Biosynthesis of salvinorin A proceeds via the deoxyxylulose phosphate pathway.
Phytochemistry July 1, 2007 Lukasz Kutrzeba, Franck E Dayan, J'Lynn Howell et al. 45 citations
Salvinorin A, a potent kappa-opioid receptor agonist from the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum, is biosynthesized via the 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate (DXP) pathway, not the classic mevalonic acid pathway. This was determined by feeding microshoots with isotopically labeled precursors and analyzing the resulting salvinorin A (2.7 mg from 200 microshoots) using NMR and HR-ESI-MS. Incorporation of labeled glucose and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose confirmed the DXP pathway, while labeled methionine showed that methylation of the C-4 carboxyl group is catalyzed by a type III S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent O-methyltransferase.