Analysis of the smoke of cigarettes containing Salvia divinorum.
Journal of analytical toxicology September 1, 2014 John L Krstenansky, Miguel Muzzio
Smoking dried Salvia divinorum leaf delivers only about 5% of the salvinorin A present in the plant material. An 830 mg cigarette containing roughly 2.7 mg of salvinorin A delivered on average 133 μg of the compound in the smoke. Hydrolysis converts some salvinorin A to inactive salvinorin B during smoking, with more salvinorin B (217 μg) than salvinorin A (133 μg) delivered per cigarette. Because smoking produces hallucinogenic effects and salvinorin A is the presumed active ingredient, the estimated effective inhaled dose is less than 133 μg per person. Rapid metabolism in the body means the dose reaching the brain is substantially lower.