Salvinorin A and derivatives: protection from metabolism does not prolong short-term, whole-brain residence.
Neuropharmacology September 2009 Jacob M Hooker, Thomas A Munro, Cécile Béguin et al.
Salvinorin A (SA) is a potent kappa opioid agonist with a brief duration of action. Consistent with this, our previous positron emission tomography (PET) studies of carbon-11 labeled SA showed that brain levels decrease rapidly after intravenous administration. SA is rapidly metabolized, giving the much less potent salvinorin B (SB), which is presumed to be responsible in part for SA's brief...