Salvia divinorum: an hallucinogenic mint which might become a new recreational drug in Switzerland
Introduction
During a recent fire of a private home, two unknown coleus-like shrubs at the vegetative stage were found together with an illicit, indoor, large-scale hemp cultivation. A plant sample was collected and subjected to botanical and chemical investigations.
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Botany
The unknown plants were about 0.5 m in height. The leaves were about 15 cm long, ovate, dentate and acuminate, opposite and decussated. The fleshy stems were quadrangular with characteristic flanged angles. Their morphology was typical of plants belonging to the Lamiaceae family.
Toxicological analyses
All chemicals and solvents used were analytical reagent grade.
Results
Beside sugars, fatty acids, vitamins and plant sterols, one mass spectrum from the total ion chromatogram of the acetylated basic extract of the fresh plant was tentatively identified as divinorin with the Wiley database. This compound turned out to be a furanolactone neoclerodane diterpene already known as the main active drug of Salvia divinorum, a plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family. Its chemical structure is shown in Fig. 1. Divinorin [1] is also called divinorin A, its chemical
Discussion
Salvia divinorum is employed as a shamanic inebriant by the Mazatec Indians of the Mexican state of Oaxaca [3]. This plant is known from the Indians as the ‘leaves of Mary, the Shepherdess’. They believe it allows them to travel to heaven and talk to God and the Saints about divination, diagnosis and healing [4]. Interesting enough, even though this species was known to the Mazatec Indians for several centuries, it was described only recently, in 1962 [3].
Both human and animal testing of
Conclusions
In conclusion, forensic toxicologists are facing a growing amount of new psychotropic drugs, some of them are difficult to detect and quantify because no reference standard can be purchased and only scarce data are available about their metabolism, pharmacokinetic and toxicology. In this regard, Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A are good examples.
Acknowledgements
Laurence Mauron is thanked for her technical assistance.
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