June 26, 2026
Spencer W. Wheeler, Jonathan Dinsmore, Natalie L. Dyer
preprint
Salvia divinorum (salvia) is a powerful, unique psychedelic, with its psychoactive compound salvinorin A acting as a kappa opioid receptor agonist. The purpose of this study was to investigate the subjective effects of salvia in a large sample and to gather early data regarding the validity of the salvia experience checklist (SEC). Four hundred participants were recruited online through forums...
SSP Modern Pharmacy and Medicine
May 25, 2026
Nadiia Kutsenko
Salvia divinorum and Salvinorin A are an example of herbal psychoactive substances that combine high toxicological risk, rapid psychotropic action, and complexity of legal control. Their specific pharmacological profile, availability through online and informal markets, and perception as “natural” products create additional challenges for public health, forensic practice, and regulatory...
Biomedicines
February 21, 2026
Maximiliano Ganado, Carmen Rubio, Javier Pérez-villavicencio et al.
The neuropharmacology of psychedelics has traditionally focused on serotonergic mechanisms, particularly 5-HT2A receptor activation. However, this paradigm incompletely explains the diversity of neurobiological and therapeutic effects observed across psychedelic compounds. Non-classical psychedelics such as salvinorin A, the primary active constituent of Salvia divinorum, challenge this...
Translational Psychiatry
October 10, 2025
Wolfgang Emanuel Zürrer, Lionel Wettstein, Helena Aicher et al.
3 citations
Salvinorin A, the main psychoactive compound of Salvia divinorum, is a potent and selective kappa opioid receptor agonist. While human clinical trials remain limited, animal studies suggest potential therapeutic applications in neurological and psychiatric disorders. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to synthesize these preclinical findings, addressing three questions: (1) What is...
Universität Zürich, ZORA
October 10, 2025
Wolfgang Emanuel Zürrer, Lionel Wettstein, Helena Aicher et al.
Background: Salvinorin A, the main psychoactive compound of Salvia divinorum, is a potent and selective kappa opioid receptor agonist. While human clinical trials remain limited, animal studies suggest potential therapeutic applications in neurological and psychiatric disorders. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to synthesize these preclinical findings, addressing three questions:...
Int J Mol Sci
June 11, 2025
4 citations
Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant presenting a complex pharmacological profile, attracting significant scientific interest due to its potential therapeutic applications and associated health risks. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the toxic and therapeutic effects of S. divinorum, evaluating its potential medical applications while highlighting the risks associated with...
Plant communications
May 12, 2025
Ruoxi Lin, Haixiu Li, Yiren Xiao et al.
Salvia species native to the Americas are rich in valuable bioactive furanoclerodanes like the psychoactive salvinorin A found in Salvia divinorum, which is used in the treatment of opioid addiction. However, relatively little is known about their biosynthesis. To address this, we investigated the biosynthesis of salviarin, the most abundant furanoclerodane structure in the ornamental sage...
January 23, 2025
Mai M. Younis, Ahmed M. Elissawy, Samir M. Osman et al.
Salvia divinorum Epling & Játiva, commonly named diviner’s sage, magic mint, or mystic sage, is a potent hallucinogenic plant belonging to the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is endemic to Oaxaca, Mexico, and grown in California and other regions in the United States. It is a small to medium-sized shrub characterized by its distinctive thick quadrangular stem, elliptical large leaves, and violet...
Nat Chem
November 1, 2024
The original caretakers of salvinorin A and recognizing Indigenous contributions to science.
Indian Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
October 30, 2024
Aravind Ajid, Boban Babu, Abhijith G Jayachandran
Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant that produces intense hallucinations and is used as a recreational drug increasingly. The Mazatec Indians used it in spiritual healing sessions. The fact that the drug is easily available through the internet and the lack of restrictions on its use in many countries have contributed to its widespread abuse. There have also been reports of drugs being...
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
February 1, 2015
Hannah Steeds, Robin Carhart-Harris, James Stone
132 citations
Schizophrenia is a complex mental health disorder with positive, negative and cognitive symptom domains. Approximately one third of patients are resistant to currently available medication. New therapeutic targets and a better understanding of the basic biological processes that drive pathogenesis are needed in order to develop therapies that will improve quality of life for these patients....
Psychopharmacology
March 1, 2013
Katherine A Maclean, Matthew W Johnson, Chad J Reissig et al.
134 citations
Salvinorin A is a kappa opioid agonist and the principal psychoactive constituent of the plant Salvia divinorum, which has increased in popularity as a recreational drug over the past decade. Few human studies have examined salvinorin A. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the dose-related effects of inhaled salvinorin A in individuals with histories of hallucinogen use. Eight...
