The active principle in Salvia divinorum is salvinorin A, a trans-neoclarodane
diterpenoid.
O
____//
___
O \
O \\___/
H_\____
|___/
/\ / \
--- H
\____/_CH3 \
\ /
H_\____/_CH3
/ \
_/ \__C=O
O-\ / |
\____/ OCH3
/
O=C-O
|
CH3
Salvinorin A is active in humans at
200-500 micrograms, and is thus many times more potent than any other
plant-based hallucinogen. Doses of 1000mg/kg in mice did not
produce fatalities (this is 5000 times the effective dose for humans!)
Salvinorin A may be extracted from
fresh or dried leaves [...]