Salvinorin A

Other Names DivinorinA Substance type: diterpene (derodane) Salvinorin A is the active constituent in Salvia divinorum. Apart from THe and the constituents in essential oils, it is the only known nonnitrogenous psychoactive plant constituent. Salvinorin is not an alkaloid. The substance was first described by Ortega et al., who named it salvinorin (1982). The same substance was subsequently described under the name divinorin A (Valdes et al. 1984). Salvinorin A is extracted from fresh plant material. The effective dosage is between 200 and 500 /-Lg. Salvinorin A can be smoked in a glass pipe; a better technique involves vaporizing the plant and then inhaling the fumes. It can also be taken in solution under the tongue. When the substance is smoked or inhaled, the effects are immediately apparent, and the primary effects last from five to ten minutes. When it is administered sublingually, the effects become manifest after about ninety seconds and reach their peak some ten to fifteen minutes later, after which they gradually diminish (Turner 1996). The potent and strange psychoactive effects of salvinorin A were probably discovered by Daniel Siebert: Salvinorin A is an extremely powerful compound for altering consciousness. In fact, it is the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen that has been isolated to date. But before potential experimenters become too interested, it must be clearly stated that the effects are often extremely unnerving and that there is a very real risk that persons may physically harm themselves when using it.... I have seen people get up and jump across the room, thereby falling over the furniture, babbling incomprehensible nonsense, and hitting their heads against the wall. Several people tried to leave the house. When the experience was over, they did not remember what had happened. In fact, they actually believed that they remembered entirely different events. To an outside observer, it appears as though these people have an emptyexpression in their eyes, as though they are not present (and perhaps they really are not). (Siebert 1995,4) This description is strongly remInIscent of phenomena that occur with high dosages (overdoses) of nightshades (Atropa belladonna, Brugmansia spp., Hyoscyamus niger, Datura spp.) and the tropane alkaloids atropine and scopolamine. Most subjects have no desire at all to repeat an experiment with salvinorin. The neurochemistry of salvinorin A is still unresolved. In spite of extensive receptor testing (NovaScreen method), salvinorin A has not been found to bind to any known neurotransmitter receptors, including the receptor that ketamine occupies (David Nichols, pers. comm.). The daring and extreme experiments of D. M. Turner suggest that salvinorin A does not have any negative crosstolerance with other psychoactive substances (such as LSD, N,N-DMT, ketamine) (Turner 1996).

Commercial Forms and Regulations None Literature See also the entries for Coleus blumei, Salvia divinorum, and diterpenes. Ortega, A., J. F. Blount, and P. S. Marchand. 1982. Salvinorin, a new trans-neoclerodane diterpene from Salvia divinorum (Labiatae). Journal ofthe Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 1:2505-8. Siebert, Daniel J. 1995. Salvinorin A: Vorsicht geboten. Entheogene 3:4-5. Turner, D. M. 1996. Salvinorin: The psychedelic essence ofSalvia divinorum. San Francisco: Panther Press. Valdes, Leander, William M. Butler, George M. Hatfield, Ara G. Paul, and Masato Koreeda. 1984. Divinorin A, a psychotropic terpenoid, and divinorin Bfrom the hallucinogenic Mexican mint Salvia divinorum. Journal ofOrganic Chemistry 49 (24): 4716-20.