Journal of medical toxicology : official journal of the American College of Medical Toxicology
March 1, 2012
Christopher D Rosenbaum, Stephanie P Carreiro, Kavita M. Babu
356 citations
Despite their widespread Internet availability and use, many of the new drugs of abuse remain unfamiliar to health care providers. The herbal marijuana alternatives, like K2 or Spice, are a group of herbal blends that contain a mixture of plant matter in addition to chemical grade synthetic cannabinoids. The synthetic cathinones, commonly called "bath salts," have resulted in nationwide...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
May 1, 2011
Matthew W Johnson, Katherine A Maclean, Chad J Reissig et al.
134 citations
Salvinorin A is a potent, selective nonnitrogenous kappa opioid agonist and the known psychoactive constituent of Salvia divinorum, a member of the mint family that has been used for centuries by Mazatec shamans of Mexico for divination and spiritual healing. S. divinorum has over the last several years gained increased popularity as a recreational drug. This is a double-blind, placebo...
British Journal of Pharmacology
May 5, 2009
Daniela Braida, Valeria Capurro, Alessia Zani et al.
145 citations
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Drugs targeting brain kappa-opioid receptors produce profound alterations in mood. In the present study we investigated the possible anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects of the kappa-opioid receptor agonist salvinorin A, the main active ingredient of Salvia divinorum, in rats and mice. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Experiments were performed on male Sprague-Dawley rats...
Clinical Toxicology
2008
Kavita M. Babu, Christopher R Mccurdy, Edward W Boyer
221 citations
Salvia divinorum and Mitragyna speciosa ("Kratom"), two unscheduled dietary supplements whose active agents are opioid receptor agonists, have discrete psychoactive effects that have contributed to their increasing popularity. Salvia divinorum contains the highly selective kappa- opioid receptor agonist salvinorin A; this compound produces visual hallucinations and synesthesia. Mitragynine, the...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
November 8, 2006
Débora González, Jordi Riba, José Carlos Bouso et al.
163 citations
Salvia divinorum is a member of the Lamiaceae family and contains the psychotropic diterpene and kappa-opioid receptor agonist salvinorin-A. Originally a shamanic inebriant used by the Mexican Mazatec Indians, the plant and its preparations are becoming increasingly popular among non-traditional users. Demographic data and information on pattern of use and subjective effects were obtained by...
Life Sciences
December 22, 2005
Thomas E Prisinzano
128 citations
At present, the Mexican mint Salvia divinorum is an unregulated hallucinogen. This has resulted in various on-line botanical companies advertising and selling S. divinorum as a legal alternative to other regulated plant hallucinogens. It is predictable that its misuse will increase rapidly. The active ingredient in S. divinorum is the neoclerodane diterpene, salvinorin A (1a), which has been...
Psychopharmacology
May 1, 2005
Yong Zhang, Eduardo R Butelman, Stefan D Schlussman et al.
198 citations
Salvinorin A is a naturally occurring hallucinogen derived from the plant Salvia divinorum. Salvinorin A is also a potent and selective kappa opioid receptor agonist in vitro. It has been shown that kappa agonists decrease dopamine levels in the caudate putamen and nucleus accumbens and cause conditioned place aversion in rodents. To study the effects of salvinorin A on basal dopamine levels in...
The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics
March 1, 2004
Charles Chavkin, Sumit Sud, Wenzhen Jin et al.
212 citations
The diterpene salvinorin A from Salvia divinorum has recently been reported to be a high-affinity and selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist (Roth et al., 2002). Salvinorin A and selected derivatives were found to be potent and efficacious agonists in several measures of agonist activity using cloned human kappa-opioid receptors expressed in human embryonic kidney-293 cells. Thus, salvinorin...
Trends in Pharmacological Sciences
March 1, 2003
Douglas J Sheffler, Bryan L. Roth
151 citations
Salvinorin A, a neoclerodane diterpene, is the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen known and rivals the synthetic hallucinogen lysergic acid diethylamide in potency. Recently, the molecular target of salvinorin A was identified as the kappa opioid receptor (KOR). Salvinorin A represents the only known non-nitrogenous KOR selective agonist. Based on the selectivity of salvinorin A for...
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
Salvia divinorum, whose main active ingredient is the neoclerodane diterpene Salvinorin A, is a hallucinogenic plant in the mint family that has been used in traditional spiritual practices for its psychoactive properties by the Mazatecs of Oaxaca, Mexico. More recently, S. divinorum extracts and Salvinorin A have become more widely used in the U.S. as legal hallucinogens. We discovered that...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
1994
Leander J. Valdés
147 citations
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 United States 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...
The Journal of Organic Chemistry
November 1, 1984
Leander J. Valdés, William M. Butler, George M. Hatfield et al.
174 citations
ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTDivinorin A, a psychotropic terpenoid, and divinorin B from the hallucinogenic Mexican mint, Salvia divinorumLeander J. Valdes III, William M. Butler, George M. Hatfield, Ara G. Paul, and Masato KoreedaCite this: J. Org. Chem. 1984, 49, 24, 4716–4720Publication Date (Print):November 1, 1984Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published...