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Lack of effect of sublingual salvinorin A, a naturally occurring kappa opioid, in humans: a placebo-controlled trial.

John Mendelson, Jeremy Coyle, Juan Carlos Lopez, Matthew J. Baggott, Keith Flower, E Thomas Everhart, Thomas A Munro, Gantt P. Galloway, Bruce M Cohen

Psychopharmacology April 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-2103-5 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Placebo-controlled ascending-dose design Peer reviewed
Sample size 8
Population Salvia divinorum-experienced subjects
Intervention Salvinorin A
Dose up to 4 mg
Topics Salvia divinorum
Keywords Bioavailability Sublingual administration Pharmacology
Citations 40
Key points Sublingual salvinorin A at doses up to 4 mg produced no greater physiological or subjective effects than placebo and had low bioavailability.

Abstract

Salvinorin A (SA) is a highly selective kappa opioid receptor agonist and the putative psychoactive compound in Salvia divinorum (SD), an increasingly abused hallucinogenic plant. The objectives of this study were to characterize the physiological and subjective effects of SA versus placebo and measure drug and metabolite levels. Sublingual SA doses up to 4 mg were administered in dimethyl sulfoxide/polyethylene glycol 400 solution to eight SD-experienced subjects using a placebo-controlled ascending-dose design. No dose of SA produced significantly greater physiological or subjective effects than placebo. Furthermore, effects did not resemble reported "typical" effects of smoked SD. SA was detectable in plasma and urine, but was, in most cases, below the reliable limit of quantification (0.5 ng/mL). Our results suggest that the sublingual bioavailability of SA is low. Higher doses, alternate formulations, or alternate routes of administration will be necessary to study the effects of SA in humans.

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on salvia divinorum, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Dose-related effects of salvinorin A in humans: dissociative, hallucinogenic, and memory effects. Healthy hallucinogen-using adults 2013 Double-blind, placebo-controlled study n = 8
Human psychopharmacology and dose-effects of salvinorin A, a kappa opioid agonist hallucinogen present in the plant Salvia divinorum. Psychologically and physically healthy hallucinogen-using adults 2011 Double-blind, placebo controlled study n = 4
Dose-related behavioral, subjective, endocrine, and psychophysiological effects of the κ opioid agonist Salvinorin A in humans. Healthy individuals who had previously used Salvia 2012 Randomized controlled trial n = 10
Salvinorin-A Induces Intense Dissociative Effects, Blocking External Sensory Perception and Modulating Interoception and Sense of Body Ownership in Humans Healthy volunteers with previous experience in the use of psychedelics 2015 Placebo-controlled dose-escalation study n = 8
Acute and post-acute behavioral and psychological effects of salvinorin A in humans. Middle-aged, well-educated, hallucinogen-experienced adults 2012 Randomized controlled trial n = 30

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Salvia divinorum