No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Febrary 1, 2010). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references. Issued in print and online. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations.

Salvia divinorum is a plant species native to Oaxaca, Mexico. The leaves of this plant contain the active compound Salvinorin A which, when smoked, causes the user to experience hallucinogenic effects. Currently Salvia divinorum is not listed as a scheduled drug under the United States’ Controlled Substances Act, though some states such as Ohio and Texas have passed laws to prohibit its use. Commercially available Salvia divinorum products are available in fortified extract concentrations claiming to contain up to fifty times the Salvinorin A concentrations naturally present in naturally growing Salvia divinorum plants. The stable isotope ratios of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen can reflect plant responses to certain environmental conditions, such as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations or the degree of water limitation a plant experiences, which in turn can be unique to a geographical region a plant grows in. Because these isotope ratios vary by location, a local plant species from a known area can inform researchers about the elemental makeup of a plant native to a particular region, as well as whether the plant was grown indoors or outdoors. Booth et al. (2010), demonstrated the effectiveness of using stable isotope ratio data of marijuana for the determination of drug trafficking patterns (1). Booth and coworkers also speculated that variations in marijuana chemical composition due to isotope fractionation would account for the differences in isotopic ratios within the marijuana samples. In this experiment, commercially purchased leaf samples of Salvia divinorum were analyzed using an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer for the purpose of establishing the stable isotope ratios by geographic region. Salvia divinorum samples from Oaxaca, Mexico exhibited stable isotope ratios that could be differentiated from those grown in Hawaii, USA. Fortification of leaves had a demonstrated effect on the isotope ratios for the elements examined, indicating that as fortification of the product increased the stable isotope ratios became either enriched or depleted of the heavier isotope. Fortification resulted in stable isotope ratios reflecting regions unlike where it had been grown, thus giving confounding information regarding geographic origin.

No description available.

Salvia divinorum is a hallucinogenic sage used to treat illness by the Mazatec Indians of Mexico. Salvinorin A (1a), a neoclerodane diterpenoid isolated from the plant, is a potent, selective agonist at the kappa opioid receptor (KOR), and is the first non-nitrogenous opioid. The plant is used recreationally as a hallucinogen, but is unpopular due to its dysphoric effects. 1a has been prohibited in Australia under an invalid systematic name. An early report of psychoactive alkaloids in S. divinorum proved to be irreproducible. Similarly, tests in mice suggesting the presence of psychoactive compounds other than 1a were confounded and therefore unreliable. In this work, an improved isolation method for 1a was developed, using filtration through activated carbon to decolourise the crude extract. Six new diterpenoids were isolated: salvinorins D–F (1d–1f) and divinatorins A–C (28a–28c). Five known terpenoids not previously reported from this species were also isolated. The structure–activity relationships of 1a were evaluated via selective modifications of each functional group. Useful synthetic methods are reviewed, including the first thorough review of furanolactone hydrogenations. Testing of the derivatives at the KOR suggests that the methyl ester and furan ring of 1a are required for activity, but that the lactone and ketone functionalities are not. Other compounds from S. divinorum did not bind to the KOR, suggesting that 1a is the plant’s active principle.