Salvia divinorum: a psychopharmacological riddle and a mind-body prospect.
Current drug abuse reviews March 1, 2013 Jose-Luis Diaz 17 citations
A multidisciplinary investigation of Salvia divinorum and its active compound salvinorin A examines whether the plant's ethnobotany, chemistry, mental effects, and neuropharmacology explain its experienced effects and divinatory uses. Field research from 1973-1983 describes traditional Mazatec practices where a water potion of crushed leaves produced short-lasting light-headedness, dysphoria, tactile and proprioceptive sensations, depersonalization, amplified sound perception, and increased visual and auditory imagery, but not actual hallucinations. These effects are attributable to salvinorin A but cannot be explained solely by its potent kappa-opioid receptor agonist activity.