Salvinorin

This is a framework representation of a molecule of Salvinorin A, the psychoactive component of Salvia divinorum. The molecule was minimized using molecular mechanics routines, as implemented within the Spartan software package (v. 4, Wavefunction, Inc) and running on a Silicon Graphics Indigo 2 workstation. This compound, which anecdotal accounts suggest is extremely potent when administered parenterally, has an unknown mechanism of action, one that clearly differs from the classical hallucinogenic agents such as LSD or mescaline. As suggested by the large number of carbon atoms in this structure, the molecule is very lipid soluble. Curiously, salvinorin A also lacks a basic nitrogen atom, a feature that is quite uncommon among psychoactive compounds. Tetrahydrocannabinol is the only other well known psychoactive substance that lacks a basic nitrogen, but there is no evidence that these two molecules share a similar mechanism of action.

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