Salvinorin A, the active compound in the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum, produces its effects through kappa opioid receptors. In experiments with male Sprague-Dawley rats trained to discriminate between two different kappa opioid agonists (U69,593 or U50,488), salvinorin A and two synthetic derivatives of salvinorin B fully substituted for the training drugs, indicating they produce similar internal sensations. Additional rats trained to discriminate salvinorin A also recognized the other kappa agonists. These results confirm that salvinorin A's discriminative stimulus effects are mediated by kappa receptors, supporting the potential use of salvinorin A analogs as therapeutic agents for conditions like drug dependence and mood disorders.
Salvinorin A, the active compound in Salvia divinorum, is an atypical hallucinogen that selectively binds to kappa opioid receptors and is structurally distinct from other opioids. In a drug discrimination study, 16 male rats trained to recognize either LSD or ketamine did not generalize to salvinorin A, meaning the rats did not treat it as similar to those hallucinogens. This supports evidence that salvinorin A is pharmacologically distinct from traditional hallucinogens like LSD and ketamine, offering a unique tool for studying the neurochemical mechanisms of hallucination.