The effect of Salvia divinorum and Mitragyna speciosa extracts, fraction and major constituents on place aversion and place preference in rats

Ethnopharmacological relevance Consumer use of botanicals has increased despite, in many instances, the paucity of research demonstrating efficacy or identifying liabilities. This research employed the place preference/aversion paradigm to characterize the psychoactive properties of Salvia divinorum extract (10, 30, 100 mg/kg), salvinorin A (0.1, 0.3, 1.0 mg/kg), Mitragyna speciosa MeOH extract (50, 100, 300 mg/kg), Mitragyna speciosa alkaloid-enriched fraction (12.5, 25, 75 mg/kg) and mitragynine (5, 10, 30 mg/kg) in rats. Material and methods Following apparatus habituation and baseline preference scores, male Sprague-Dawley rats were given eight counter-balanced drug versus vehicle conditioning trials followed by a preference test conducted under drug-free states. S ( + )-amphetamine (1 mg/kg) served as the positive control (in Exp. 2) and haloperidol (0.8, 1.0 mg/kg) served as the negative control in both studies. Results Rats displayed place aversion to both Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A that exceeded that of haloperidol. Rats showed place preference to mitragynine that was similar to that of S ( + ) - amphetamine. This CPP effect was much less pronounced with the Mitragyna speciosa extract and its fraction. Conclusions These findings suggest that both botanicals possess liabilities, albeit somewhat different, that warrant caution in their use.