High performance liquid chromatographic quantification of salvinorin a from tissues ofsalvia divinorum epling & játiva-m

A reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of salvinorin A, a psychotropic diterpene isolated from the Mexican sage Salvia divinorum, has been developed. Extracts from several plant collections were examined on a C-18 column with UV detection and isocratic elution with acetonitrile: water (45:55). This assay allowed quantification of salvinorin A in extracts of leaves and stems of S. divinorum and has also been applied to the screening of related species for the production of salvinorin A. Levels of salvinorin A in leaves range from 0.89 to 3.70 mg/g dry weight. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.