The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center - Shroomery

Ps94amay99
Salvia divinorum and the Unique Diterpene Hallucinogen,
Salvinorin (Divinorin) A
Leander J. Valdés III *
(HTML rendering by Arachnophilia)
Journal of Psychoactive drugs 26 (3) (1994): 277-283
Abstract - Salvia divinorum is a vision inducing mint used by the Mazatec people of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is grown in California
and other parts of the USA where it is employed as a legal hallucinogen. Traditional opinion has been that the plant has mild
psychotropic activity, at best. However, when ingested in the correct manner, it is quite powerful. The fresh leaves are chewed
as a quid and kept in the mouth. They may also be eaten raw or prepared as an aqueous infusion. When dried, they are smoked
in the manner of marijuana. The neoclerodane diterpene, salvinorin A (also known as divinorin A), has been demonstrated in
animals and humans to be its major active ingredient. Essentially inactive if taken orally, the compound is effective in doses of
200 to 500 mcg when smoked in a manner similar to cocaine free base. This makes salvinorin A the first documented diterpene
hallucinogen and the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen thus far isolated. This is somewhat remarkable, since the
compound is not an alkaloid. The article reviews the use of S. divinorum and its chemistry. It discusses the effects of the plant
and salvinorin A in animals and humans, as well as their potentials to become drugs of abuse.
Keywords - diterpene, divinorin A, hallucinogen, Salvia divinorum, salvinorin A
------------------------------------------------------------
*SMP Research, P.O. Box 7705, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107-7705
The author would like to thank Daniel Siebert, of the Ethnobotanical Research Institute, for making his manuscript on the
effects of S. divinorum and salvinorin A available. I would also like to thank everyone cited with personal communications. I
will forever owe Don Alejandro and Felipe and their families.
http://www.sagewisdom.org/valdes94.html (1 of 9) [04.09.01 10:21:51]