are % w/w. Some labs report mg/g, which is the same thing divided by ten.

Line 3: mesembrine and mesembrenone

Under total alkaloids, a good COA breaks the number into individual compounds. Usually four: mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol and mesembranol. Sometimes delta-7 mesembrenone is listed separately.

This is where the character lives. Mesembrine is the strongest serotonin reuptake inhibitor of the group and is the one people describe as bright and social. Mesembrenone is softer and people describe it as calm and warm. The 2012 chemotype study found wild plants where mesembrine was 51 to 92 percent of the alkaloid total and others where mesembrenone was 51 to 72 percent, so the plant itself comes in both flavors and an extract can lean either way.

Read the ratio, not just the total. Two 5 percent extracts with opposite ratios will feel like two different products.

Worked example 1: IGNITE 17%

IGNITE is our highest-potency powder at 17 percent total alkaloids, and its profile is nearly all mesembrine. On the COA that reads as a large mesembrine line with the other three alkaloids down near the detection limit. What that means in practice: 170 mg of alkaloids per gram, so a 10 mg micro scoop carries about 1.7 mg of nearly pure mesembrine. It is a precision tool. People use it in very small amounts and it reads as sharp and energetic.

Worked example 2: Glow MZQ 5.5%

Glow MZQ is 5.5 percent total alkaloids, also mesembrine-forward but with more of the supporting alkaloids left in. That is 55 mg per gram, so a 50 mg serving carries about 2.75 mg of alkaloids. Compared with IGNITE, the mesembrine line is smaller and the mesembrenone and mesembrenol lines are meaningful rather than trace. It reads as a rounder, more forgiving version of the same direction.

Same plant, same lab, two COAs that tell you exactly why one product is a scalpel and the other is a daily driver.

Line 4: heavy metals

This section lists lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, reported in parts per million (ppm) or mg/kg, which are the same unit. Kanna is a succulent that pulls minerals from dry, sometimes mineral-heavy soil, so this test is not a formality.

Each metal has a result and a specification. A typical spec for a botanical extract is under 0.5 to 1 ppm lead, under 1 ppm arsenic, under 0.5 ppm cadmium and under 0.1 ppm mercury, but the spec on the sheet is what governs. The result should be below the spec. If the result says "<0.05" that is the lab's reporting limit, not zero. NIST defines a detection limit as the point below which a signal cannot be reliably told apart from instrument noise, so "not detected" always means "not detected at this sensitivity."

Line 5: microbiology

The micro panel usually runs total aerobic plate count, yeast and mold, coliforms, E. coli and salmonella. Counts are in CFU/g, colony-forming units per gram. Salmonella and E. coli should read "absent" or "negative" in a stated sample size, often 10 g or 25 g. Yeast and mold specs for powders commonly sit under 1,000 CFU/g. Fermented kanna deserves a close look here, since fermentation is a microbial process and the drying step is what stops it.

What is not on a kanna COA

An alkaloid COA does not test for adulterants unless a separate screen is listed. Ephedrine and hordenine have been found in some commercial kanna products, and a standard potency test would not flag them. If you see a "foreign alkaloid screen" or "adulterant panel" line, that is what it covers. Pesticides and residual solvents are also separate tests. A sheet that only shows total alkaloids is a potency test, not a safety test.

For what US manufacturers are required to test, 21 CFR 111.75 spells out identity, purity, strength, composition and contaminant limits for dietary supplements. A full COA follows that list.

A 30 second checklist

• Lot number matches the jar
• Total alkaloids is a percentage, not a ratio
• Mesembrine and mesembrenone are listed separately
• Four heavy metals, each below its spec
• Micro panel present, salmonella and E. coli absent
• Lab name and report date on the page

Any kanna extract that passes that list is a product you can measure. Anything that fails it is a guess.

Keep reading: How to Read a Botanical Lab Report and What the Percentages Really Mean.

Disclaimer. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Traditional use of a botanical does not establish that it will produce any particular result. Consult your healthcare provider before use if you take any medication or have a medical condition. For adults 21 and over. Keep out of reach of children.