Salvinorin A: a potent naturally occurring nonnitrogenous kappa opioid selective agonist.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America September 3, 2002 Bryan L. Roth, Karen Baner, Richard B Westkaemper et al. 782 citations
Salvinorin A, the active compound in the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum, potently and selectively activates kappa opioid receptors while having no effect on the serotonin 5-HT(2A) receptor targeted by classical hallucinogens like LSD. This makes it the first known naturally occurring nonnitrogenous opioid-receptor subtype-selective agonist. Because Salvinorin A produces perceptual distortions, the findings suggest that kappa opioid receptors play a key role in modulating human perception and that kappa opioid-selective antagonists could be developed as novel treatments for disorders involving perceptual distortions, such as schizophrenia, dementia, and bipolar disorders.