title: Analysis of the smoke of cigarettes containing Salvia divinorum.
abstract: Salvia divinorum is a hallucinogen sold over the internet in several forms. Perhaps the most common method of use is smoking the dried leaf material. The sole presumed active constituent, salvinorin A, is a selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist. Upon smoking of the dried leaf material, some of the salvinorin A is destroyed or converted to other materials, leaving in question the actual amount of salvinorin A delivered that leads to the psychotomimetic effect. On average, 133 μg of salvinorin A was delivered in the smoke from an 830 mg per cigarette, which contained ∼2.7 mg of salvinorin A. Hence, only ∼5% of the salvinorin A available in the dried plant material was delivered in the smoke. Upon smoking, hydrolysis of salvinorin A to salvinorin B, an inactive and minor component of the leaf material, also occurs as evidenced by a higher delivered amount of salvinorin B vs salvinorin A (217 vs 133 μg per cigarette). Since smoking is an effective means of achieving the hallucinogenic effect and salvinorin A is the presumed sole active ingredient in the plant, the estimated effective dose of salvinorin A by inhalation is <133 μg per person. Considering the reported rapid metabolism of salvinorin A in vivo, the dose reaching the brain would be substantially less.
authors.affiliation: Keck Graduate Institute School of Pharmacy, 535 Watson Drive, Claremont, CA 91711, USA john_krstenansky@kgi.edu.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Krstenansky
authors.affiliation: IIT Research Institute, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60616, USA.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muzzio
mesh_terms: D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D004224:Diterpenes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D045785:Diterpenes, Clerodane / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D057230:Limit of Detection; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D027544:Salvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000378:metabolism*; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004224:Diterpenes; D045785:Diterpenes, Clerodane; D012906:Smoke; C508456:salvinorin B; C090499:salvinorin A