Acute physiologic and chronic histologic changes in rats and mice exposed to the unique hallucinogen salvinorin A.
Mark Mowry, Michael Mosher, Wayne Briner
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2003 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2003.10400021 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats and mice |
| Intervention | Salvinorin A |
| Dose | 1600 mcg/kg (rats); 400, 800, 1600, 3200, or 6400 mcg/kg (mice) |
| Duration | 100 minutes (rats); two weeks (mice) |
| Topics | Salvia divinorum |
| Keywords | Physical impact Acute exposure Chronic organ changes Tissue damage Toxicity Rats Mice High doses Investigation Researchers Acute physiological effects Long-term physiological effects Heart function Body temperature Brain Kidney |
| Citations | 54 |
| Key points | Salvinorin A showed no significant histologic changes or acute physiological effects at high doses, suggesting low physical toxicity. |
Abstract
Salvinorin A is a unique hallucinogen that is seeing increased use in humans. It is not currently a controlled substance and is used as a legal alternative to controlled substances. Usually smoked or buccally absorbed by chewing, doses of approximately 200 mcg can produce profound hallucinogenic effects of short duration. The mechanism of action of salvinorin A is at the kappa-opioid receptor. Little data is available on the medical effects of this substance so animal studies were undertaken to explore the acute toxic effects of this substance in rats and the chronic effects in mice. Rats were anesthetized and administered salvinorin A at 1600 mcg/kg or vehicle. Recordings were made of galvanic skin response, EKG, temperature, and pulse pressure for 100 minutes. Mice were chronically exposed to vehicle or 400, 800, 1600, 3200, or 6400 mcg/kg of salvinorin A for two weeks. After exposure the animals were sacrificed and brain, heart, kidney, bone marrow, blood and spleen were removed, fixed, sectioned, stained and examined by light microscopy. No effects were seen on cardiac conduction, temperature, or galvanic skin response. A nonsignificant rise was seen in pulse pressure. Histologic studies of spleen, blood, brain, liver, kidney, and bone marrow did not find any significant histologic changes at any of the doses examined. These data suggests that the toxicity of salvinorin A is relatively low, even at doses many times greater than what humans are exposed to. However, further studies should be done on blood pressure effects. The psychological impact of this potent hallucinogen should also be investigated.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on salvia divinorum, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effects of the plant-derived hallucinogen salvinorin A on basal dopamine levels in the caudate putamen and in a conditioned place aversion assay in mice: agonist actions at kappa opioid receptors. Mice | 2005 | Experimental study | |
| Potential anxiolytic‐ and antidepressant‐like effects of salvinorin A, the main active ingredient of Salvia divinorum, in rodents Male Sprague-Dawley rats and male Albino Swiss mice | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Involvement of kappa-opioid and endocannabinoid system on Salvinorin A-induced reward. Wistar rats | 2008 | Experimental study | |
| Role of kappa-opioid receptors in the effects of salvinorin A and ketamine on attention in rats. Rats | 2010 | Experimental study | |
| The plant-derived hallucinogen, salvinorin A, produces kappa-opioid agonist-like discriminative effects in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys | 2004 | Experimental study | n = 3 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 37
- Potential anxiolytic‐ and antidepressant‐like effects of salvinorin A, the main active ingredient of Salvia divinorum, in rodents British Journal of Pharmacology May 5, 2009
- Human psychopharmacology and dose-effects of salvinorin A, a kappa opioid agonist hallucinogen present in the plant Salvia divinorum. Drug and Alcohol Dependence May 1, 2011
- Psychopharmacology of the hallucinogenic sage Salvia divinorum. Life Sciences December 22, 2005
- Involvement of kappa-opioid and endocannabinoid system on Salvinorin A-induced reward. Biological Psychiatry February 1, 2008
- New psychoactive substances of natural origin: A brief review Journal of Food and Drug Analysis April 18, 2017
and 32 more in the library
Cites 5
- Salvinorin A: a potent naturally occurring nonnitrogenous kappa opioid selective agonist. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences September 3, 2002
- Divinorin A, a psychotropic terpenoid, and divinorin B from the hallucinogenic Mexican mint, Salvia divinorum The Journal of Organic Chemistry November 1, 1984
- Salvia divinorum: an hallucinogenic mint which might become a new recreational drug in Switzerland. Forensic Science International August 14, 2000
- The Absolute Stereochemistry of Salvinorins Chemistry Letters November 1, 1990
- Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A: new pharmacologic findings. Journal of Ethnopharmacology June 1, 1994