Salvia divinorum

Salvia divinorum (also known as diviner's sage, ska María Pastora or simply salvia) is a psychoactive plant, a member of the sage genus and the Lamiaceae (mint) family. The plant is grown by the Mazatec indigenous people of the Oaxaca mountains of southern Mexico in isolated, moist and secret plots. It has been used by their shamans for centuries for healing during spirit journeys. It is thought to be a cultigen. No definitively wild populations have been found. The Latin name Salvia divinorum literally translates as "sage of the divine ones" or "sage of the divinely inspired ones".

Related Topics:
Sage - Genus - Lamiaceae - Mint - Family - Mazatec - Oaxaca - Mexico - Shaman - Cultigen

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The primary psychoactive constituent is a neoclerodane diterpene known as salvinorin A. Salvia also contains the closely related compounds salvinorins B-G, divinatorins A-E, salvinicins A and B, and hardwickiic acid. Salvinorin A is the most potent naturally-occurring hallucinogen known. It is active at doses as low as 100 µg.http://www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia_faq.shtml Recent research has shown that salvinorin A is a remarkably potent and selective kappa opioid receptor agonist. It has been demonstrated that the effects of salvinorin A are blocked by kappa opioid receptor antagonists. This indicates that the effects of S. divinorum can be largely, if not entirely, attributed to kappa agonism. Salvinorin A is unique in that it is the only naturally occurring substance known to induce a visionary state via this mechanism of action.

Related Topics:
Psychoactive - Salvinorin A - Hallucinogen - µg - Opioid receptor - Agonist - Antagonists

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